Pachai Payaru Sundal | Whole Moong dal Sundal

This whole moong dal sundal, also known as Pachai Payaru Sundal, is a nutritious and healthy salad made with Moong / Mung beans. Perfect Sundal is not just for the Navaratri festival but also any time as a side or snack.

Navaratri / Navarathri is one occasion when we get to eat protein-filled lentil/bean sundal for 9 days in a row.

Moong bean sundal with lemon as a garnish.

The Pachai Payaru Sundal / whole moong dal sundal is not just nutritious but very delicious. I make this quite often as a side to my regular meal or as an evening snack.

If given a chance, my boys love the Sweet Sundal made with whole moong. So when boiling/cooking the moong beans, I cook enough to make both of them.

When shopping for my regular Indian grocery, Whole moong is always on the list. I make this sweet and sour Moong dal very often, and it is one of our favorite dals to eat with roti.

Before my Instant Pot days, I used to cook the whole moong on the stovetop. I feared that I would make it mushy if I cooked it in the pressure cooker. But these days, IP does its job fabulously. I set it to 4 minutes and it is done to perfection.

Ingredients needed

Moong dal sundal ingredients laid out and labeled.

Moong dal - We use the whole green moong to make this sundal.

Coconut - Freshly grated coconut is what we use for the recipe. I use the frozen grated coconut that I thaw and then use.

Seasoning - We need mustard seeds, red chilies, Asafetida, curry leaves, and salt to season the sundal.

Lemon juice - The use of lemon juice is optional, but I would highly recommend using it as it gives a beautiful fruity flavor to the sundal.

Step-by-step process

Dry roast the moong in a pan until slightly brown and aromatic (1).

Soak the roasted moong in enough water for about 2 hrs (2).

Drain the water and add fresh water to the beans. Add salt and cook it in an Instant Pot for 4 minutes on high pressure (3). Release the pressure in 10 minutes. Drain the lentil and keep it aside (4).

Process shot to roast, cook and drain moong lentil

If cooking on a stove top, add fresh water to a pot and let the lentil cook until it crumbles easily between fingers. Add salt during the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

In a wide pan, add oil and fry the seasonings (mustard seeds, asafetida, curry leaves, and red chilies) (5).

Now add the drained moong and stir well (6).

Add the coconut gratings and mix well (7).

Process shot showing seasoning and cooking the moong bean

Take the Green Moong dal Sundal off the flame and add the lemon juice if using. Mix well and serve.

Whole green mung sundal.

More recipes to make with Whole Moong / Mung

Pachai Payaru Sweet Sundal - This is very similar to this recipe except it is sweet and has jaggery. One more recipe that is popular for Navaratri.

Quinoa Brown Rice Adai - I use quite a bit of whole grains when making this crepe / Adai Dosai.

Khatta meetha Moong dal - This is a popular sweet and sour dal that is a lovely side dish to roti.

Pesarattu - A popular and protein-filled breakfast recipe of Andhra Pradesh made exclusively with whole moong dal.

 If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter/X

More Moong Dal Recipes

Recipe

Whole green mung sundal / salad in a steel bowl

Pachai Payaru Sundal | Whole Moong dal Sundal

This whole moong dal sundal also known as Pachai Payaru Sundal is a nutritious and healthy salad made with Moong / Mung bean. Perfect Sundal not just for the Navaratri festival but any time as a side or snack.
5 from 11 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian, South Indian
Diet: Vegan
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Soaking time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 160kcal

Equipment

  • Instant Pot

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Pachai Payaru/Whole moong dal
  • cup Coconut grated
  • 2 teaspoon Oil
  • 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
  • 3 Red chilies
  • ¼ teaspoon Asafetida
  • few Curry leaves
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tablespoon Lemon/lime juice optional

Instructions

  • Dry roast the moong in a pan, until slightly brown and aromatic.
  • Soak the roasted moong in enough water for about 2 hrs.
  • Drain the water and add fresh water to the beans. Add salt and cook it in instant pot for 4 minutes on high pressure. Release the pressure in 10 minutes. Drain the lentil and keep it aside.
  • If cooking on stove top, add fresh water in a pot and let the lentil cook until it crumbles easily between fingers. Add salt during the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
  • In the same pan, add oil and fry the seasonings (mustard seeds, asafetida, curry leaves and red chilies).
  • Now add the drained the moong and stir well. Add the coconut gratings and mix well.
  • Take the sundal off the flame and add the lemon/lime juice if using. Mix well and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 160kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 8mg | Potassium: 518mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 254IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhya.Ramakrishnan or tag #MyCookingJourney!

29 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I have never tried any kind of sundal so far. But I would definitely love to try it and this moong dal one sounds super inviting to try first.

  2. 5 stars
    Not a single navrathri season passes without having this pachapayar sundal. This was also appa's favorite so used to feature very often in our house.

  3. 5 stars
    This is one healthy and tasty snack. We make sometthing similar but with onion and garlic. This time made the traditional sundal with coconut and no onion garlic, it was yum. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

  4. I have not tried any type of Sundal yet, but this recipe sounds so similar to Gujarati recipe called CHUTTA MUG..so healthy and packed with goodness. Fresh coconut necessory or desiccated works fine too?

  5. 5 stars
    What a healthy and delicious salad. I love the addition of the coconut. That and the lemon juice makes such an awesome flavor combination. Great addition to my weekly menu!

  6. 5 stars
    Love this delicious & healthy sundal as a snack option...Perfect for upcoming Navratri season!! I also love the sweet version of this so much...😉

  7. 5 stars
    How traditions vary from region to region.If one is fasting during Navratri, we Gujaratis tend to stick to no grain, lentils, beans fast. However, that doesn't stop me from enjoying the flavorful and healthy sundals. I love moong and this pachai payaru sundal is a must try for me. Would love to have it as a light meal.

  8. 5 stars
    Salad with a dal is unheard of. Dal and coconut combination is surely a magic on tongue and would love to try this combo.

  9. 5 stars
    whole moong dal sundal looks delicious and perfect as light meal options. Moreover it's nutritious and healthy so its perfect for fasting days.

  10. 5 stars
    I am really salivating over this! We make something very similar to have with kanji, and I really love it. I feel like grabbing that bowl and digging in with a spoon...

  11. 5 stars
    Delicious and healthy too. Moong sundal is in my to do list for ages now. Atleast this Navratri should make it.

  12. Sundal looks so tempting. I have tasted peanut sundal at one of my friends home and that was awesome. Would love to try it surely.
    Healthy

  13. 5 stars
    This is one of my favorite sundal recipes. Followed the recipe and made it in the instant pot and it was a hit with the family. Thank you for sharing this traditional dish.

  14. wow. heathy recipe dear!!! Mine is in the draft list. I made this for day - 3 🙂 I love this with lemon juice as well as with finely chopped cilantro 🙂

5 from 11 votes

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