Keerai molagootal is a classic stew from Kerala, India made of spinach and dal in coconut gravy. With a great balance of protein, fiber, and tons of vitamins and minerals, this makes a very nutritious dish for everyday meals and is absolutely divine when paired with steamed rice and ghee. Let’s dive in…

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

Ingredients

Note: 1 cup = 235 ml

1. 5 cups organic spinach, chopped
2. ½ cup toor dal
3. 1 Tbsp. yellow split mung dal
4. 4 ¼ cups water
5. ¼ tsp. turmeric powder
6. Salt to taste (2 tsp. salt)

You can make this with toor dal alone or substitute with with ½ cup moong dal / masoor dal

Substitute spinach with kale if you like

For grinding to paste

7. 1 ½ Tbsp. split urad dal
8. 4 red chilies (or 3 red chilies if you like it less spicy)
9. 2 tsp. cumin seeds
10. 1 cup coconut, grated

Substitute coconut with 15 almonds, add directly to the blender, do not add while roasting

For tempering 

11. 1 Tbsp. coconut oil
12. 1 tsp. mustard seeds

Coconut oil gives out the best flavor to this dish, however you can substitute it with any cooking oil

Kitchen Tools

1. Small flat bottom sauté pan
2. Pressure cooker / Instant pot
3. Ladle

Traditionally the dal is cooked separately, added to the spinach – coconut paste, cooked to a frothy boil and finally topped with the tempering. This uses up multiple cooking pots. With many of us leaning towards minimalistic cooking, I have explained this recipe using one pot.

PREPARATION (with step-by-step photos)

Step 1  – Set a small flat bottom sauté pan on medium heat, add 1 ½ Tbsp. urad dal, 4 dry red chillies, 2 tsp. cumin seeds, and dry roast them until the urad dal turns golden brown. The aroma of the roasted ingredients should fill the room 

Step 2 – Add 1 cup grated coconut, give it a quick mix with a ladle, turn off heat and set aside to cool for about 5 minutes

Step 3 – While the ingredients for grinding cool down, prepare the spinach by washing it thoroughly and roughly chop it to yield 5 cups (tightly packed). Set it aside

Step 4 – Rinse ½ cup toor dal and 1 Tbsp. yellow split mung dal together

Step 5 – Place the roasted ingredients from step 2 in a small blender jar. Add ½ cup water, grind to a smooth paste, and set aside

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Step 6 – Set Instant Pot in sauté mode and wait for it display ‘Hot’. Add 1 Tbsp. coconut oil and 1 tsp. mustard seeds and allow it to crackle. If using a pressure cooker, set it on medium heat and follow the instructions

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Step 7 – Add the washed pulses from step 4 (½ cup toor dal plus 1 Tbsp. split mung), pour 1 ½ cups of water, and add 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder

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Step 8 – Add the 5 cups of roughly chopped spinach (from step 3) and the ground coconut paste (from step 4). Close the lid and set the Instant Pot on Manual High setting for 3 minutes with valve in sealing, or if using a pressure cook cook for 3 whistles and turn off the heat

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Step 9 – When the Instant Pot is ready, open the lid, set it into sauté mode and mix all ingredients with the ladle until the pulses and spinach come together. If using a pressure cooker set it on medium heat and follow the instructions

Step 10 – Add salt to taste (2 tsp. salt), the remaining 2 ¼ cups water and give it a good mix

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Step 11 – Cook until you see froth on top and turn off the heat

Step 12 – Enjoy your sublime Keerai molagootal with steamed rice and ghee (or even with curd rice, as my kids do)😋

Keerai (spinach in Tamil) is known as a poor man’s food as it can be easily grown in one’s backyard. I’ve heard that if a host serves keerai as the main dish, guests need to understand that the host is running out of supplies and cannot serve a fancy meal (hence the digging into the backyard). Even to this day, people in Tamil Nadu don’t usually serve spinach-based dishes to first-time guests. You also don’t find it in any feasts – weddings, festivals, etc. In our household, we have a love affair with spinach which conveniently fits with our mandate to include dark leafy greens whenever possible. Keerai masiyal or keerai molagootal is a regular staple, especially since it’s my mom’s signature dish. This recipe evokes very strong memories for me – think Anton Ego in the final scenes of the movie Ratatouille. After my wedding, when I cooked this for the first time, the amateur reverse engineer chef in me used black pepper since I thought the molagu in the dish’s name referred to molagu – black pepper in Tamil. It was not until after I called my mom to find out how it’s actually made, that I learnt that the dish is made with dry red chillies with no trace of black pepper. I should have known that the name of a dish can sometimes mean something different than its ingredients. Well, at least it’s better than naming a dish Sweetbread, which is quite deceptive to say the least 😀

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