In continuation with “postpartum series”, I am posting a simple and comforting rice side dish for new moms. It’s “bele saaru” which actually means “lentil rasam”. This is a staple food for mothers after childbirth. The green gram lentils are used here instead of pigeon pea lentils.
The most used ingredients in most postpartum recipes are cumin, black pepper, ghee and garlic. For the recovery of new mom’s digestive system, it’s essential to use these spices in her food. The recipe of bele ‘saaru’ is quite simple. The cumin and pepper are roasted in ghee and powdered. This spice powder itself gives the ‘saaru’, the flavor and taste. Squeezing lemon towards the end gives a balance of taste. And finally the garlic tempering in ghee makes the ‘saaru’ quite appetizing.
Though recipe seems simple and easy, it tastes absolutely delicious with hot, well cooked rice. It was my favorite food during initial few days after child birth. Later on, I preferred “pepper rasam” more than this, which will be posted soon here in the series.
Watch the video:
Bele Saaru | Hesaru Bele Saaru for New Mom
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Split green gram lentils (moong)
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1.5 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Garlic chopped
- 1 tbsp ghee
- Few Curry leaves
- 1/2 piece Lemon
Instructions
- Rinse the lentils with enough water and transfer to pressure cooker. Add 2 cups of water, turmeric powder and cook till soft.
- In a pan, add 1/2 tbsp of ghee, pepper and cumin seeds. Roast in low flame till fragrant. Transfer to mortar and powder it using pestle.
- Mash the cooked lentils till soft and transfer to cooking pan. Add powdered cumin plus pepper, salt and curry leaves. Bring it to boil.
- Finally squeeze lemon and switch off. Next, heat a pan adding ghee and chopped garlic. Roast for a minute and pour the tempering to saaru.
- This bele saaru is very comforting side dish with steamed rice for a new mom.
Notes
- It's advisable to use ghee for tempering the saaru, so do not replace it by oil.
- Cook the lentils very well and mash it really well.
- Green chillies are not recommended for new mom, hence it's not used here.
