Paruppu Urundai Rasam

Just a few days back I posted a recipe for paruppu urundai mor kuzhambu (steamed lentil dumplings in spiced yogurt gravy). I forgot to mention that the paruppu urundais (lentil dumplings) can be dunked into pretty much any kind of (South-Indian) gravy/sauce. The dumplings can be added to rasam, sambar, kuzhambu etc. 

I remember my grandmother making her classic rasam with paruppu urundais. And since it's a classic and favorite dish amongst my clan, here is a special post for it.

 

 Prepare the paruppu urundais, according to this method:

Ingredients (for 6-8 urundais)

1. 1/2 cup thoor dhal / thuvaram paruppu
2. 3 dried red chillies
3. 1/4 teaspoon hing
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt or more

Preparation

1. Wash the thoor dhal and soak it in water for 2 - 2.5 hours. 
2. Rinse the dhal well and grind it with red chillies, hing, and salt, with just a couple of sprinklings of water (about 1 -2 tablespoons of water or slightly more if absolutely necessary). 
3. Coarsely grind the dhal (as much as possible) so that you can form small chunks of balls/ irregular shaped dumplings with your hand. 
4. Steam the lentil dumplings for about 15 minutes on high heat in greased idli plates (greased with sesame oil) or a vegetable steamer until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean and dry.
5. Slightly cool the dumplings before adding to the gravy

Now, prepare tomato rasam with lentils/thoor dhal. This is my (grandmother's) recipe for tomato rasam with lentils. Add the paruppu urundais after step 5 in the recipe (after the tamarind boils with the spices until there is no raw tamarind smell). After the dumplings are added, boil for an additional 5-10 minutes on low-medium heat, and then add the cooked, mashed thoor dhal and follow the rest of the rasam recipe.

This rasam tastes really really good! The dumplings take in the rich spices and taste lovely when mashed with rice.