Mulakooshiyam a.k.a. Koonu Parippu/ Mushroom Dal

This dish is a life saver in our busy lives coz its sooooooooo easy to prepare yet tasty. This dal is a signature Malabar/ Palakkadan dish coming from the Nair community. This is a seasonal dish and you could experiment with other veggies like yellow/ kerala cucumber, pumpkin, ashgourd, bottlegourd, raw papaya, snakegourd or even plain onions or shallots. You can serve this simple curry with plain rice or chapathi's. Ode to my Amma who is a regular maker of this dish and for adding a new tinge to this curry always!!!! :-D

Ingredients

Button/ Portabello Mushrooms/ or any veggie mentioned above - 1 cup cut into chunks
Shallots - 10- 12 Nos
Moong Dal/ Sambhar (Tuvar) Dal - 1 cup
Tumeric Powder - 1 tsp
Curryleaves - 2 sprigs
Coconut Oil - 1 tbsp or as per one's requirement
Salt to taste

Grind to a smooth paste:

Shallots - 6
Red Chillies - 4 Nos or depending on one's spice level
Tumeric Powder - a pinch

Method

Wash and boil Moongdal in a cooker till soft and mushy. It takes about 3-4 whistles. When the pressure is released, mash the dal and add the mushrooms and onions along with the chilli paste, tumeric powder and salt. Close the lid again and pressure cook it for 2 whistles. When the steam is released, add curry leaves and drizzle coconut oil. You will know your curry had reached the right note when a heavenly smell will waft across your kitchen.

Serve it along with plain rice and some nice uppumanga chutney (recipe posted before this entry).