Pappu or dal is a quintessential dish of Andhra Pradesh, the southeastern state of India. Fenugreek gives this protein-rich vegetarian dish great flavor.
Ingredients
1 cup Toor dal/ Pigeon peas
1 small Onion, chopped
1 Tomato, chopped
3 packed cups of Spinach, roughly chopped
1 packed cup of Fenugreek leaves, roughly chopped
½ tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Red chilli powder
handful of chopped Cilantro
Juice from 1 lime
Salt to taste
2 tsp Oil
Tadka
½ tsp Mustard seeds
¾ tsp Cumin seeds
2-3 dry red Chillies
½ tsp Hing powder
1 sprig of Curry leaves
Instructions
Pressure cook toor dal in 2.5 cups of water along with turmeric powder, chopped onion, tomatoes & spinach for upto 4 whistles. Let it cool.
Slightly mash the dal with the back of a ladle and transfer it to a pan. Add chopped methi, red chilli powder, salt and cook until the raw smell of red chilli powder is gone. Add more water if required and adjust the consistency of dal. Remove from heat.
Heat 2 tsp of oil and add all of the items given under "Tadka" one after the other in the given order. Wait for the mustard seeds to splutter before adding cumin seeds. Roast rest of the ingredients until crisp and fragrant.
Add tadka to cooked dal along with chopped cilantro and lime juice. Mix well and serve hot with rice.
Notes
- This recipe can be easily made with just any one type of greens too! - Traditionally, tamarind (gooseberry sized) is used for sourness, but I 've replaced it with lime juice here. Incase you want to try tamarind, pressure cook tamarind in ¼ cup of water along with pigeon peas but in a separate compartment and then, mash it up along with the dal. - If you love spicy food, you can add upto 2 tsp of chilli powder, but I recommend halving it for kids. - Tadka is an important part of making pappu. Hing and cumin seeds adds a wonderful aroma & flavor especially with greens.
Serving Suggestions Place a cup of steaming hot rice on a plate, pour 3-4 generous ladles of hot pappu on top, drizzle a teaspoon or two of ghee atop pappu, mix & eat - "Comfort food at its best"!!
Recipe by Honest Cooking by Mercato Fabbrica at https://honestcooking.com/spinach-dal-palakura-pappu-methi-leaves/