Mahanandi

Living in Consciousness ~ Indi(r)a’s Food and Garden Weblog

Vadapappu (వడపప్పు)

Vadapappu
Ethereal Vadapappu

With only one ingredient, this has to be the easiest neivedyam one could prepare on a festival day. A Sri Rama Navami original classic, rehydrated yellow moong dal is a delight and goes by a special name Vadapappu.

The surprising good taste comes from the simplicity of the preparation. No cooking involved. No spices, no oil and not even salt or sugar. Just soak the moong dal in water overnight. Half cup would be enough for two people. Drain. Rinse once, and consume. The taste will be extra good when prepared with split moong dal. Follow the same principle. Soak overnight, rinse the dal in several changes of water to remove the green coverings. Like mini yellow roses peeking from a rose bush, the revealed moong dal in pale yellow color will take the breath away with simple beauty.

Vadapappu may look innocent and inconspicuous but it’s a protein powerhouse, easily digestible, and nourishing to human body.

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Amma & Authentic Andhra,Moong Dal (Split),Moong Dal (Washed),Naivedyam(Festival Sweets),Traditions (Tuesday April 15, 2008 at 7:48 pm- permalink)
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Pulagam ~ Sankranthi Tradition

Rice, moong dal, peanuts, jaggery and ghee rule the kitchen during Sankranthi in our homes.

For bhogi, pulagam (rice + split moong dal + salt) is the main dish, not pongali (rice + yellow moong dal + salt), and three peanut based recipes are prepared for pulagam.

Peanut-jaggery chutney,
Stuffed brinjal curry with peanuts and
No boil, cold peanut rasam (Peanut pacchi pulusu)

And the meal begins with prasadam – either jaggery rice pudding or sweet pongali. See, the whole kitchen revolves around rice, moong dal, peanuts, jaggery and ghee during Sankranthi.

Even though I grew up on this tradition, I rarely prepared them all for Sankranthi here. Because, for two people it’s lot of food and one also needs deep appetite to enjoy them. The whole combination is heavy and would make one sleepy in a minute. But yesterday I dared and cooked everything for Sankranthi. I was shivering 24 hours of day under Seattle’s arctic cold blast – God, I needed some rich food. So the rice, moong dal, peanut and ghee extravaganza.

Pulagam, Stuffed Brinjal Curry with Peanuts, Peanut-Jaggery Chutney, Peanut Pacchi Pulusu and Homemade Ghee
Pulagam, Stuffed Brinjal Curry with Peanuts, Peanut Pacchi Pulusu, Peanut-Jaggery Chutney & Ghee

Pulagam Recipe

1 cup split moong dal
1 ½ cups rice
6 cups water
1 teaspoon salt

Wash the rice and split moong dal together, once or twice, until the water is clear. Take them in a pressure cooker or in a big pot. Add 6 cups of water and a teaspoon of salt. Mix and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring in-between or simply pressure cook to soft, falling apart stage.

Serve hot with peanut chutney/stuffed brinjal curry/peanut pacchi pulusu along with generous amounts of ghee for a festive meal or with homemade yogurt for an easy on stomach, light meal.

Sona Masuri Rice, Split Moong Dal and Salt ~ Ingredients for Pulagam
Sona Masuri Rice, Split Moong Dal and Salt ~ Ingredients for Pulagam


Preparing pulagam during Sankranthi is a Nandyala tradition.

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Amma & Authentic Andhra,Moong Dal (Split),Sona Masuri Rice (Tuesday January 16, 2007 at 10:57 pm- permalink)
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Pesarattu (Moong Dal Dosa)

Pesarattu (dosa) prepared with moong dal, is the signatory breakfast of our region(Andhra Pradesh) in India. Done to golden perfection, sprinkled with chopped onions inside, served traditionally with coconut, ginger chutneys and sambhar, have 2 or 3 pesarattus for breakfast, you will be in a food induced delirious haze all day. Type of breakfast that should be prepared on a weekend and particularly enjoyful when prepared by others, and the only thing one has to do is sit, eat and praise the cook liberally for their generous ‘annapoorna‘ heart.

Recipe:

Soak 3 cups of split moong dal in water overnight (Friday night) for about 10 to 12 pesarattus. Next on Saturday morning like 10 or 11 o clock (don’t tell me that you’d enter the kitchen on a weekend earlier than that), drain water, grind the dal along with 5 to 6 green chillies, small piece of ginger and 1 tsp of salt into fine paste of medium consistency. Remove the batter, add about a teaspoon of cumin seeds and mix the batter thoroughly.

Split moong dal - Soaked in water - Grind to paste

Heat a cast iron flat pan, add 2 tsp of oil, spread it with an onion (remove the the top). This is to season the pan so that the pesarattu will comes off easily without sticking to the pan. The pan must be hot for pesarattu to come out in good shape. If you sprinkle water on the pan, it must sizzle.

Pour one ladle full of batter into the center of pan and spread it around in a circular fashion (from inside out) shaping the batter into a thin round.

ladle full of batter Spreading the batter in a round big circle

Pesarattu1 waiting for the other side to fry

Wait few seconds and sprinkle 1 tsp of oil or ghee on top and around the edges of pesarattu.

Wait for few minutes untill the bottom gets golden, then reverse it, cook the otherside now, for few seconds. Reverse it back, sprinkle finely chopped onions on the top and fold it half. Remove from the pan and serve.

First few attempts may not turn out good but don’t be discouraged. Try again. It takes time but once you get the hang of it, it’s really quite easy to prepare them, just like dosas.

I have prepared peanut chutney instead of traditional coconut and ginger chutneys. So there it is, pesarattu with peanut chutney ~ our weekend breakfast.

Pesarattu with Peanut chutney

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Amma & Authentic Andhra,Moong Dal (Split) (Monday May 9, 2005 at 7:31 pm- permalink)
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