Hara Moong Masala aka Grandma's hesaru Kaalu chole

This recipe has been in my drafts for a long long time now. The only reason I did not post this earlier was becuase, I could not capture this curry properly. There was also other reasons like bad internet connection, my laziness, other things taking presidence, etc etc. But when I made this curry yesterday, I decided to photograph this again (read 4th time) and I was reasonably happy with the results.

This creamy and delicious curry is my grandmother's recipe. She calls this hesaru kaalu (green moong) chole. She uses pav bhaji masala to spice this up instead of the regular garam masala. Simply because, she does'nt like the taste of garam masala :). This curry is so tasty that I would just have this without any roti or bread on the side. It's that fabulous

Hara moong masala recipe:

Preparation time: 20min+Soaking time

Cooking time: 10min

Serves- 4

Ingredients:

Green moong beans- 1 cup, washed and soaked overnight

Onion- 1 large, chopped fine

Tomato- 2, med sized, chopped fine

Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tsp

Green chilli- 1, slit

Jeera or Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Oil- 1tbsp

Turmeric- 1/4 tsp

Red chilli powder- 1/4tsp

Pav bhaji masala- 3/4- 1tsp

Salt to taste

Sugar- 1/2tsp

Butter- garnish (optional)

Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

• Pressure cook the soaked moong for 3-4 whistles or till done and set aside.
• Heat oil in a wok and add the cumin seeds
• Once they pop and turn brown, add the onion and slit green chilli and fry till the onions are pink
• Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for 2mins till the raw smell goes
• Add the chopped tomatoes and fry for 3-4 min
• Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt and sugar and continue frying for a min
• Stir in the boiled moong and the pav bhaji masala and mix well.
• Add about half a cup of water and allow the mixture to simmer for 5mins
• Take off the heat and garnish with butter and corianer leaves and serve hot with rice or rotis.