This recipe is more a way of cooking vegetables than a recipe in particular. I have seen my grandmother, mother, mother-in-law and many others in our community cook this particular dish with different vegetables. The vegetables that work well here are cluster beans which we call “kothavarakkai” in Tamil (in this post), snake gourd (podavalangai in Tamil), French beans, carrot or cabbage.
I really don’t know the name of this preparation as we refer to it as “parippu potta kari” meaning a “kari” with parippu”, where “kari” refers to a dry vegetable preparation and “parippu” means lentils. The name is a bit of a tongue twister to those unfamiliar with the langage, I know, but that is how its is referred to at home.
This a great recipe to resort to especially when you the particular vegetable you have on hand is just short of the quantity needed to reach every plate at your table. Split moong or yellow lentils (moong dal) is cooked along with the vegetable and this not only adds to the taste of the dish but also pushes up the protein content in a vegetarian meal.
Like many of the dishes that make up our traditional everyday meals, cooking this dish doesn’t take too much time or effort. You may leave out the asafetida powder if you don’t like it or cannot find it.
You may also cook this without the coconut and it tastes almost as good. I say “almost” because I personally like it with the touch of coconut in it.
Parippu Potta Kothavarakkai Kari - Cluster Beans With Lentils
Ingredients
- 1/4 " 1/4 kg beans French , chopped into pieces
- 3 tbsps moong lentils split (yellow) ( dal)
- 1 tbsp coconut fresh grated (optional)
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- to taste salt
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- pinch asafetida powder (optional)
- 2 to 3 chillies dried red
Instructions
- Soak the lentils in half a cup of water for half an hour. Then drain the water and keep the lentils ready for cooking.
- Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When the seeds splutter, add the red chillies (each broken in half) and sautxe9 a couple of times. Add the asafetida powder and stir a couple of times, making sure it doesn't burn.
- Now add the chopped beans and the lentils and about 1/2 a cup of water. Add the salt and turmeric powder, stir well and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and let the beans and lentils cook till done but not mushy, and there is no water left in the pan.
- Another way of cooking ( a faster method) this step of the procedure is to microwave the French beans and the soaked and drained lentils with a couple of tbsps of water till done. I do this at 100% for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add this to the pan after adding the asafetida powder and stir well.
- Take the pan off the heat and add the coconut. Stir to mix well and serve warm with rice and a gravy-based "curry" like sambhar, rasam or pulissery.
Prathibha says
Even we make in a similar way..it is must on festival lunches at home…
s says
aparna, my mom in law also makes it like this and i just LOVE it. But i never got around to asking her for the recipe..Now i dont need to:)..thanks…
lata raja says
Simple kari tastes great with just few spoons-ful of thivar dhal. The combination of paruppu and fresh coconut is awesome.
Divya Kudua says
Nice way to pep up the usual mezhukkupuratti:).Would try making it for sure..:)Btw,is the temperature/power of MW 10% or 100%??
Ilva says
What a wonderful dish Aparna! I must try it or at least as close as I can get over here!
Aparna says
So sorry. Hav corrected the 10% to 100%.Thanks Divya for pointing that out.
Ben says
Beans and lentils, yummy. I am thinking these could be used for a winter salad.
Happy Cook says
This was one of those dishe smom made too.
♥♥♥Ria♥♥♥ says
It looks delicious! And your pics are just WOW!
Bong Mom says
I have had this when in B’lore, never tried it at home though
Pavani says
We usually make this dish with leafy veggies, adding beans instead is a great idea. Will try soon.
Asha @ FSK says
I love love love this dish!! and we make it with kothavarankai, which I like even more… yumm!! In a few more days, I’ll get to eat this!! YAY!!!
Susan from Food Blogga says
Thanks for giving me a new way to serve those lentils, Aparna. I almost always resort to soups, but this is a delicious alternative.
pigpigscorner says
wow great use of french beans! Looks so delicious!
Shwetha says
This looks so good and sounds healthy too. We make a similar version with beetroot as well.:)Thanks for sharing.
Ellie says
I love this dish. Very refreshing and healthy 🙂
Natashya KitchenPuppies says
Such a great dish for vegetarians, I am always looking for great ways to feed protein to my veggie daughter.
silverrock says
wow! I love your idea of making a savory cannoli! I didn’t think it possible, but that carrot-onion one sounds fantastic. I will have to give it a try sometime :)The coffee one and the rose-flavored one also sound amazing. Keep up the amazingly creative bakes!
Ivy says
Great combination of the lentils with the beans. The dish sounds delicious and so healthy.
Sunshinemom says
We do this with chana dal. No particular name like you said because the chana dal is added to increase the quantity of the vegetabkes:).Pics coming out good:)
Curry Leaf says
Wow,Classic kari Aparna.I prepare the same but with beans and potatoes which makes it one of the classic ‘upkari’ /mezhukupuratti.Love the moongdal addition. Mouthwatering pic 😛
sra says
My gran used to use moong dal with green banana sometimes, I’ve tried it with beans.
Anita says
I think I have seem a similar method used for a sweet pumpkin dish before. Your recipe does look quite easy, thanks for sharing.
A_and_N says
Oh! Is this the same as Poriyal? My sis loves this. She could eat the whole thing. I hated it and still do 🙂 So, my Pati used to make the same thing with tamarind for me and for her, without!
Coconut Recipes says
Looks delicious!
Divya Vikram says
Amma makes beans poriyal the exact way. Looks delicious.
Usha says
I like mine with a touch of coconut too, looks fantastic !
Shri says
I love that..Coincidence! I just made it yesterday, with ofcourse an addition of coconut!
Lien says
What a lovely combination using fresh beans and lentils together. Sounds just great!
Aparna says
Sometimes trying to make do with what’s avilable in the fridge or pantry results in very interesting food discoveries! 🙂