Arisiyum Parupu Satham

Yet another delicacy from the kongu region and my second entry for JFI - Toor dal. This is a simple, no-nonsense one-pot dish and really easy to make. I make this dish when I need a quick fix for a no-compromise meal and neither in a mood to cook, nor to eat out. This meal has different versions and this is how my grandmother / mother make it at home. I remember the taste of dal and rice with ghee melting inside my mouth. A pretty impressive meal when you are back from school and hungry. I wish someone cooks for me now when I am back from office. My aunt prepares it with moong dal and I will post the recipe sometime later.

The consistency of the completed meal is somewhat mushy and somewhere between bisi bele bath and plain steamed rice. It tastes heavenly when had with ghee or yogurt. You can also have it with kathirikaai kara kuzhambu / brinjal curry.

Ingredients:

Rice – 2 cups
Toor dal – 1 cup
A small sized onion – 1
Tomato – 1
Dry red chillies – 2 or 3 (According to the spice level)
Curry leaves – 1 spring
Turmeric – 1
Sambar powder – 1 tbsp
Garlic – 2 pods
Salt
Oil

Optional ingredients :

Cinnamon – 1” bark
Clove – 2

1. Soak the toor dal and rice for half an hour. Dice the onion tomato
2. Take a pressure cooker and heat oil or ghee, and then add cinnamon and clove. After that add dry chillies, garlic, onions and fry till the onions are transculent.
3. Now add the sambar powder, salt , tumeric and stir in. Add the tomatoes and cook till it is soft.
4. Now add the soaked dal and rice mixture , add the required amount of water and close the lid. Cook the mixture for the desired amount of time, I usually cook it for three whistles so that the rice and dal are cooked properly.
5. Open the cooker lid stir in the rice, add coriander leaves to garnish.

Enjoy the arisiyum paruppu sadham with a generous serving of ghee and pickle. It tastes heavenly with yogurt and papad too.