Nuchinunde, A Healthy Breakfast & Snack Dish

By Bhamini S.

Nuchinunde are steamed lentil/ dhal dumplings; a healthy and filling snack.

This dish is a part of South Indian cuisine and can be served as a morning breakfast due to the fact that it is made of lentil, which is full of protein and carbs.

It can be a complete meal in itself. It is a super healthy breakfast as it is steamed, and contains a wonderful combination of nourishing lentils, herbs and spices.

'Unde' in Kannada (one of the South Indian language) means round like a ladoo. However, this dish is not a dessert but a steamed savory snack.

It can be served with coconut chutney or just by itself with a spoonful of ghee or clarified butter. 

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Total time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup toor dal 
• 1 cup channa dal 
• Water for soaking 
• ½ cup fresh grated coconut 
• 3 tbsp dill leaves finely chopped 
• 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves 
• A few curry leaves 
• 1-inch ginger finely chopped 
• 2 red chillies and 2 green chillies in between each of them
• Pinch of hing or asafoetida 
• 1 tbsp salt 

Preparation

1. First wash both the dals nicely in water and soak it with sufficient water for 3-4 hours.
2. Drain the water off and blend the dhals in a blender to make a coarse paste, Try not to add any water.
3. During the last stages of grinding, add the red and green chillies to blend with the mixture.
4. Now take the coarse dal mixture in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.
5. ½ cup fresh grated coconut, chopped curry leaves, coriander and dill leaves.
6. Add also the chopped ginger, salt and hing. Mix well until all spices are mixed well.
7. Now grease your hand with little oil and make cylindrical shaped balls.
8. Also grease the steamer plates with little oil and place these shaped balls or 'unde', leaving enough space.
9. Steam them for 15 minutes until the dumplings are fully cooked.
10. Enjoy the hot and steaming dumpling/unde with hot ghee poured over or chutney.

We can never have enough of Nuchinunde made with ghee! It goes perfectly with cups of the Traditional Indian filter coffee.

If you’ve tried this recipe, let us know how it turned out!