One of my best friends from school Simeen, who subsists on a largely non vegetarian diet has been hankering for South Indian vegetarian food these days and keeps pestering me for some of my vegetarian recipes.  She lives in Scotland and is an avid follower of our blog.  I have promised her that I would post lots of our family favourites so that she can cook them herself.  This one is for her. Though I have made this with fenugreek leaves from our garden, it can be substituted with any spinach.  fenugreek or methi as it is popularly known is widely available with most Asian green grocers in the UK.

What do I need to make it?

• 1 bunch of methi leaves stripped from the stems and washed
• ¾ cup tuar dhal washed and pressure cooked till soft and mushy
• A small pinch of ground turmeric
• 1 cup freshly grated coconut
• 1 tsp urad dhal
• 2 to 3 dried red chillies (depends on personal tastes)
• ½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• ¼ tsp mustard seeds
• Few curry leaves
• Salt to taste

How much will I make?

Enough to feed four

How do I make it?

Roast the urad dhal and the dried red chillies in a little bit of coconut oil till the urad dhal is golden brown.  Add this to the coconut and cumin seeds a little bit of water and grind to a fine paste.  Set this paste aside.  In a heavy bottomed vessel boil the methi leaves with water, salt and a pinch of ground turmeric.  When the leaves are cooked, add the cooked dhal and the coconut paste.  Mix well and let it come to a boil.  Simmer gently for about ten minutes and adjust seasoning.  Now for the tempering, in a skillet heat the remaining coconut oil and add the mustard seeds.  When the mustard begins to splutter, add the curry leaves and take it off the flame.  Add the tempering to the methi and dhal mixture.  Give it one final stir before taking off the flame.  Serve hot with rice.