pappu charu

Pappu Charu (Toor dal rasam)

A very tasty and an easily digestable dish that is popular in Andhra homes. My mom used to make this dish during winter, serving it with hot rice, ghee, potato fry and gummadi vadiyalu... mmm :-) the thought itself is mouth watering.

Ingredients

Kandipappu (toor dal) - 1 cup

brinjal - 1 (cut into cubes)

tomato - 1 ( cut into cubes)

okra (bendakaya) - cut into 2 inch size pieces

onions - 2 (cut length wise)

green chillies - 6 (slit length wise)

tamarind - 1 big lemon size. (soak in 2 cups of water and extract the pulp)

oil - 2 tb sps

turmeric - 1 tsp

salt to taste.

sugar - 1 tb sp (optional)

for seasoning

mustard seeds - 1 tsp

jeera - 1 tsp

red chillies - 4

curry leaves - 2 sprigs

garlic - 3 cloves (cut into small pieces or crush them)

chopped coriander to garnish.

Preparation

1. Pressure cook kandipappu with 2 cups of water till 3-4 whistles and mash it smooth. Set aside.

2. In a separate sauce pan add 1 cup of water, brinjal, onions, okra, tomato, green chillies, curry leaves and on medium heat cook till the vegetables turn soft. This would take around 15-20 mts.

3. Add, mashed dal, tamarind juice, salt, sugar,turmeric powder and allow to boil in low flame for 15 mts. Adjust tamarind juice and salt according to taste while cooking.

4. For the tadka/popu, heat 2 tb sps of oil in a pan. Add crushed garlic, mustard seeds, jeera, red chillies, curry leaves and allow them to splutter. Add this seasoning to pappu charu. Allow to cook for 3 more minutes, garnish with coriander and serve hot with rice.

pappu charu with vankaya vepudu