Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Serves: 1.5 litre

Ingredients: (measuring cup used = 240ml)

1. 1/4 cup green gram dal or mung dal or hesarubele
2. 1 big tomato
3. A big pinch of turmeric
4. 2 tsp lemon juice (or as per your taste)
5. Salt as per your taste
6. 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
7. 1.5 ltr of water

Ingredients for grinding:

1. 2 green chili (adjust as per your spice level)
2. 1/2 cup grated coconut
3. 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
4. 1/4 tsp cumin seeds

Ingredients for tempering:

1. 1 red chili
2. 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
3. 1/4 tsp jeera or cumin seeds
4. One big pinch hing or asafoetida
5. 4 - 5 curry leaves
6. 2 tsp cooking oil

Instructions for making bili saaru or moong dal rasam:

1. Rinse and cook green gram dal until soft by adding required water, few drops of oil and a big pinch of turmeric. I cooked dal in a pressure cooker by making 2 whistles.
2. Add in finely chopped tomato, little salt and cook until tomatoes are soft and mushy. I cooked it by making 2 more whisltes.
3. Grind coconut, green chilies, cumin seeds and mustard seeds until smooth using a mixer grinder.
4. Add in ground paste into the cooker, which has cooked green gram dal and tomato.
5. Add in required salt and water.
6. Bring it to boil, add in chopped corinader leaves and switch off the stove.
7. Next add in lemon juice.
8. Temper it with oil, red chili, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida. Serve it with hot steaming rice.

Dear reader, We have a Kannada version of this recipe. Click here to read this recipe in Kannada.