Ponnanganni Keerai Poriyal | South Indian Lunch #10

Ponnanganni Keerai poriyal, a delicious stir-fry using dwarf copperleaf greens with chilies and coconut. A simple and healthy stir-fry using fresh greens .

Course Delicious sides, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine South-Indian

Keyword Dry curry with spinach, Greens stir-fry, how to make keerai curry, Keerai poriyal, Ponnanganni keerai curry, Ponnanganni thengai curry, Simple subzi with greens

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings

Calories 153kcal

Ingredients

4 cups finely chopped ponnanganni keerai dwarf copper leaf
¼ cup Moong dal/Pasi paruppu
1 no medium sized plump tomato chopped
5 nos round red chilies
⅓ cup grated fresh coconut
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tsp salt or to taste

Tempering

2 tablespoon oil i used cold pressed groundnut oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds/kadugu
¼ teaspoon hing/asafoetida
1 teaspoon Urad dal/Ulundu Paruppu
1 teaspoon chana dal/gram dal/Kadalai paruppu

Instructions

Clean the ponnanganni by removing the leaves, discard the stems. Wash the leaves in water, let it drain well. Chop them fine.
You can refrigerate the leaves after removing them from stems. Wash and chop just before cooking them.
Wash and soak the moong dal for 10 minutes in water. After that drain and keep it aside in a colander.
Heat oil given under tempering in a heavy bottom pan. Once hot, splutter mustard seeds, add hing, followed by both chana dal and urad dal.
Once the dals turn golden brown, add the chopped tomatoes along with red chilies. Saute until the tomatoes turns soft.
Once the tomatoes turn soft, dump the chopped ponnanganni leaves to this and mix well. Drain excess water from the moong dal and add this to the pan.
Add turmeric powder, salt and coconut. Mix well. Sprinkle water, cover and cook in a simmer flame for 8-10 minutes.
By the said time, the spinach would have wilted, the spices well combined and moisture evaporated.
Take it off the flame, serve it warm with rice. This simple and flavorsome spinach stir fry pairs well with rice and they make an excellent side with roti's if you love dry subzi.
You can also pack this delish keerai poriyal in lunch boxes too. I make this into a wrap with some chutney and roti, and kids get excited and never complain about spinach.

Video

Notes

Tomatoes are optional in the stir-fry, but you know spinach so both tomatoes and moong dal adds up the quantity.
As i have mentioned in the instructions, this keerai poriyal makes a wonderful lunch box dish. Pack it along with rice for adults, make it exciting for kids as wraps and rolls.

Nutrition