A simple and rustic curry for roti made with moong dal/split yellow mung beans and chickpea flour. This curry is perfect for rice and roti; you can relish it as a soup. Check out how to make this simple curry with detailed step-wise pictures.
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Side dishes for roti
I have been sharing a few simple and easy side dishes for roti, like paneer curry with pasta sauce, South Indian-style chana kurma, yellow paneer curry, tofu tomato curry, and more. And I want to add one more to this list – my mom’s moong dal recipe! I grew up eating this moong dal for rotis.
As I mentioned in my last post, this moong dal, thokku, and kurma are usual recipes that often feature in our household as a side for roti and chapati. This recipe is more like my mom’s version of moong dal tadka. It’s a mix between dal and Bombay chutney. You can also call this pasi paruppu kadaiyal or pasi paruppu masiyal.
Ingredients required
It’s a simple recipe, and you don’t need exotic ingredients for this. With basic pantry staples, you can make this curry easily.
Moong dal: We need split yellow mung beans for this recipe, and it’s the key ingredient, and in Tamil, we call this pasi paruppu. You can swap moong dal with green mung beans or moth beans (you can sprout them and use them in the curry for added nutrition).
Shallots, tomatoes & green chili: We pressure-cook shallots, tomatoes, and green chili along with moong dal, and we mash all these together, which adds so much flavor. I highly recommend shallots but use half of the medium-sized onion if you don’t have it.
Besan: The interesting ingredient in this dal is the besan/chickpea flour/kadalai maavu. It adds a nice flavor, binds the dal, and plays a major role in providing consistency.
Turmeric powder and asafoetida: I can’t imagine a dal recipe without turmeric powder; the same goes for this recipe. We need a small amount of turmeric powder and a pinch of asafoetida. Skip the asafoetida for a gluten-free version.
To Temper: We need oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, and cumin seeds for tempering.
Apart from these ingredients, we also need salt, water, curry leaves, and cilantro.
VVK tips
Pressure cook the dal ahead: While is dal is effortless to make, if you notice, we simmer this dal for 20 to 25 minutes. So if you pressure cook the dal ahead, it saves time. I typically pressure cook this dal in the morning, and in the evening, while making the roti, I add the besan and simmer it and add the tempering.
Use deep/wide inner pot: If you use an inner pot or pressure cook the dal using the pot-in-pot method, I highly recommend using a deep or wide inner pot as the dal splashes.
Variations
- You can swap the moong dal with sprouted green mung dal or moth beans.
- My mom usually skips garlic, and I replicated her recipe and did not use it either. But you can use two garlic cloves for this measure. You can pressure cook it with the dal, chop it finely, and add it while tempering.
- You can add one or two tbsp of lemon juice for a tangy version after turning off the dal.
- I used cold-pressed peanut oil for the tempering. But you can also use coconut oil or ghee.
Dietary specifications
This curry is a vegan and nut-free side for roti. You can use gluten-free asafoetida or skip it for a gluten-free version.
This moong dal pairs well with rice, roti, and poori, and you can also enjoy it like a soup if you prefer a light dinner. Sometimes we enjoy the leftover dal with idli or dosai or upma too.
Watch me make moong dal tadka
How to make moong dal for roti
Pressure cook the dal.
- In a pressure cooker or pressure pan, or small vessel which can fit inside the pressure cooker, add the rinsed moong dal, shallots, chopped tomato, slit green chili, cilantro stems (optional), turmeric powder, asafoetida, and 1.5 cups of water. Mix well, pressure cook for four whistles, and let the pressure subside naturally. Here is the pressure-cooked dal.
- Remove the green chili and mash this dal thoroughly.
Prepare the besan mix.
- Mix the 2 tbsp of besan with 1 cup of water without any lumps and set it aside.
Simmer the dal and temper.
- Add the besan mix and one cup of water (skip this additional one cup of water if you prefer thick consistency dal) to the mashed dal.
- Add salt, curry leaves, and cilantro, and simmer the dal for 20 to 25 minutes over medium-low heat. Ensure you stir the dal every 5 minutes. Please do not leave it unattended.
- After about 20 minutes, the dal will become frothy and bubbly. At this stage, turn off the heat.
- In a separate tempering pan, heat the oil, and when it is hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and urad dal. When the mustard seeds splutter and the urad dal becomes golden, turn off the heat and add it to the dal. You can garnish it with more cilantro and enjoy it with the flatbread of your choice.
Recipe Notes
- The green chili variety I used was spicy, so I chose just one. Depending upon the variety and spice preference, adjust the measure.
- As always, adjust the salt and spice to taste.
- I have used 3.5 cups of water in this recipe – 1.5 cups to pressure cook the dal, 1 cup to mix the besan, and another additional cup. You can skip the last cup if you prefer a thick consistency dal.
- Please check the variations and VVK tips section for more info.
- Instant Pot version – If you want to make this dal in Instant Pot, add all the ingredients to pressure cook in the inner pot, pressure cook for 5 minutes, and let the pressure release naturally. Then add the besan mix and simmer the dal and do the tempering.
More moong dal recipes
📖 Recipe
Moong Dal for Roti | Moong Dal Curry | Pasi Paruppu Kadaiyal
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;
- ½ cup moong dal rinsed
- 5 shallots peeled
- 1 small tomato chopped, approx 60 grams
- 1 green chili slit (refer notes)
- ⅛ tsp turmeric powder
- a pinch of asafoetida
- 3.5 cups water divided (refer to notes)
- 2 tbsp besan/chickpea flour
- 5 curry leaves
- 2 tbsp cilantro finely chopped, including stems
- 1.5 tsp salt or as needed
- 1 tsp oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp urad dal
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
Instructions
Pressure cook the dal.
- In a pressure cooker or pressure pan, or small vessel which can fit inside the pressure cooker, add the rinsed moong dal, shallots, chopped tomato, slit green chili, cilantro stems (optional), turmeric powder, asafoetida, and 1.5 cups of water. Mix well, pressure cook for four whistles, and let the pressure subside naturally. Here is the pressure-cooked dal.
- Remove the green chili and mash this dal thoroughly.
Prepare the besan mix.
- Mix the 2 tbsp of besan with 1 cup of water without any lumps and set it aside.
Simmer the dal and temper.
- Add the besan mix and one cup of water (skip this additional one cup of water if you prefer thick consistency dal) to the mashed dal.
- Add salt, curry leaves, and cilantro, and simmer the dal for 20 to 25 minutes over medium-low heat. Ensure you stir the dal every 5 minutes. Please do not leave it unattended.
- After about 20 minutes, the dal will become frothy and bubbly. At this stage, turn off the heat.
- In a separate tempering pan, heat the oil, and when it is hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and urad dal. When the mustard seeds splutter and the urad dal becomes golden, turn off the heat and add it to the dal. You can garnish it with more cilantro and enjoy it with the flatbread of your choice.
Video
Notes
- I used a spicy green chili variety, so I chose just one. Depending upon the variety and spice preference, adjust the measure.
- As always, adjust the salt and spice to taste.
- I have used 3.5 cups of water in this recipe – 1.5 cups to pressure cook the dal, 1 cup to mix the besan, and another additional cup. You can skip the last cup if you prefer a thick consistency dal.
- Please check the variations and VVK tips section for more info.
- Instant Pot version – If you want to make this dal in Instant Pot, add all the ingredients to pressure cook in the inner pot, pressure cook for 5 minutes, and let the pressure release naturally. Then add the besan mix and simmer the dal and do the tempering.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Love this recipe?
PS: If you try this moong dal curry for roti, please remember to comment and rate this recipe. Please comment if you have any questions, and I will get to it ASAP. Follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas! Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more recipe updates! You can also sign-up for my newsletter for weekly updates.
Thank you for this recipe. We lived and worked in Cambodia for 7 years, and had close friends/colleagues from India who honored us with their traditional meals, including Moong Dal. And my favorite restaurant–I ordered weekly–was called Mt. Everest, which made my favorite two dishes: Moong Dal, and Palak Paneer. This Moong Dal recipe is the closest I’ve tried to that favorite in Cambodia, so I thank you very much!
Awww glad to hear that. Thanks so much.
We love moong dal addition of chickpeas flour is an interesting twist in dals. I tried this weekend and it was a nice variation to regular dal I make at home.
Thank you. :-)
Wonderful idea to use besan along with moong dal! That gave a beautiful consistency and also added a lot of flavor to the moong dal. It’s a keeper recipe!
Thanks Sandhya