Recipe for Nuchinunde
Today, I am sharing a recipe for a popular breakfast dish from the southern state of Karnataka in India. It is called Nuchinunde. Nuchinunde is made by combining a couple of lentils and spices. The lentils are soaked, ground, and combined with dill leaves and grated coconut. Small dumplings are then made and steamed. It is a healthy and protein-rich vegetarian breakfast. It is usually served with melted ghee and chutney.
Inspired by this breakfast, I had recently also made steamed dumplings. It was a similar recipe with minor variations. You might want to check that out too. You can find the recipe for steamed dumplings here.
Let us start the recipe for Nuchinunde– a delicious, filling and hearty breakfast.
Ingredients needed to make Nuchinunde:
- 1 cup Chana Dal (Split Chickpea Lentils)
- 1 cup Toor Dal ( Pigeon Pea Lentils)
- 3-4 Dry Red Chillies
- 2 Medium-Sized Onions; chopped
- 1 tbsp Cumin Seeds
- ¾ cup Chopped Dill Leaves
- ¾ cup Chopped Coriander Leaves
- 1 cup Grated Coconut
- ⅓ tsp Baking Soda
- Salt; to taste
A note for my readers in Germany: Fresh ingredients like onions and coconut can be sourced from German supermarkets. Other ingredients needed for this recipe can be purchased from Spiceland, Frankfurt. Their quality is good, prices reasonable and they deliver all across Germany.
Method to make Nuchinunde:
Soak Chana Dal in 1 cup of water overnight. 
Soak Toor Dal in 1 cup of water overnight. 
The following day, combine the lentils and dry red chillies. Grind them together roughly. It should not be a smooth paste. Use as little water as possible.
In a mixing bowl, take chopped onions, grated coconut, chopped coriander and dill leaves, cumin seeds, salt and the ground mixture of lentils. 
Mix well. Add baking soda. Meanwhile, heat water in a steamer.
Shape the mixture into medium-sized dumplings. Place them on a greased steamer plate. When the water in the steamer starts bubbling, place the steamer plates with the dumplings into the steamer and let them steam for about 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, remove the dumplings and let them cool on the kitchen counter for 2-3 minutes. Then, serve with ghee and chutney.
Recently, when I made Nuchinunde, I served them with Mint Coriander Chutney.
Check out other recipes from my kitchen here.
Check out the recipe in printable format below:
Recipe for Nuchinunde
Equipment
- Steamer
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup Chana Dal (Split Chickpea Lentils)
- 1 cup Toor Dal ( Pigeon Pea Lentils)
- 3-4 Dry Red Chillies
- 2 Medium-Sized Onions; chopped
- 1 tbsp Cumin Seeds
- ¾ cup Chopped Dill Leaves
- ¾ cup Chopped Coriander Leaves
- 1 cup Grated Coconut
- ⅓ tsp Baking Soda
- Salt; to taste
Instructions
- Soak both Chana Dal and Toor Dal overnight in 2 cups of water. If you soak them separately, soak Chana Dal in 1 cup of water and Toor Dal in 1 cup of water.
- The following day, combine the lentils and dry red chillies. Grind them together roughly. It should not be a smooth paste. Use as little water as possible.
- In a mixing bowl, take chopped onions, grated coconut, chopped coriander and dill leaves, cumin seeds, salt and the ground mixture of lentils. In the end, add baking soda.
- Mix well. Meanwhile, heat water in a steamer.
- Shape them into medium-sized dumplings. Place them on a greased steamer plate.
- When the water in the steamer starts bubbling, place the plates with the dumplings into the steamer and let them steam for about 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove the dumplings and let them cool on the kitchen counter for about 2-3 minutes. Then serve with ghee and chutney.
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