Paruppu Keerai Masiyal:

We call this greens as Paruppu Keerai in Tamil. Botanical name of this greens is ‘Talinum cuneifolium’. It is said to have the properties to lower one’s blood glucose level. Tribal use them with care, saying it has lots of medicinal value, treating their mouth ulcer, diabetes, cough, pulmonary tuberculosis, diarrhea and gastritis. Research is still going on to claim its effect on diabetes, it has showed some positive test results with lab rats…showering some light to the folks claim.

My back home cook Usha Nandhini is smart in identifying correct species…if I hint her with colloquial name or try to describe the flower’s color, size and season…..she puts that info’ in her mind and do the hard task of identifying the right specimen! Well…she is really sweet, search for the special plants, herbs on behalf of me. As she lives very close to the foot hills of Vellore Mountains…..she manages to bring these wild and field greens to me. Thank you Usha.

Okay never confuse Palak/Paala Keerai with Paruppu Keerai(as some people do). Anyway….Paruppu Keerai, never hits the market. Sometimes rarely vendors do….its wild, grows near fields or wet lands. Leaves are delicate and thin.

Ingredients:

Paruppu 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(optional)

Salt

Sesame oil few spoons.

For Seasonings:

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 – slitted

Curry leaves few

Sesame oil few spoons.

Method:

Wash and clean the greens. Trim the thick stem, retain the soft stems and leaves alone.

Pressure cook, thuvar dal till soft and set aside.

In a wok, heat few spoons of oil. Add chilies, garlic, onion and tomato and saute for few minutes.

Then add greens, salt, and tamarind to it. Cover and cook….till they wilt.

Now grind them coarsely using mann-chatti/kal-chatti. Add cooked thuval dal and grind together, once again.

In a separate pan, heat oil. Add the seasonings items one by one, wait till they pop and splutter. Now run this seasonings over the masiyal made above.

Serve warm to go with plain rice. Adding steamed rice to the mann-chatti and make a earthen pot meal – tastes better this way too!