154) MOGGYA TOYE

MOGGYA TOYE

A MILD SOUPY CURRY OF CUCUMBER

AND PIGEON PEA LENTILS

Ingredients:

     1)    Curry cucumber (Vellarikka in Malayalam and moggé in Konkani) – 250 gm.

     2)    Tor dal (split pigeon pea lentils) – 150 gm.

     3)    Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

     4)    Mustard seeds – ¼ teaspoon

     5)    Cumin seeds – ½ teaspoon

     6)    Dry hot red chilies – 5 Nos.

     7)    Tender curry leaves – 3 sprigs

     8)    Coconut oil or other cooking oil – 1 tablespoon

     9)    Salt – 1 teaspoon

To Cook:

          Peel the cucumber, cut it open and remove the seed core. Cut into large chunks of approximately 5 cm. across. Wash, drain and set aside. Wash the tor dal nicely and drain.

          Put the cucumber chunks and the dal into a pressure cooker along with twice their volume of water. Tip in the turmeric powder and close the lid. Set on high heat. As soon as you hear the first whistle, turn down the heat and cook for 5 minutes. Switch off the heat and let cool naturally.

          Once it is cool enough to open, transfer the contents to a vessel for making the curry. Add the salt. If the mixture is too thick, add a little water. Set on high heat. As soon as it boils, switch off the heat and cover with a lid.

          Break the red chilies each into 2 or 3 pieces. Pluck the curry leaves from their sprigs. Set a small pan on low heat. Pour in the oil and tip in the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds are about to finish crackling, tip in the cumin seeds. As the cumin seeds start to splutter, put in the dry chilies and the curry leaves. Stir once, switch off the heat and tip over the contents of the pan into the curry. Stir and cover with a lid.

          Serve hot with a plate of warm white Sona Ponni rice (a soft par boiled variety) or just sup it like soup. If you are serving the moggya toye with rice, do serve one or two spicy upkaris (see my recipes) as accompaniments.

Enjoy!!!