KEERAI PULI MASIYAL

NOTE: This recipe is from my mother's collection. Served along with a thuvayal and tomato rasam and roasted applam  it is  YUM. The tamarind paste can be adjusted according to individual taste.

U need:

Keerai ( Mulla keerai or palak): 1 bunch

Cooked toovar dal: 1/2 cup

Green chillies: 5

Coconut grated: 3 tablsp

Red chilli powder: 1 tsp

Turmeric: 1/2 tsp

Jeera: 1 tsp

Tamarind paste: 1&1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil: 2 tabslp

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Methi seeds: few

Hing: 1/2 tsp

Moong bodis : 2 tsp or 1 applam crushed

METHOD:

1.Clean wash and chop the keerai finely.Wash well. Put the finely chopped keerai in a pan with 1 cup water and cook till done.

2. Mash well with a ladle or a wooden churner.Add slit green chillies and the cooked dal .Continue simmering.Add salt. 

3.Grind together coconut,red chilli powder,turmeric,jeera and tamarind to a smooth paste. Add the paste to the simmering dal along with 1 cup water .Simmer till the paste is well blended in the keerai and the gravy is is semi thick.

4. Heat oil in a pan,Add the mustard seeds,methi seeds,hing and saute.Add the bodis.Fry well and add the bhagar to the simmering masiyal.Off the gas.Cover the keerai masaiyal with a lid.

If you are using appalam then do the bhagar without the bodis and add to the vegetable.Just before serving garnish with crushed appalams.

5.Serve hot with rice.