Ingredients:
- Ponnanganni Keerai – 1 bunch
- Moong Dal (Pasi Parruppu) – ¼ cup
- Onion – 1 no
- Red Chilli – 3 nos
- Garlic – 8 cloves
- Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
- Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp
- Urad dal – 1 tsp
- Cooking oil – 1 tbsp.
- Salt – to taste
- Coconut (grated) – 2 tbsp. (Optional)
- Pepper Powder – ½ tsp (Optional)
Method to Prepare:
- Pluck the leaves from stems of the Ponnanganni Keerai. (If the stem is very tender, you can use that too).
- Wash thoroughly and chop it in to small size and keep aside.
- Soak moong dal in water for about 15 minutes and pressure cook it (just ¾th cooking of moong dal is enough)
- Heat oil with pan add mustard seeds and then add Urad dal. Once the dal turns light brown, add red chilli, garlic and chopped onion and sauté well.
- Add Ponnanganni Keerai and stir well.
- Keep the stove in low flame for few seconds and close the lid without adding water to it.
- Then open the lid and stir well and add salt to taste and cook for a minute.
- Don’t need to add water, because once you add salt it will become watery which is more than enough to cook the green.
- Sauté it well, until the moisture is out.
- Then add the cooked moong dal in it and mix well. Sauté it for a minute.
- Cut off heat serve hot Ponnanganni Keerai Poriyal with rice!
Tips:
- Now-a-days, different variety of Ponnanganni Keerai is available in the market. Here in this dish i have used ‘Nattu Ponnanganni Keerai’.
- Add salt to this dish, once the Keerai is in the semi cooked stage, else you will get a bitter taste.
- Once the Keerai gets cooked well, before switch off the flame, you can very well add grated coconut mix well.
- If you the dish to be little spicier, just add pepper powder in last minute, before you cut off the flame.
- The purpose of adding both coconut and pepper powder is mainly for bending the bitter taste of the Keerai.
- You can also include tomato to the dish, for different sour taste.
Benefits of Ponnanganni Keerai:
- Ponnanganni Keerai is top for bright eye vision.
- Ponnanganni Keerai also improves eye sight and other eye related problems.
- Ponnanganni Keerai is loaded with Vitamin A.
- Ponnanganni Keerai soothes the body heat and cools the body. Apt food during summer season.
- Daily incorporating Ponnanganni Keerai in your diet, polishes your body, thus got this name and fame.
- Ponnanganni Keerai is the best home remedy for treating piles.
- Ponnanganni Keerai contains more protein, calcium and iron.
- When compared to vegetables, a all type of greens is very nutritious to body, thus incorporate greens in your daily diet and attain its health benefits!
Mrs. Lavanya Sampath