Paruppu keerai / Spinach dal

'Spinach of any variety cooked with Thoor dal and tempered' is the one line recipe for today's post. I would like to share this for my readers who are in the beginning stages of cooking.
Here are some ways to make this recipe more simple.
1. South Indians always cook dal for sambar. So while pressure-cooking the dal for sambar , add a handful of more lentils (thuvaram paruppu) and save that cooked dal for this spinach.
2. Cooked dal can be kept in fridge upto 24 hours.
3. Thoor dal can be replaced with green gram lentil (pasi paruppu)

Paruppu keerai

Ingredients:
Thoor dal (thuvaram paruppu) - 1/4 cup
(or) cooked dal - 1 cup
spinach - 1 bunch
oil / ghee - 1 tsp
mustard seed -  1/2 tsp
urid dal - 1/2 tsp
dry red chilly - 1
curry leaves - few
salt - as per taste.
shallot - 2 
cumin - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Pressure cook the dal with 1 cup water, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and hing a pinch.
(To cook the dal : Soak the dal in warm water for 10 minutes. In a pressure cooker , add these and wait for 1 whistle. After that reduce flame to minimum and cook for 8 minutes).
Clean the spinach and rinse well. Chop finely.
Heat oil / ghee in a wok. Add mustard, urid dal and let the mustard pop. Then add the finely chopped shallot, red chilly pieces, curry leaf and saute for a few seconds. Then add the chopped spinach.
Cook without closing. Add few tsp of water and add salt after the spinach has cooked completely.
Then add the cooked dal,  cumin and bring to a boil.
Switch off.
Spinach dal is ready!


Serving suggestion:
serve as side dish with any rice, chapati or as curry over rice with some ghee.

Menu suggestion:
If you have planned a menu on making paruppu rasam, ketti paruppu and this paruppu keerai along with rice, then  just pressure cook the thuvar dal and use the dal to make ketti paruppu and this spinach. While we can use the excess water in cooked dal to make rasam. By this way we can plan a simple and delicious quick meal. Try preparing potato fry along with this and make your family happier :)

Ponnanganni keerai poriyal (few spinach varieties of Tamilnadu)

Keerai poriyal (spinach stir fry) is a common side-dish prepared in Indian families. Mostly Indians try to include one greens (spinach) in their lunch.

Ponnanganni (dwarf copper leaf) is a very unique and rare spinach of India. It has a lot of benefits. Click to read more about this yummy keerai.

Any keerai (spinach) can be prepared using this recipe. I prepared many keerai recipes during last year vacation in my mother inlaw's house. Here are some pictures of other keerais and the street vendor's keerai basket :)

Ponnankanni keerai in a bag

Keerai koodai (spinach basket) , which the street vendors carry.

A very nice seller (paatti) who brings keerai to my MIL's  house regularly.

I used to give a handful of keerai to the lovebirds in my inlaw's house , immediately after buying a bunch of keerai. Birds love this :)

Estate keerai (Bangalore Keerai) grown in inlaw's house.

While cleaning the keerai....

Ponnanganni keerai and arai keerai.

Keerai poriyal

Estate keerai poriyal

Ingredients:
Any keerai (spinach) - a bunch
red onion / shallot (chopped) - 1 cup
green chilly - 2
oil - 1 tbsp
mustard - 1 tsp
urid dal - 1 tsp
cumin - 1 tsp
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
salt - very little (as per taste).

Method:
Rinse the spinach in water thrice or till the water runs clear. Chop finely. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok. Add mustard and urid dal.  Let the mustard splutter. Then add finely chopped onion, green chillies. Saute till it wilts. Then add the finely chopped spinach.
Saute with a handful of water. Don't cover the vessel while cooking the spinach (I don't know the reason behind this, but people in my town cook most of the spinach except drumstick leaf, like this).
As soon as the spinach gets cooked and all the water is evaporated, add required salt and mix well. Then add the shredded coconut, cumin and switch off.

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish along with sambar or any curry and rice during lunch.

Keerai thoran (Red Swiss Chard)

"Keerai (Tamil) - Any kind of spinach; Thoran (Malayalam) / thuvaran or thuvaram (Tamil) - A dry side dish prepared with any spinach or vegetable and lot of coconut masala".

I got this 'Kerala style preparation of Spinach' from a best friend of mine. Though her blog is not visible now, some of her recipes always have a permanent position in my memory. I tried my best to do it her way. Thanks Ann!

The traditional recipe insists in using an Indian spinach (cheera or the red spinach) . I  prepared this 'keerai thoran' using Red swiss chard leaves. Though these swiss chard leaves resembled an Indian palak, I would like to use the 'chen cheera' (red spinach) next time. 

'Thoran' made of Red Swiss chard leaves.

Ingredients:

Any greens (spinach) - 1 lb
(I used Swiss chad leaves here)
Red onion - 1 (or) shallot - 5
mustard - 1/2 tsp
coconut oil - 1 tbsp
salt - to taste (very little only) 

To grind coarsely:

coconut (shredded) - 1/2  cup
garlic cloves - 3
green chillies  -  2 or 3
cumin - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Wash and clean the spinach / any greens.Chop it finely.

Heat oil in a wok. Splutter the mustard seeds.
Add onion and saute till it wilts.

Now put the chopped spinach and saute for a few minutes.

Make a well in the center and remove all the moisture (as much as possible).

Put the coarsely ground paste to the center and bury it with spinach.

cover and cook for few minutes. Add salt and saute till the greens loose all the moisture and we get a very loose texture.Switch off.

Keerai thoran is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot as side dish with sambar rice or curd rice.
Also can be served as 'curry over plain rice' with a tsp of ghee.
As this preparation contains more coconut, it may get spoiled in hot weather. So consume / refrigerate immediately.