Cherupayar thoran is a South Indian Kerala style dish which uses whole green grams or mung beans, along with grated coconut and few spices as the main ingredients.
Cherupayar is the malayalam word for whole green mung beans or green moong dal.
Cherupayar thoran can be easily prepared in a pan or pressure cooker and you can prepare this dish so much more easily using an instant pot too.
See instant pot cherupayar thoran recipe here.
Green mung beans or green grams also known as cherupayar or pachai payar in South India, is cooked with coconut and spices to enjoy as a simple, traditional side dish with rice or rice soup (kanji) in Kerala.
Green grams also known as mung beans or moong dal or mung beans in India is known by the name cherupayar in Kerala, and they are healthy legumes.
What is cherupayar thoran?
Cherupayar thoran is cooked green mung beans with coconut and spices which is a dish you can enjoy with rice and it comes without gravy.
This dish is also known as cherupayar poriyal in South India, since thoran & poriyal simply refers to stir fries usually made with an addition of coconut and/or spices.
Basically, this is a dry green moong dal dish or dry mung bean dish which is prepared along with coconut and spices.
It goes great as a side dish with rice and it’s also nutritious.
Mung beans is rich in protein and it is high in fibers.
You can read more about mung bean health benefits here.
Cherupayar thoran is a popular side dish in Kerala where it is usually served with kanji or rice soup, and the combination is known as kanjiyum payarum, which is healthy as well as tasty.
You may buy green mung beans in bulk here!
As I mentioned in my previous posts, it is always easy to cook legumes (including green grams for this recipe) in pressure cooker.
However, I am showing you here how to cook this cherupayar thoran recipe or mung bean recipe with coconut on stove top without using a pressure cooker, but using just a pan or pot.
Not all legumes can be cooked this easy without pressure cooker, however, you can cook green mung beans in a pot or pan relatively easy.
These are whole, green colored seeds, which can be cooked in a variety of ways. Green grams are healthy vegetarian sources of protein, fiber and other nutrients too.
Green gram recipes are also very tasty and it will be great to include them in your daily diet.
As I mentioned above, green gram or moong dal with grated coconut is a popular side dish in Kerala, where it is popularly known as cherupayar thoran.
You only need very few ingredients to prepare this dish, which can be served along with rice and breads, or you can have them as it is!
Green mung beans doesn’t need overnight soaking in water like others and it doesn’t even require much water to cook.
However, we are cooking on stove top in a pot or pan and in case if you think the water is evaporated before the mung beans cooked until soft, feel free to add more water, only little by little, until the mung beans is completely cooked.
On the contrary, if the mung beans get cooked while there is still water left in the pan, you may need to drain off the excess water or if there is too little water, you can simmer the contents for a couple of minutes to evaporate the excess water off.
However in this recipe, we also add grind coconut mixture to the mung beans, so even if there is little excess water its totally fine.
You can also use a pressure cooker to make the preparation more easy.
If you are using the pressure cooker, you can directly add all the ingredients to the cooker along with water and wait for 1 to 2 whistles or about 4 minutes in medium heat once the steam begins to release.
Once the pressure cooker is cool, you can open and see if all the water is evaporated and the green grams are cooked well.
If not, you can keep the cooker open and cook for few more minutes till all the water is evaporated and the legumes are cooked enough.
You can also add the seasoning to the prepared cherupayar thoran if you like.
To prepare the seasoning, heat oil in a pan, preferably coconut oil or sesame oil, and then add mustard seeds.
When the mustard seeds splutter, you can also add dry red chilies (broken) and curry leaves to the oil.
Add the prepared seasoning to the top of the dish and mix gently.
You can also lightly fry a little shallots (small onions) in the oil while you prepare the seasoning which will make the seasoning for the dish even more delicious and flavorful.
Related blog posts:
cherupayar coconut curry (with gravy)
cherupayar curry without coconut
kanji payar recipe Kerala style rice soup with cherupayar
how to cook dry beans and peas
So here is the recipe for cherupayar thoran recipe Kerala style following this easy cherupayar thoran recipe without pressure cooker.
How To Make Cherupayar Thoran?
We need the following ingredients to make the cherupayar thoran or green moong dal stir fry with coconut.
Ingredients to make cherupayar thoran
1 cup green mung beans green moong dal or cherupayar (green gram)
1 cup grated coconut or unsweetened shredded coconut
salt adjust to taste
2 cups water
Spices
2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon red chili powder
2 green chilies
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds powder
For Seasoning (Optional)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
4 dry red chilies broken
1 string curry leaves make sure there is no water content in leaves
1 tablespoon shallots chopped (or use pearl onions or dry minced onions)
Step By Step Process
Wash the mung beans and add it to a saucepan. Also add the water.
Heat the contents and once the water starts boiling, stir the contents, reduce the heat to low.
Close the pan with lid and cook in low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes until the mung beans is completely cooked and soft.
It is good to check after 15 minutes of cooking since cooking times can slightly vary and some mung beans may cook faster.
Meanwhile coarsely grind the coconut along with the cumin seeds, garlic and green chilies.
You may add a little water if its necessary (like one to two tablespoons of water). Keep this prepared coconut mixture aside.
Once the mung beans is cooked, open the pan and add the turmeric powder, red chili powder, enough salt and also the grind coconut mixture.
Stir the contents well to blend with the cooked mung beans evenly. If necessary, you may add a little water to the pan once you add the coconut mixture, in case the dish looks too dry.
Close the pan and cook in low heat for another two to four minutes until the coconut mixture is also cooked and blended with the dish.
To add seasoning (optional)
To add the seasoning, heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add dry broken red chilies, curry leaves and chopped shallots or minced onions, fry for a few seconds until onions are lightly browned.
Pour the prepared seasoning to the dish, stir in.
Serve hot with rice for lunch or dinner or this can be used for puttu (a popular Kerala breakfast) along with any other curry of your choice.
Notes: If using dessicated coconut or dried coconut, you really don’t need to grind the coconut.
To make the preparation more easy, I mostly add the dessicated coconut directly to the cooked moong dal (cherupayar) along with other spices without grinding.
Below you can get the recipe for cherupayar thoran or green moong dal stir fry with coconut in detail.
Cherupayar Thoran – Kerala Style Mung Beans With Coconut
Ingredients
- 1 cup green mung beans green moong dal or cherupayar (green gram)
- 1 cup grated coconut or unsweetened shredded coconut
- salt adjust to taste
- 2 cups water
Spices
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
- 2 green chilies
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds powder
For Seasoning (Optional)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 4 dry red chilies broken
- 1 string curry leaves make sure there is no water content in leaves
- 1 tablespoon shallots chopped (or use pearl onions or dry minced onions)
Instructions
- Wash the mung beans and add it to a saucepan. Also add the water.
- Heat the contents and once the water starts boiling, stir the contents, reduce the heat to low. Close the pan with lid and cook in low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes until the mung beans is completely cooked and soft. It is good to check after 15 minutes of cooking since cooking times can slightly vary and some mung beans may cook faster.
- Meanwhile coarsely grind the coconut along with the cumin seeds, garlic and green chilies. You may add a little water if its necessary (like one to two tablespoons of water). Keep this prepared coconut mixture aside.
- Once the mung beans is cooked, open the pan and add the turmeric powder, red chili powder, enough salt and also the grind coconut mixture.
- Stir the contents well to blend with the cooked mung beans evenly. If necessary, you may add a little water to the pan once you add the coconut mixture, in case the dish looks too dry.
- Close the pan and cook in low heat for another two to four minutes until the coconut mixture is also cooked and blended with the dish.
To add seasoning (optional)
- To add the seasoning, heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add dry broken red chilies, curry leaves and chopped shallots or minced onions, fry for a few seconds until onions are lightly browned.
- Pour the prepared seasoning to the dish, stir in.
- Serve hot with rice for lunch or dinner or this can be used for puttu (a popular Kerala breakfast) along with any other curry of your choice.
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