Sunday, February 26, 2012

Gongura Pappu - Dal with sorrel leaves

Don't go by the picture.  It quite looks like any other dal.  But this is different.  Gongura leaves are very, very Andhra - like their Avakayya pickle.  And non-vegetarians in this part of the world will swear that Gongura Mutton cannot be matched.  And what about the gongura pickle?  For now, we stick to the dal preparation.  Gongura leaves have an inherent sourness.  And the need to add any other souring agent is optional and in most  cases not necessary.

A colleague got some nice fresh gongura leaves plucked off a farm.  And all it took was a call to my friend K who gave me the recipe.


Ingredients:
Red gram dal - Tuvar - 1/2 cup - pressure cook till soft

Gongura leaves - remove from stem, wash well, chop fine - 1 1/2 cup

Garlic pods - 4-5 - chopped fine, or leave whole
Onion - 1 medium - sliced
Green chilies - 2 nos - finely chopped

Chilie powder - 1/2 - 1  tbsp ( as per spice tolerance)
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder  - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida - generous pinch
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Black gram dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves 
Oil for seasoning - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Take a wok.
Heat the oil. Add the mustard, cummin - allow to splutter
Add the black gram (urad) dal, asafoetida and the curry leaves
Now add the onion, garlic, green chilies -  sauté
Add the chopped gongura leaves, and the turmeric, coriander, chilie powder
Sprinkle a little water if required - and keep covered for about 5 minutes.  This also gets rid of the sliminess of the leaf.
Now add the cooked dal and salt.  Bring to required consistency with water.
Simmer.

Serve.  The tangy taste of the dal is really nice.

6 comments:

  1. I usually eat gongura thokku but dal is surely worth the try.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have never heard of these leaves but your preparation sounds delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  3. this looks awesome n delicious......

    maha
    www.mahaslovelyhome.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dal looks very delicious, I like the tangy taste of gongura, following U..

    ReplyDelete

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