Kanjiyum Payarum (Rice and Moong Bean Gruel)

2011 has arrived and I haven’t posted a recipe yet. Having spent the last few months with my in-laws, I have gone totally out of sync with the blogging world. I hope to get back to routine pretty soon. Though a bit late, Wishing all of you a Blessed Year ahead!!!

Let me start 2011 with my Ultimate Comfort Food – Kanjiyum Payarum. ‘Kanji’ stands for Rice Gruel in Malayalam and ‘Payaru’ means Beans. When I used to stay with roommates in Chennai, we often used to reach home really late in the evenings after all the dreadful projects at office. That’s when my friends would make Kanjiyum Payarum to avoid the hassle of cooking up an elaborate dinner. It’s absolutely easy to make this one-pot dish. Wash Rice and Moong Beans (Cheru Payaru). Pressure cook it with lots of water and salt to taste. It’s ready in 10 minutes mostly.

Kanjiyum Payarum

Now I make Kanjiyum Payarum, whenever I am sick. That’s the only food I care to eat when I have a nagging headache or any other illness. Unfortunately, my husband dislikes Kanji (Rice Gruel) to the core. 🙂 Well, I just drain the liquids from the gruel and serve it to him with any other side dish. He doesn’t mind eating Rice and Cheru Payaru (Green Gram/Mung Beans) without the liquids.

I use Parboiled Rice and dried Moong Beans for making this gruel. You can instead use fresh Moong beans or even Moong Bean Sprouts.

Ingredients

Parboiled Rice – 1 cup
Moon Beans/Green Gram (CheruPayaru) – 1/2 cup
Salt – to taste
Garlic – 4 or 5 cloves
Green Chillies – 2 or 3
Water – as needed

Preparation Method

Wash Rice and Moong Beans thoroughly.
Pressure cook all the ingredients in lots of water along with salt to taste. You need to add lots of water (around 3/4th of the cooker) so that the gruel doesn’t become a gooey paste.
I pressure cook it for 2 whistles on medium-high flame. You may need to adjust the cooking time depending on the rice you use.
Serve this Gruel with Pickle and Pappadam but it tastes best as such.