Also Known As: Kozhi Keerai Kadaisal, Paruppu Keerai Masiyal. Verdilugas Lentils Soup. Mess Style Paruppu Keerai Masiya.

I have good memoirs of my Mommy’s stone-grinder and Keerai Masiyal. But, as a kid there was no way Mommy could get me to eat those greens, except by hiding them into those little mounds of rice. And, probably that is why…even after 23 years, its still the only way I could eat them.

Ingredients:

• Kozhi Keerai 1 bunch
• Onion 1 small roughly chopped
• Garlic 5 beads
• Tomato 1 small chopped
• Green chilies 3-5 chopped
• Tamarind paste 1/2 spoon
• Cooked thoor dal 1 cup
• Salt
• Sesame oil few spoons

For Seasoning:

• Thalippu Vadagam 1 spoon
• Mustard seeds 1/4 spoon
• Cumin seds 1/4 spoon
• Asafoetida 1/4 spoon
• Chana dal 1/2 spoon
• Urad dal 1/2 spoon
• Dry red chilies 3
• Curry leaves few
• Sesame oil few spoons

Method:

1. Wash and clean the greens. Cut away the thick stem, retain the soft stems and leaves alone.
   In a wok, heat few spoons of oil. Add chilies, garlic, onion and tomato and saute for few minutes.
2. Then add greens, salt and tamarind to it. Cover and cook….till they wilt.
3. Now grind them coarsely using mann-chatti/kal-chatti.
4. In a separate pan, heat oil. Add the seasoning items one by one, wait till they pop and splutter. Now run this seasoning over the masiyal made above.
5. Serve warm to go with palin rice. Adding steamed rice to the mann-chatti and make a earthen pot meal – tastes better this way too!