Ragi Mudde with Bassaru

Ingredients

• 200 g ragi (finger millet) flour
• 700 ml water, for the mudde
• 1/2 tsp salt, for the mudde
• 1 tsp ghee, for shaping
• 50 g toor dal
• 50 g whole green moong
• 250 g greens such as dill, amaranth or spinach, chopped
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt, for the saaru
• 900 ml water, for cooking the dal
• 3 tbsp oil
• 3 dried red chillies
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 5 black peppercorns
• 1 onion, chopped
• 10 garlic cloves
• 1 tomato, chopped
• a small piece of tamarind
• 50 g freshly grated coconut
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 dried red chilli, for tempering
• 12 curry leaves

Before you cook

• Rinse the toor dal and green moong together and drain them.
• Pick over and chop the greens.
• Chop the onion and tomato and peel the garlic.

Steps

1. Put the dal, moong, chopped greens, turmeric and one teaspoon of salt into a pressure cooker with 900 ml of water.
2. Cook for three whistles and let the pressure drop on its own.
3. Set a sieve over a bowl and strain the cooked dal and greens, keeping every drop of the cooking liquor.
4. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan and fry the dried chillies, coriander seeds, cumin and peppercorns for one minute.
5. Add the chopped onion and garlic and fry for four minutes, until the raw smell is gone.
6. Add the tomato, coconut and tamarind and fry for two minutes more.
7. Let the mixture cool a little, then grind it with two tablespoons of the strained solids and a splash of water to a smooth paste.
8. Stir the paste into the reserved cooking liquor and let it down with water to a thin soup, then season with the remaining salt.
9. Bring the saaru to a boil and simmer for eight minutes, until it smells rounded rather than raw.
10. Heat the last tablespoon of oil in a small pan, crackle the mustard seeds with the dried chilli and curry leaves, and pour this over the saaru.
11. Whisk two tablespoons of the ragi flour into 120 ml of cold water to make a lump-free slurry.
12. Bring the remaining 580 ml of water to a rolling boil in a heavy pan with half a teaspoon of salt.
13. Pour in the ragi slurry and boil for one minute, stirring.
14. Tip the rest of the ragi flour into the centre in a mound and leave it, without stirring, to steam over low heat for five minutes.
15. Now beat the flour into the water with a sturdy wooden spoon for three minutes, working out every lump, until the dough is glossy and pulls away from the pan.
16. Rub a plate with ghee, turn the hot dough onto it and, with wet hands, roll it into four smooth balls the size of a tennis ball.
17. Season the drained dal and greens with salt and a little grated coconut to serve alongside as palya.
18. Serve each mudde in a bowl of hot bassaru, to be broken off and swallowed rather than chewed.