Kadala Paruppu Sundal

Gram dhall 1 cup
Water 1 1/2 cups

Mustard 1/2 teaspoon
Green chillies 2 medium ones
Curry leaves Few leaves
Shredded coconut for garnish
Asafoetida
Salt

Soak gram dhall for an hour. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard. Once the mustard splutters, add green chillies,curry leaves and water. Once the water is hot, add the dhall and let it cook until it is edible. Keep stirring to make sure the dhall gets cooked evenly. Add asafoetida and salt to the sundal and mix well. Add shredded coconut  and mix the sundal well before removing from the stove.

P.S. Moong dhall can be used in place of gram dhall to prepare Payatham paruppu sundal using the same recipe.

Coriander Rice

Coriander 2 medium bunches
Green chillies  3 or 4 medium ones
Shredded coconut  5 tablespoons

Basmati Rice 1 1/2 cups
Onion 1 big one
Ginger garlic paste 2 table spoons
Garam masala powder 1 teaspoon

Oil 1/3 cup
Salt

 Remove coriander leaves from stalks and wash several times to remove the mud. Grind the coriander leaves with the green chillies and the coconut into a fine paste adding 1/3 cup water. Chop the onion fine. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion until it turns golden brown in colour. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute until the raw smell is lost. Now add the coriander-coconut-chilli paste and fry well for 5-6minutes until paste looses its raw smell and turns dark green in colour. Add the garam masala powder and the required salt. Mix well and the paste for the coriander rice is ready for use.

To prepare the rice, take the rice needed and add 2 tablespoons of the paste to rice and mix well. Check the taste and add more paste or salt if required. Few spoons of ghee could be added to the rice if it's dry. Adding ghee also brings the spiciness down. The coriander paste can be frozen for a month or more for later use. It stays good for 4-5 days in the fridge as well.