Homey comforting Dal - Spinach with split green lentils or Mung lentils / Spinach Pesarapappu kootu

I know, I know!! I disappeared from the blogging world all of a sudden. I totally dropped out of this scene altogether....right!!!...yeah yeah....sorry guys!!....I totally miss you too and miss blogging!! but some really bigger things are keeping me away and I hope to be back to regular blogging in a couple of months hopefully. Till them I won't disappoint you all and whenever I have time and am not tired to fall asleep right away, will make time to post something.

But till then I think, I wont be able to take part in any of the fun stuff happening here in the blogging world. I wish I can, but right now it won't be possible until next couple of months. But Soon I will be back onto a full swing surely!!!!!!

So as promised, whenever I get time to write something up, I will surely do!
For that sake, here is a comforting and homey Spinach pesarapappu kootu. Easy and quick to make and if you love the taste of moong daal more than toor daal (like me!)...you are sure to love this.

Tho usualy, dal or pappu means making it out of toor daal or kandi pappu. But pesarappu or moong daal has a very yum taste, which I totally adore. So which ever daal I make out of toor dal, I make it with Pesarapappu too. But since, when we make it with pesarapappu, it is kept whole and not completely mushy and is called kootu instead of pappu!! And is made the following way ---- :))


Ingredients:

A big bunch of fresh spinach or 1 cup frozen spinach can be used
1 cup of pesara pappu, moong daal, split mung bean

1 small onion, chopped
4-5 green chillies slit

3 garlic chopped
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tbsp chana dal
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/4 mustard seeds
1/4 jeera, cumin seeds
pinch of hing, inguva, asfoetida
few curry leaves
2-3 dry red chillies, broken
salt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Chopped coriander leaves for garnish.

Method:

Wash spinach and chop roughly.

Dry roast the pesara pappu to light brown color, wash and cook in water covering the lentils till they are cooked, but not mushy totally. Add more water in intervals if required.
Add the chopped spinach and cook until spinach is cooked, which shouldn't take more than 5 minutes.
Add the onions, green chillies and cook for another 5 minutes. Add salt and turmeric.
By now the daal will be totally cooked, almost to get mushy.
Now you can prepare the tempering with the rest of the ingredients.
Heat Oil in a small pan.
Add the channa daal and urad daal along with garlic. Let them brown.
Add the mustard and jeera and let them splutter.
Add the curry leaves, dry red chillies and hing to the tempering oil.
After few seconds, add this to the cooked pesarapappu and spinach.
Add chopped coriander leaves for garnish.
Serve hot with roti, chapathi or with hot steaming rice, along with a drop of ghee or two, with a side of papad or vadiyalu.
Enjoy!!!