I had this dish for the first time during my college days from a friends lunch box. It was during my post graduation and my class mate Krishnan offered me a bite from his lunch box. It looked like spinach rice. It was nutty, coconut-ty, comforting bite. I asked him what it was and he told me it was Molagootal. That was the first time I heard that word. I loved that dish. I kind of finished half of his lunch box that day. It was a fantastic meal. Simple, comforting everyday meal. He took me to his home that day evening and I thanked his mother for the Molagootal. I got the recipe too. Here is the recipe for Krishnan’s Molagootal.
Boil about 2 cups of spinach in 1 cup of water for 10 minutes in medium flame. Remove off heat. Grind the cooked spinach to a coarse paste. Set aside.
Boil half a cup of toor-dal with 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes or 4 whistles. Remove off heat. Let the pressure release naturally from the cooker. Set aside.
Take a pan / kadai and heat 2 teaspoons of oil in it. Add in the urad dal, cumin seeds and pepper. Saute in very low flame until the urad dal is nice and brown. Getting the urad dal nice and brown is the key. It should smell nutty when the dal turns brown. Add in half a cup of shredded coconut. Briefly saute everything to combine. Remove off heat. Add enough water to the mixture and grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.
The Final Tempering:
Take a deep pan and add a teaspoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add in the mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida and the turmeric. Let the mustard seeds splutter.
Add in the spinach paste, coconut mixture paste and the cooked toor dal. Add in the salt. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes. Remove off heat.
Serve hot with rice.
- 2 Cups Spinach
- ½ cup Toor dal
- 2 teaspoon Oil
- 2 tablespoon Urad dal
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoon Peppercorn
- ½ cup fresh shredded Coconut
- 1 teaspoon Oil
- ¼ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida
- 1 sprig Curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Boil about 2 cups of spinach in 1 cup of water for 10 minutes in medium flame. Remove off heat. Grind the cooked spinach to a coarse paste. Set aside.
- Boil half a cup of toor-dal with 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes or 4 whistles. Remove off heat. Let the pressure release naturally from the cooker. Set aside.
- Take a pan / kadai and heat 2 teaspoons of oil in it. Add in the urad dal, cumin seeds and pepper. Saute in very low flame until the urad dal is nice and brown. Getting the urad dal nice and brown is the key. It should smell nutty when the dal turns brown. Add in half a cup of shredded coconut. Briefly saute everything to combine. Remove off heat. Add enough water to the mixture and grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.
- The Final Tempering: Take a deep pan and add a teaspoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add in the mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida and the turmeric. Let the mustard seeds splutter.
- Add in the spinach paste, coconut mixture paste and the cooked toor dal. Add in the salt. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes. Remove off heat.