This sprouted green gram curry @ green gram kurma, also called mulai kattiya pachai payaru kuruma, is a mild South Indian gravy made with sprouted mung beans, coconut, cashews, and fennel. Serve it with roti, chapathi, rice, idli, or dosa for a hearty vegetarian meal.
My MIL had told me to include pulses in our regular diet at least once in a week as they are a good source of protein for vegetarians with lots of health benefits. Usually I make sundal with green gram, chana, black urad dal.
In my family, we love to eat sundal recipes but not often. So when my MIL told me to include legumes, I found making some curry, gravy for roti or kuzhambu recipes for rice by adding pulses is the best way to make my family eat it. So I started preparing varieties of curries and gravies for rice, roti and even for idli, dosa. This South Indian style green gram curry is our recent favorite.
Green gram also known as Mung bean in English, Pachai payaru in Tamil, moong sabut/mung sabut in Hindi, Cheru Payru in Malayalam, Hesaru kaalu in Kannada, Pacha Pesalu pappu in Telugu is a very healthy pulse with high fiber and nutrient values.
Recent days I have been eating mung sprouts salad for weight loss. So I tried this pacha payaru curry recipe from a Kerala YouTube channel “Garam masala” with the leftover sprouts mainly for Sendhil and Raksha. I made it with slight modifications to suit our taste buds. It came out really well with a mild sweet taste of sprouted green gram. We all loved it very much.
It was a good side dish for roti/ chapathi, idli, dosa and rice.
As the yield of this gravy is more, we had this gravy for dinner and the next day’s breakfast & lunch as well. For variations, this curry can be made with mixed sprouts or with soaked green gram dal, chana or cowpeas.
I am happy that I have got a healthy, yummy green gram dal curry recipe to include in our regular diet. Ok Friends, lets see how to make this healthy mulai kattiya pachai payaru curry/ sprouted green gram dal gravy with step by step photos and a video!
Check out my Green gram dosa, green gram rice upma and green gram sundal, Instant green gram sundal without soaking recipes!
Quick Notes for US & Abroad Kitchens
- Sprouts: Green gram is also sold as mung beans or whole mung. Indian groceries often carry it as pachai payaru, moong sabut, or hesaru kaalu. If you use soaked beans without sprouting, cook them until tender before making the gravy.
- Instant Pot: Cook sprouted green gram with the recipe’s water on High Pressure for about 2 minutes, then allow a 5-minute natural release. For soaked, unsprouted beans, use a longer cook until tender; follow your cooker’s minimum-liquid guidance.
- Coconut: Thawed frozen grated coconut or unsweetened desiccated coconut works when fresh coconut is unavailable. Add water gradually while grinding to keep the paste smooth and thick.
- Storage: Refrigerate cooled curry in a covered container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently with a little water. Add coriander leaves after reheating if using them as an optional garnish.
Sprouted Green Gram Curry Recipe – Pachai payaru kuruma
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 1 cup Green gram or sprouted green gram (about 200 g / 7 oz)
- 2 cup Water (about 475 ml / 16 fl oz)
- 1 Big onion
- 2 Ripe tomato
- 1.5 tsp Red chilli powder (about 4 g) (use 2 tsp for spicy taste)
- 1 tsp Garam masala powder (about 2.5 g)
- ¼ tsp Turmeric powder (about 0.75 g)
- Salt & water as needed
To grind
- ¼ cup Grated coconut (about 20 g / 0.7 oz) (I used desiccated coconut)
- 3 Cashew nuts (about 4 g)
- 1 tsp Fennel seeds (about 2 g)
- 4 Garlic cloves (about 12 g / 0.4 oz)
- ½ Big onion
- ¼ cup Water (about 60 ml / 2 fl oz)
For tempering & garnish
- 2 tbsp Cooking oil (about 30 ml / 1 fl oz)
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds (about 2 g)
- 1 tsp Crushed kasoori methi (about 1 g)
- Coriander leaves optional, for garnish
Instructions
- For making sprouts : Take green gram in a bowl and wash it. Add enough water to immerse it well. Let it soak for 12 hours or overnight. The next day morning, drain the excess water and wrap the soaked green gram in a cloth or keep it in a closed bowl. Leave it for a day. The next day, you can see small sprouts. If you leave it for more than a day, the size of sprouts will become bigger.
- For this gravy, you can use just soaked green gram instead of sprouted ones.
- Grind grated coconut, cashews, garlic cloves, fennel seeds and chopped big onion to a smooth paste, adding enough water. Set aside.
- In a cooker base, take 1 cup of sprouted green gram and add 2 cups of water. Pressure cook in very low flame for 2 whistles. Remove the lid after steam is released and mix well. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a kadai and splutter cumin seeds. Add onion and saute till transparent. Add chopped tomato and saute till mushy. Add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, and garam masala powder. Saute for a minute without burning.
- Add the ground coconut paste and saute for a minute. Add 1/2 cup water and boil until the raw smell goes away.
- Add the cooked green gram and mix well. Check the taste and adjust salt, chilli powder, or garam masala if needed.
- Boil the gravy for 5 minutes. Add crushed kasoori methi, mix well, and switch off the flame. Serve hot with roti or rice.
Video
Notes
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Use soaked green gram and cook it until tender before adding the coconut masala.
Yes. Pressure cook the sprouted green gram with water until tender, then finish the coconut masala using Sauté. Cooking time can vary with the sprouts and appliance.
Serve it with rice, chapathi, roti, idli, or dosa.
Do try this healthy, flavorful green gram curry for roti and rice. Enjoy!
Amazing and looking tasty….will surely try it…
Very healthy and flavorful.
Thank you R 😊