Cherupayar Curry (Kerala Green Moong)
Whole green moong cooked soft in a coconut-shallot gravy with curry leaves — a Kerala staple, traditionally eaten with kanji (rice gruel) for a light evening meal.
- Region
- Kerala
- Status
- Traditional
- Diet label
- Strictly vegetarian, egg-free
- Time
- Soak 4 h · Prep 15 min · Cook 35 min
- Serves
- 3
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Good for
- Light dinner, recovery days
- Tags
- Good source · High fibre · Soy-free · Whey-free · Gluten-free* · No added sugar · Meal-prep friendly
- Allergens
- Milk (moru); coconut
Nutrition (estimated)
- Calories
- 455 kcal
- Protein
- 21 g
- Carbs
- 66 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 13 g
Headline values are for the full plate.
| kcal | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sat fat | Fibre | Total sugars | Protein per 100 kcal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherupayar curry only (about 280 g) | 255 | 14 g | 31 g | 8 g | 5 g | 12 g | 2 g | 5.5 g |
| Dinner plate: curry, kanji from 40 g matta rice, moru from 100 g curd | 455 | 21 g | 66 g | 11 g | 7 g | 13 g | 7 g | 4.5 g |
Good source (plate); the dish alone is High protein. Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 14 Oct 2026.
Ingredients
- 180 g whole green moong (cherupayar)
- 30 g grated coconut, ground with ½ tsp cumin, 2 green chillies and 2 garlic cloves
- 50 g shallots, sliced · ½ tsp turmeric · 5 g salt
- Tempering: 8 g coconut oil · ½ tsp mustard seeds · 2 dry red chillies · 12 curry leaves
- Plate: 120 g Kerala matta (red) rice · moru (300 g curd whisked with 300 ml water, ginger, green chilli and salt)
Method
- Soak moong 4 hours. Pressure-cook with turmeric and 600 ml water for 3 whistles until soft.
- Add the coconut paste and salt; simmer 5 minutes, mashing a few beans to thicken.
- For kanji, cook matta rice with 1 litre water and salt until very soft (pressure-cook 6 whistles); serve with its cooking water.
- Heat coconut oil; add mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves and shallots. Fry until the shallots are golden; pour over the curry.
- Serve the curry with kanji and moru.
Protein optimisation
- Green moong supplies 14 g per serving; rice 3 g and moru 3.5 g on the plate.
- Boost: use 200 g curd per person for the moru (+3.5 g protein, +60 kcal).
- Lighter: groundnut oil and 20 g coconut save about 3 g saturated fat per serving.
Variations, serving and storage
- Regional: Kerala cherupayar thoran — a dry stir-fry of cooked moong with grated coconut; serve as a side.
- Substitution: 2 whole-wheat chapatis instead of kanji.
- Storage: 3 days refrigerated.
- Food safety: reheat until boiling; keep moru chilled.
- Meal prep: excellent.
Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and typical product labels. They have not been laboratory-analysed and will vary with your ingredients, brands and cooking. Recipes are for healthy adults and are general information only, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or qualified dietitian. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, cooking for children, have food allergies, or live with kidney disease, diabetes or any other medical condition, please take professional advice about your diet. From the collection Protein-Rich India by Dr. Shantanu Deshpande · drshantanudeshpande.com