There is some version of this dish in many parts of the country, with different dals, masala and gravy. The fact that we have twins and triplets of dishes across the country and the world had inspired me to write a seried on Food Cousins on my blog The Cybernag. For instance, there is the gatte ki subzi, the dubuk vada, kadhi-pakode etc. Even dal dhoklis, shengole and varanfal can be included in this category.
Into this group falls the paruppu urundai (dal dumpling), which is cooked in jeera rasam. It is also cooked in a spicy tamarind based gravy called kuzhambu or added to the South Indian-style kadhi or mor kuzhambu, much like pakodis in kadhi.
To eat, the spicy dumplings are mixed with rice along with the rasam for a super tasty meal. Have some papad or fried crispies to round it off. Kannadigas make something similar called nuchina unde and eat it as a snack. It is made with tur dal, spices and coconut, shaped into balls and steamed.
Note:
I have given the recipe for plain jeera rasam at the end. Do check it out if you want to just make the rasam without adding dumplings to it. It is an excellent digestive and very good if you have an upset tummy.
Let us start with the ingredients for both paruppu urundai and rasam.
Ingredients for the dal dumplings:
- Tur dal ½ cup +1 tbsp
- Red chillies 2-3
- Salt to taste
For Rasam:
- Tamarind 1 small lemon sized ball
- Peppercorns 1 tsp
- Jeera 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
Tempering:
- Mustard ½ tsp
- Curry leaves 8-10
- Hing ½ tsp
- Ghee 1 tsp
Preparation:
- Soak tur dal and red chillies in water for at least 2 hours.
- Soak tamarind in a little hot water.
Method:
Dal Dumplings:
- Drain the water from the dal and grind along with the chillies and required salt, into a coarse (like jada rava) paste without adding any water. Take care not to grind it fine, as it will become very hard after steaming.
- Remove to a bowl, leaving about 2 tbsp paste in the mixer jar.
- Make lemon-sized balls of the dal paste and steam for about 10-15 minutes. Keep aside.
Note:
The dal balls can be directly cooked in the rasam without steaming, by dropping them one by one, slowly in boiling rasam. After dropping the first ball, wait a few seconds till the rasam is boiling, before dropping the next ball. Do this patiently, lest the balls disintegrate in the rasam. I don’t do it this way, as it is very time consuming and dicey to boot, though my mother used to do it that way. The best way is to steam them first!
Rasam:
- To the dal mixture left over in the mixer jar, add the peppercorns, jeera and soaked tamarind and make into a smooth paste. This is the rasam paste.
- In a vessel, take about 4-5 cups of water and add the ground rasam masala paste. Add required salt and mix well without any lumps.
- Boil the rasam till the raw smell goes and when it is still boiling, add the steamed dal balls to it one by one.
- Adjust salt. Add a few curry leaves to the rasam and bring it to boil. Reduce the flame and simmer for about 8-10, till the paruppu urundais have soaked in the rasam well.
- Switch off the heat.
- For the tadka, in a small pan heat the ghee and crackle the mustard and add the hing and curry leaves. Switch off the flame and pour into the rasam.
- Paruppu urundai jeera rasam is ready to serve.
Serving ideas:
- Serve pauruppu urundai and rasam with hot rice.
- It can be eaten by itself like a dumpling soup.
- Drink the jeera rasam like a thin soup!
PLAIN JEERA RASAM:
Jeera rasam can be made as a simple rasam too.
- Soak a small lemon-sized ball of tamarind in a little hot water.
- Soak 1 tbsp tur dal.
- 1 red chilli
- 1 tsp peppercorn
- 1 tsp jeera
Grind the soaked dal and tamarind along with the spices into a smooth paste. Proceed as per instructions given above without the dal dumplings.
