Rice, pulses and flour names in Malayalam and English
Pulses names in Malayalam and English, plus rice types, flours, oils and pantry staples: uzhunnu, cherupayar, thuvara parippu, matta, pachari and more.
The pantry shelf is where a Kerala grocery list gets most specific. 'Rice' is not enough: there is red parboiled matta for everyday meals, white raw rice (pachari) for appam batter and sweets, and roasted flour (puttupodi) for puttu. Pulses are named twice, once as the whole seed and once as the split dal, with parippu added: cherupayar is whole green gram and cherupayar parippu is moong dal.
This list covers rice and rice products, flours, pulses and dals, cooking oils and other staples such as jaggery, salt, curd and eggs. Podi means powder or flour and maavu also means flour, so arippodi is rice flour and kadalamaavu is gram flour.
No match on this page. Try the search across all names.
| English | Malayalam | Say it | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | അരി | ari | Uncooked rice; cooked rice is choru. |
| Kerala red rice (matta) | മട്ട അരി | matta ari | Parboiled red-bran rice, also called rosematta or chuvanna ari. |
| Parboiled rice | പുഴുക്കലരി | puzhukkalari | Rice soaked and steamed in the husk before milling. |
| Raw rice | പച്ചരി | pachari | Rice milled without parboiling, used for appam and sweets. |
| Rice flakes (poha) | അവൽ | aval | Flattened rice. |
| Puffed rice | മലർ | malar | Also pori. |
| Rice flour | അരിപ്പൊടി | arippodi | |
| Roasted rice flour for puttu | പുട്ടുപൊടി | puttupodi | Coarse roasted flour sold for puttu and idiyappam. |
| Wheat | ഗോതമ്പ് | gothambu | |
| Whole wheat flour (atta) | ഗോതമ്പുപൊടി | gothambu podi | |
| Refined flour (maida) | മൈദ | maida | Used for porotta. |
| Semolina (rava, sooji) | റവ | rava | Used for upma. |
| Vermicelli | സേമിയ | semiya | |
| Finger millet (ragi) | മുത്താറി | muthari | Also called ragi. |
| Sago (tapioca pearls) | ചൊവ്വരി | chovvari | Also sabudana. |
| Green gram (whole moong) | ചെറുപയർ | cherupayar | |
| Split green gram (moong dal) | ചെറുപയർപരിപ്പ് | cherupayar parippu | Parippu means split pulse or dal. |
| Black gram (urad) | ഉഴുന്ന് | uzhunnu | Used in dosa and idli batter. |
| Chickpeas (black, kala chana) | കടല | kadala | Small brown chickpeas, as in kadala curry. |
| Split Bengal gram (chana dal) | കടലപ്പരിപ്പ് | kadala parippu | |
| Pigeon peas (toor dal) | തുവരപ്പരിപ്പ് | thuvara parippu | The usual dal for sambar. |
| Red lentils (masoor dal) | മസൂർ പരിപ്പ് | masoor parippu | |
| Cowpeas (red or black-eyed) | വൻപയർ | vanpayar | |
| Horse gram | മുതിര | muthira | |
| Kidney beans (rajma) | രാജ്മ | rajma | |
| Gram flour (besan) | കടലമാവ് | kadalamaavu | Used for frying batters. |
| Coconut oil | വെളിച്ചെണ്ണ | velichenna | Kerala's everyday cooking oil. |
| Sesame oil (gingelly) | നല്ലെണ്ണ | nallenna | |
| Ghee | നെയ്യ് | neyyu | |
| Jaggery | ശർക്കര | sharkkara | |
| Sugar | പഞ്ചസാര | panchasaara | |
| Salt | ഉപ്പ് | uppu | |
| Copra (dried coconut) | കൊപ്ര | kopra | |
| Milk | പാൽ | paal | |
| Curd (yoghurt) | തൈര് | thairu | |
| Buttermilk | മോര് | moru | |
| Eggs | മുട്ട | mutta | |
| Tea powder | ചായപ്പൊടി | chaayappodi | |
| Coffee powder | കാപ്പിപ്പൊടി | kaappippodi |
Want these on a shopping list? Tick them in the grocery list maker and copy or share the list in English, Malayalam or both.
Pulses: whole seed or split dal?
Indian shops sell most pulses in two or more forms, and the Malayalam names follow suit. Green gram is cherupayar whole and cherupayar parippu split. Black gram, uzhunnu, is sold whole, split and skinned for dosa and idli batter. The small brown chickpea of Kerala's breakfast kadala curry is the whole seed; split, it becomes kadala parippu (chana dal). Pigeon pea dal, thuvara parippu, is the one used in sambar.
Oils and fats
Coconut oil, velichenna, is Kerala's everyday cooking oil. Sesame oil is nallenna, literally 'good oil', and ghee is neyyu.
For more on red, raw and parboiled rice, read our guide to Kerala rice varieties. Spices for the same shelf are on the spices list, and you can turn any of these into a shopping list with the list maker.
References
Names were checked against these references and against everyday market usage in Ernakulam. Spellings in Malayalam script follow the dictionary form; transliterations are simple spellings to help you say the word, not a formal scheme.
- Olam English–Malayalam dictionary
- Kerala Agricultural University
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
Frequently asked questions
What is urad dal called in Malayalam?
Black gram or urad is uzhunnu (ഉഴുന്ന്) in Malayalam; the split dal is uzhunnu parippu.
What is moong dal called in Malayalam?
Whole green gram is cherupayar (ചെറുപയർ) and split moong dal is cherupayar parippu.
What is toor dal called in Malayalam?
Toor dal or pigeon pea dal is thuvara parippu (തുവരപ്പരിപ്പ്).
What is matta rice?
Matta is Kerala's red parboiled rice, with a reddish bran layer. It is also sold as rosematta or Kerala red rice.
What is horse gram called in Malayalam?
Horse gram is muthira (മുതിര).
