Pasi Paruppu Sundal & Rava Ladoo

"Thenga Maanga Pattani Sundal.....!" Chennai-tes could not have obviously missed this sound! Little boys and men carrying tins of Murukku and bowls of green peas sundal are just a common sight in Marina or Elliott's beach in Chennai. And I bet, none of us could have missed the yummy sundal topped with tangy scrapped mango, forgetting about the hygiene and indulging for a moment!! :)

Festive season or not, sundal is a favorite snack for most of us. Next to the beach sundal, home-made pasi paruppu sundal is my favorite. That complemented with a yummy, melt-in-mouth Rava Ladoo, bajjis and a steaming cup of Nescafe, perched by the window sill on the raining day!!! Mmm.. I'm lovin' it! (read aloud as in McD ad!)

Rava Ladoo is not anything new; it is a breeze to most of us. So I am not going to re-invent the wheel, just sharing with you all my version!

Pasi Paruppu Sundal / Moong dal Sundal
Split Yellow Moong dal snack
Serves 2

What we need:
Yellow Moong dal / Pasi Paruppu - 1 cup
Green Chilli - 1, minced
Fresh scrapped Coconut - 4 tbsp.
Mustard - 1 tsp.
Cumin (Jeera) - 1 tsp.
Asafoetida -a pinch
Oil - 1 tbsp.
Salt - 1 tbsp. or according to taste
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Water - as needed
A dash of lemon juice

How to do:
1. Wash and clean the dal. In a vessel, take the dal and fill with water just enough to cover it. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and cook until it starts to absorb the water. Take care that the dal should not be too mushy.
2. Heat oil and sputter mustard and jeera. When they are done, add the green chilli and curry leaves.
3. Add the cooked dal, salt and mix carefully not to mash the dal.
4. Garnish with coconut and remove from the flame.

Sprinkle a dash of lemon juice and enjoy it!

Serving suggestion for over-cooked dal
Side note:- Sometimes I over-cook the dal because I like the mashed texture.In case you over-cook the dal, just crease a small cup with a drop of oil, stuff it with the sundal and invert it on the serving plate. Sprinkle some coriander leaves and it is good to go the dining room!! For kiddies, you can also make it into small balls and serve.
Sending this to "My Legume Love Affair #22" started by Susan and hosted this month @ Ruchika Cooks


Rava Ladoo

What we need:
Rava / Sooji - 1 cup
Powdered Sugar - 3/4th cup Increase the quantity of sugar according to your taste
Ghee - 100 g
Cardamom Powder - 1 tbsp.
Cashews - 10 to 15 pieces

How to do:
1. Heat a tsp. of ghee. Add the cashews and fry till they start turning brown. Set aside a few pieces of cashew as whole and break the rest of them into tiny pieces.
2. Heat another tsp. of ghee and add the rava. Roast until a nice aroma starts emitting.
3. If you prefer a smooth ladoo, let the rava cool and powder it fine.
4. In a bowl, add rava, powdered sugar, cardamom powder, broken cashew pieces and mix well.
5. Slowly add the ghee spoon by spoon and mix well. After adding about 3/4th of the ghee, try to gather the mixture and make a ball.
Mom's tip: Amma used to say that the correct consistency is, when you gather the mixture into ball and drop it, it should fall back as 3 or 4 pieces and not as a powder.
6. Now that the mix is in the right consistency, make the balls into desired size. Take a full cashew and slowly press into the ball, without breaking it.

Since Ghee is the one of the main ingredient, sending this Rava Ladoo to Sanghi's FIL: Ghee Sweets.

Happy cooking and happy Blogging!!