Pappu Charu /Spiced stew with lentils

If I had to name one dish that makes its way into every home in the Telangana regions, it has to be this spicy, masalafied, pappu charu. It is the comfort food of the region and is easily loved by anyone and everyone. Not only does this dish taste wonderful but it also smells amazing during the entire process of  its making. Here is what I understood and learned when my mother in law cooked it for us. Hope you all can make it and enjoy it!

Ingredients (approximate measurements):

Oil

1 Onion sliced

Curry leaves - 2 stems

Cilantro - half a bunch

Mint - 1-2 stems

Green chillies chopped - 5

Turmeric

Salt

Red chilli powder

1/2 tsp sugar

4-5 Garlic chopped

3-4 inches of ginger grated

Masala powder (contains Coriander, Elaichi, Cloves, Cinnamon, etc)

1 cup Toor dal boiled

Mustard seeds

Cumin seeds

1 Lemon sized tamarind soaked and strained

4 cups of water

Procedure: 
1. First cook the Toor dal in a pressure cooker and keep it aside.
2. Heat oil in a deep bottom vessel and add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and green chillies. After a few seconds add the onions, mint leaves and some of the curry leaves and cook till the onions have become translucent.
3. Add the ginger and garlic at the same time and stir till the raw smell disappears.

4. Now add the cooked dal into the vessel and mix/roast it in with the onion mixture for 2 minutes. This step will help the dal absorb the taste of what is present in the mixture.
5. After the dal has been roasted, add the tamarind extract and add the water along with it. Also, add salt, sugar, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and the masala powder at this time.

6. Close the lid and let the stew/charu/pulusu boil well.
7. While the stew is boiling add the rest of the curry leaves. This step lets you experience the fresh smell the of curry leaves even better.

8. Once the stew is boiled and reaches the semi-solid consistency, you can add the cilantro for garnishing and eat the prepared stew with warm rice and papad.

మామిడి వరుగుల పప్పు: Mamidi varugula pappu: Pigeon peas with dried green mango

INGREDIENTS:

1.Dried Mango Pieces................1/2 cup

2.Tuvar Dal..................................1 cup.

3.Chilly Powder............................2 t sp.

4.Turmeric.....................................1/2 t sp.

5.Salt................................................1/2 tsp.

6.Green Chilly.................................4

7.Red Chilly......................................2

8.Mustard Seeds..............................1 t sp.

9.Cumin Seeds...................................

10.Asafoetida...................................

11.Oil..................................................2 tbl sp.

12.Cilantro, curry leaves.................as needed.

METHOD:

1.To dry mango pieces, you must prepare them, when raw mangoes are available and so that you can store them. when you want to eat maamidi kaya pappu you should be able to make and eat it. to prepare these, in the mango season, take raw mango which is sour, cut in to pieces. you can store them as it is like this. but these pieces may not stay for year, fungus may form. To prepare these pieces is, add salt,turmeric to them and keep it for over night keeping covered.

next day, you can see, it oozes out some water. now squeeze out this water and dry the pieces in the sun, after 2 or 3 days drying as they will be ready to store for more than a year. with these you prepare pappu now.

2. Soak the mango pieces in water for 2 hours. they should become soft.

3. Cook Tuvar dal either in cooker or out side directly. dal should be cooked nicely,but not become paste type of cooking.

4. Now cook mango pieces in little water. put turmeric. when they are soft add it to dal.

5. Cook together some time, adding chilly powder. salt should be added as needed. because we already have salt in the dried mango pieces.

6. Cut green chilly add to dal.

7. For seasoning, heat oil in a pan put red chilly pieces, mustard, cumin seeds, and asafoetida.

when they splitter add to the dal.

8. Mix it nicely. the dried mango dal is ready to eat hot with hot rice adding ghee in it.

9. It serves 3 people.

తోటకూర పెసర పప్పు :Tota Kura pesara pappu- Amaranth greens with yellow moong

Serves: Four. Preparation time: 1 hour. 

Ingredients:
1.5 rice cooker cups Pesara pappu/ Dhuli moong/ Split yellow moong
1/2 Tsp Turmeric
1 bunch Totakura/ Cholai/ Amaranth greens
2 Tbsp Tamarind paste
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Sugar
1 sprig Cilantro

For tempering:
1 Tbsp Oil
1 Tsp Avalu
1 Tsp Jheera
4 Dry red chillies broken into pieces
1/2 Tsp Heeng
4 Curry leaves
3 Green chillies chopped
1 Medium Onion chopped fine
1/2 Garlic clove, pounded

Method:

1. Remove the leaves from the Totakura and wash in cold running water, leave to drain in a colander. The stalks can be used to make Totakura kadalu pulusu. 
2. Boil pesara pappu until it is soft and add turmeric. (You may use the directions of Mudda pappu, but keep in mind that pesara pappu is softer & takes less time, so adjust the water/timing.) Set aside. 



3. Chop the Totakura by taking a clump of leaves and cutting into them lengthwise & breadthwise so that they are fine chopped. Also chop the onion. 

4. Boil the chopped Totakura in 1" water until half done (approx. 7 minutes), add tamarind juice, salt and sugar, and boil again until fully done (approx. a further 7 minutes). 

5. Add the boiled pesara pappu into the boiled greens and thoroughly mix in.

6. Fry chopped onions & green chillies in a teaspoon of oil,  mix in the pounded garlic paste and fry until brown. Pour into the Totakura-pesara pappu.

7. Tempering:

Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add Jheera, dry red chilli pieces, Heeng and Curry leaves. 

8. Pour the tempering over the Totakura-pesara pappu. 

9. Let the tempering & fried onions rest over the pappu, mix in just before serving. You may also add some chopped Cilantro.

Serve with hot rice with a generous topping of ghee. 


Suggestions/Variations:
1. Pesara pappu is an easy-to-cook pappu which softens rapidly. Hence, if you want to preserve the texture of the grains without letting them get mashed, you may avoid pressure cooking, boil it in a pot of water. 
2. The onions & green chillies may be boiled along with the totakura without frying separately if you want to cut down on oil or cook quickly. 
3. Some people prefer to add some chopped tomatoes as souring agent along with tamarind. Or, slices of tomatoes can be arranged for garnishing. 
4. Traditional brahmans do not consume garlic/onions, they are optional ingredients. 

Culture & Health:
Totakura belongs to the Amaranth family, a species of hardy plants which grow rapidly. The plant is highly tolerant to weather conditions and can grow even in arid soil. A single flower head can contain upto half a million tiny beady seeds that are rich in protein and amino acids. Native south American tribes used to consume the flour from the seeds of this plant, so do some African peoples. In India, it is usually consumed as greens. The Amaranth is thought to be the crop of the future, the boon for poor countries since it can be quickly cheaply cultivated with its tremendous health benefits.
The greens are a rich source of vitamins and minerals. However, Amaranth is similar to spinach in that it has high oxalic acid content, and not advisable for those who suffer from gout/kidney disorders.
It is also not advisable to reheat amaranth greens since the chemicals in it undergo undesirable changes when reheated.
Totakura comes in two varieties: one with red stalks/leaves, one with creamy green stalks. The red variety that I used is more delicious & better for health than the green one.

Trivia:
This is my mother's recipe, those are her hands chopping the greens, I was the honest photographer harassing her to pose properly!
Totakura has fond childhood memories for me, Tittu brought back seeds from her village fields, and we planted them in our backyard kitchen garden. I watched the flower beds every single day, watering them with care, waiting eagerly for the first shoots to sprout.. Then when the amaranth grew, we used to pluck the leaves fresh and make kura/pappu, I used to be so proud, that a vegetable I grew was feeding my family!! :-D I could say totakura was my pet plant!!

గొంగౌర కంది పప్పు: Gongoura Kandi pappu- Kenaf greens with pigeon peas

Serves: Four. Preparation time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
1.5 rice cooker cups- Kandi pappu/ Pigeon peas
1 large onion
1 bunch Gongoura /Kenaf greens
1 tsp or to taste Salt
1 tsp or to taste Sugar
4 Green chillies chopped

For Tempering:
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 Tsp Cumin Seeds
1/2 Tsp Asafoetida
1/2 Tsp Turmeric
4 Dry red chillies broken into pieces
1/2 tsp Fenugreek powder
4 Curry leaves chopped

Method:
1. Pluck leaves from the Gongoura and discard the stalks. Wash Gongoura leaves in cold running water and place in a colander to drain away excess water. 
2. Boil the pigeon peas into pappu and set aside. Follow the directions in Mudda pappu recipe but it can be a little runny with more water.
3. Meanwhile, fine chop the Gongoura leaves and set aside. Also chop the onion into small pieces. 



4. Boil the chopped Gongoura leaves and onions immersed in 1" water until they are tender, around 10 minutes, covered with a lid.




5. Mix in the salt, sugar and boiled kandi pappu into the cooked leaves-onions. 

6. Tempering:
Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add dry red chillies, jheera, turmeric, asafoetida, green chillies, curry leaves. Switch off the heat and add methi powder. Pour this tempering into the gongoura pappu.
Serve with hot rice with a generous topping of ghee.


Suggestions/Variations:
1. Instead of boiling the onions with the gongoura greens, fry them with green chillies and add into the gongoura pappu. Or add the onions into the tempering and fry together.
2. Gongoura leaf is sour so the the pappu doesn't need any additional souring agent. Add some tamarind juice if you feel the need (believe me you won't need it!). 

Culture & Health:
What comes to my mind when I think of Gongoura, are the lines from the Telugu movie Mayabazaar, which refer to it as Shakambari devi vara prasadamu, a gift from the goddess of vegetables! :-) I am sure most of us must have watched that movie, it is my most watched Telugu movie.
Gongura is very dear to Telugus, we make a pacchadi too with its leaves. It is related to the Hibiscus, Mandara puvvu, which is also very important in our culture. Plants of this family have a slimy/soapy feel in their crushed leaves, so women wash their hair with hibiscus leaf paste.
Gongoura is also called Kenaf, its scientific name is Hibiscus cannabinus, it is related to the Roselle. There are two varieties of gongoura in Andhra, one has creamy green stalks, one has red stalks. I used the red variety, it is even more sour than the green one.
Gongoura greens are very good for health, but some people are allergic to them.

Trivia:
This pappu prepared by mommy dearest, I photographed and documented the process. The lovely tulips you see in the photo- mommy papa brought them from Amsterdam for their Alludu's birthday, and mom insisted that I photograph her gongoura pappu against the backdrop of the flowers! :-D

పచ్చి పెసర పచ్చడి: Pacchi Pesara Pacchadi- Split green gram chutney

Serves: Five. Preparation time: 5 minutes. But soaking takes 1 hour. 

Ingredients:
1 Cup Yellow (split and dehusked) Green gram dal (Dhuli moong dal, Pesara pappu)
4 Dry Red Chillies
1 Tsp Salt
1 level Tsp Cumin seeds
2 pinches Asafoetida
1 Tsp Lemon juice

Method:
1. Soak the Pesara pappu in water for one hour. Add enough water to immerse the pulse. 
2. Grinding: Grind the soaked Pesara pappu, Salt, red chillies, cumin seeds and Asafoetida into a smooth paste. Do not add water, the moisture from within the soaked pulses is enough. 
3. Squeeze 1 Tsp juice of Lemon over it and mix in properly. 


Precautions:
1. Lemon juice turns bitter if squeezed and left exposed. Hence, squeeze the lemon fresh over the Pacchadi.
2. Adjust salt and red chilli to taste.

Culture & Health:
This very-easy-to-prepare pacchadi is made fresh in small batches just for immediate consumption. It is rich in protein, has no oil at all, very good for health. The fresh lemon squeezed over it provides vitamins and phytochemicals. Can be prepared in a jiffy if you have the soaked pulse ready. It doesn't use the stove/heating at all, all ingredients are raw, hence the name "Pacchi pesara pacchadi".
A close cousin of this pacchadi is 'Vada pappu' (whole soaked pesara pappu with salt, red chilli) which is usually served as a prashadam especially on Rama Navami.

Variations:

Dry roast the Pesara pappu instead of soaking it. Also dry roast the red chillies & Cumin seeds and grind with salt, asafoetida & water, the recipe is similar to Kandi pacchadi. It can be eaten plain as 'Pesara pacchadi'. Alternatively, add roasted Eggplant to this to make Vankaaya-Pesara Pacchadi.

Trivia:
This Pacchi pesara pacchadi recipe is courtesy Manju pinni, it is a regular item on the Chivukula family menu.

నువ్వుల పచ్చడి -Nuvvula Pacchadi: Sesame seed Chutney

 Serves: Five. Preparation time: 15 minutes. 

Ingredients:  

1 Cup Sesame seeds

4 finely sliced Green chillies or Dry red chillies

2 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Jaggery (or Brown sugar)

1 Tbsp Tamarind paste

Method:

1. Dry roast the Sesame seeds on low heat until they turn brown, around 4 minutes on a fresh saucepan. Set aside to cool. 


2. Dry toast the chillies for a minute until the green ones wither, or the red ones give off an aroma. Set aside to cool. 

3. Grinding: Add the cooled sesame seeds, salt and chillies to the mixer jar. Sesame seeds are rich in oil and clump together when ground. Hence, grind for short durations of time and mix the contents so that the ground seeds come up while unground seeds go down. Coarse grind. 

4. Mix in the sugar, tamarind paste and water (3/4 cup but adjust according to the water contributed by Tamarind paste+green chillies). Run the mixer once so that they get thoroughly mixed. 

Serve with hot rice. 

Precautions/Variations:

1. If you want to refrigerate this pacchadi to last for a few days, use dry red chillies. However, if you prepare a small quantity for immediate consumption as was made traditionally, use green chillies.

2. This simple pacchadi has extensive scope for improvization. You can add roasted Cumin seeds. You can omit the jaggery and include some roasted peanuts, or grated coconut, Or roasted Chickpeas (Putnala pappu). Follow your heart.

3. Ingredient measures can be adjusted to taste.

4. Sesame seeds are rich in oil & very tiny in size whereby they get heated up very quickly and can get burnt in a matter of seconds. Hence, while roasting, make sure the heat is low and keep stirring frequently for even browning. They continue to brown even when taken off the heat. 
5. Sugar caramalizes if heated. Mixer jar & blades heat up while grinding. Clumps of sugar can stick to the heated mixer jar blades and spoil the apparatus if not mixed in properly. Therefore, be sure to thoroughly mix in the sugar right at the end.

Culture and Health:

This pacchadi is rich in protein and essential minerals.

Sesame seed is a wonder food. It is an excellent source of heavy metals and minerals such as Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Copper, Manganese. It is rich in antioxidants and has anti-cancer properties. The unpolished creamy-brown Sesame seed is better for health since the husk is rich in minerals while the polished shiny white seed loses most of its mineral content. A common traditional Indian snack is prepared by combining Jaggery-Sesame seed, the perfect protein-carbohydrate balance food. Ayurveda classifies Sesame seed as a 'heat giving' food. It enhances the metabolism and is advised to be consumed during severe winter months. 

Sesame seed oil is extensively used in cooking. It doesn't easily go rancid  & preserves food due to its high anti-oxidant load. Hence, it is used in preparing long-life preserves such as Avakaya & Mukkala pacchadi . It is a very light oil that can be easily absorbed into the skin, an ideal base for perfumed oils, massage oils, medicated hair oils in Ayurveda.  

The Sesame plant was first domesticated & farmed in India, it has been found in the ruins of the Harappan civilization. Unprocessed whole black Sesame seed is part of the Nava dhanya used in Yagnam. It is called तिल (Til) in Sanskrit. In fact, the word तैल (Teyla), Sanskrit for Oil, has its origins in Til. It is considered the next best to Cow ghee for use in religious ceremonies and can be offered to the Elements. One cannot stress the importance of this tiny little seed in Hindu culture.

Trivia:

My mother told me about this recipe. It is part of the quick బండ పచ్చడులు (Banda pacchadulu) that her grandmother used to make with a mortar-pestle.

కంది పచ్చడి: Kandi pacchadi: Pigeon peas chutney

Serves: Three. Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 Cup Pigeon peas (Tuvar dal, Kandi pappu)
3 Dry red chillies
3 Tsp Cumin seeds
1 Tsp Salt or to taste
1/2 clove Garlic



Method:
1. Dry roast the peas on low heat until they turn golden brown and give off an aroma, approximately 3 minutes.

2. Break up the dry red chillies into smaller bits and dry roast them on low heat until they are brown-black & give off an aroma, around 1 minute. 


3. Dry roast the Cumin seeds on low heat until they turn darker & give off an aroma, it takes less than a minute. If making a small quantity, you can drop them into the roasting peas when they are almost done. 


4. Crush the garlic clove and dry roast it until it turns golden in a few seconds. If making a small quantity, you can drop it into the roasting peas when they are almost done instead of roasting separately.  

5. Grinding: When all the roasted ingredients cool down, grind them to a powder along with Salt. 


6. Add some water and grind once again so that it is evenly mixed in. 


7. Add water until the preparation looks a little runny. The peas soak up the water in a few minutes and the consistency improves. 

Serve with hot rice and a generous topping of ghee. 
This pacchadi goes well with Ullipaya pacchi pulusu. It is delicious when mixed into rice with Avakaya. 


Precautions/Variations:
1. You may use a drop of oil while roasting the ingredients. 
2. Stir the ingredients frequently during the roasting process to ensure uniform browning, make sure the heat source is low as the ingredients can get burnt within a few seconds. 
3. Adjust dry red chillies, salt, Cumin to taste. 
4. Some recipes include grated coconut. 
5. This pacchadi is best prepared fresh before mealtime. If left over, the ground pigeon peas absorb the water & dry into a soggy lump. Hence, leave the almost-done pacchadi at step 5. Follow up on step 6 & 7 just before mealtime. 


Culture & Health:
The term 'Pacchadi' usually conjures up the image of a fruit or vegetable in our mind. However, traditional Telugu cuisine has Pacchadis such as Kandi pacchadi, Pesara pacchadi, Nuvvula pacchadi which are made from grains/pulses.
This genre of pacchadis is rich in protein. Combined with rice, it makes a protein-carbohydrate balanced diet that only needs some fresh vegetable/fruit to supply vitamins. Hence, it is paired with liquid vegetable preparations such as Ullipaya pacchi pulusu, Vankaya pacchi pulusu, Menti pulusu, etc...
These pacchadis are prepared fresh daily in small quantities, they are also called 'Banda pacchadulu' (బండ పచ్చడులు) since they were traditionally just ground with a mortar-boulder using very few basic ingredients.
It is also eaten mixed into hot rice and Avakaya.

Trivia:
This preparation is a star item on the Chivukula family menu.
The recipe is courtesy Manju pinni.

దోసకాయ పప్పు: Dosakaaya Pappu- Pigeon peas with Yellow Cucumber

Ingredients
(Serves 2)

1 medium size yellow Cucumber/ dosakaya
2 green chillys/pachimirapakayalu
1 cup toordal/kandhipappu
few leaves of cilanthro
salt to taste
1/2 tsp chilly powder/karam (as you desire)
Thiragamaatha/Seasoning/Thadka
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp avalu/mustard seeds
1 tbsp minapappu/uraddal
1/4tsp jeera/jeelakarra
pinch of heeng

Preparation

Pressure cook toordal for 3 whistles
Wash and peel yellow cucumber. Cut into half and remove seeds.
Taste the pieces.(some times it tastes bitter, donot use if it is bitter)
Cut into pieces as shown.
Cut chilys length wise make two halves.
Take a bowl put all the pieces, chilly slices and add 1/2 cup water cook until soft.
If you want it more sour add 1/2 Marble size tamarind puree.
Add salt , chilly powder and cooked dal.

Heat oil in a pan and add seasoning.
Add this seasoning to the cooked dal and garnish with cilanthro.


This pappu goes with rice and dal.

తోట కూర కంది పప్పు- Tota kura kandi pappu- Amaranth greens with split pigeon peas

Preparation time : ౩౦ mins
(Serves 2)



Ingredients
1 bunch of fresh thota kura
1 cup toor dal(kandi pappu)
1 medium sized onion(vullipaaya)
2-3 green chillies
1 big marble sized tamarind(chintapandu)
1/4 tsp turmeric
salt to taste

Popu/Seasoning/thiragamaatha/tadka :

1 tsp of oil
mustard seeds (aavalu)
cumin seeds (jeela karra))
urad dal (minapappu)
Few curry leaves (karivepaaku)
Pinch of hing powder (inguva)

Method

1 Wash and chop the leaves.
2 Cut the chillies, onions in lengthwise.
3 Add 2 cups of water and pressure cook toor dal, leaves,onions and chillies till whistles.
4 After the valve pressure is released add salt,tamarind paste and cook for 2-3 mins.

Popu: Heat oil in a pan, add the remaining popu or tadka ingredients. Saute till the seeds start crackling.
Add popu to the cooked dal, stir well and cover. Tastes great with rice and chapati.


Variations : We can also add tomatoes to this preparation. If you like it little spicy then add red chilly powder as per your taste.

టమాట పప్పు: Tamata Pappu- Pigeon peas with tomato

Preparation time : 30 min
Serves : 2





Ingredients

1 cup toor dal
2-3 medium sized tomatoes cut to chunks
2 tbsp tamarind pulp (soak marble sized tamarind in hot/warm water & then extract the pulp)
1 green chilli cut lengthwise
3-4 curry leaves
salt
2 tsps red chilli powder (adjust accordingly)


For Popu / talimpu / tadka:

1/2 tbsp oil
hing / inguva
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp″ jeera
1 tbsp urad & chana dal
1/4 tsp″ turmeric

Method

Wash dal, add 2 cups of water, tomato chunks, a pinch of hing, green chilly and a drop of oil. Pressure cook till dal is cooked.
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, jeera and dals.
Once they crackle, add a pinch of hing, curry leaves and turmeric.
Now add the cooked tomatoes (top layer of the cooked dal) to the popu/tadka and fry for a min.
Add the tamarind pulp and 2-3 tbsps of water.
Add red chilli powder, salt and let it cook for around 5 mins on medium flame till the oil separates.
Check the taste and adjust salt if needed.
Now add the cooked dal and mix well.
Switch off the flame. Serve hot with plain rice, ghee and pickle/papad.

Note: Dry roast dal if you like to, before you pressure cook. Mudda pappu being the very essential, tomato pappu is the next essential pappu in our kitchen. I remember we used to have it atleast 3 times a week in our childhood but never bored of it.

We can also add tomato chunks directly to the tadka (without cooking with dal), but I love this taste. Adjust water accordingly to get the desired gravy consistency.

The Very Essential: ముద్దా పప్పు- Mudda Pappu

Serves: Two. Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup split pigeon peas (Tuvar daal, Kandi pappu)
2 cups water
1 pinch turmeric
Salt to taste

Method:

1. On low heat, roast the pigeon peas (you can dry roast them or use 1/4 tsp of oil) for five minutes, or until they turn golden brown in colour and give off an aroma. (Roasting prevents frothing during pressure cooking.)

Let them cool.

2. Place the cooled peas in a pressure cooker and add the water, cook for three to four whistles. If you dry roasted the peas, you may consider adding a drop of oil into the pressure cooker. If you roasted them earlier with oil, that is sufficient.
3. Open the pressure cooker when its safety valve drops down. Add the turmeric and salt, mix well.

Serve hot with rice & ghee.

Variation:
I noticed that cooking time reduces a lot if I soak the peas before pressure cooking them, sometimes they cook with just one whistle.
Also, if you have unroasted pigeon peas, you could boil them for a while (5 minutes for the quantity mentioned) in the water so the froth comes up and dies down. Then cover with the lid/whistle & pressure cook.

Culture & Health:
Mudda pappu is a huge part of Andhra cuisine, its importance cannot be stressed enough! As the name suggests, the most vital point in preparing this dish is its consistency, it should be just like a "Mudda" (lump, morsel).
Not only is it eaten as it is with rice, but is also an important base ingredient for several other dishes such as pappu charu, sambar, vegetable/greens pappu, etc. It is also an excellent accompaniment paired with menti pulusu, ullipai pacchi pulusu, rasam, avakaya, pacchadis, etc. It is essential to master this preparation before a chef can progress any further in Andhra cuisine.
It is an integral part of Telugu brahmana bhojanam, as it is an excellent source of protein in a vegetarian diet. Combined with some rice and vegetable, it makes for a complete balanced diet.
It is a part of all festivals, served first during all celebrations, prepared on all religious occasions, you won't find a banana plantain leaf without Mudda pappu on it. Mudda pappu is the ABCD, the 1234, the very lifeblood of Andhra gastronomy!

Trivia:
This recipe courtesy Kameshwari & Ramya, who advised me on  the roasting & water measure respectively. This is my first perfect Mudda pappu thanks to them!

మెంతి ఆకు కంది పప్పు: Menthi aaku kandi pappu- Fenugreek greens with pigeon peas

Preparation time: 15 to 20 minutes
(Serves three)

Ingredients:

One bunch of fresh fenugreek(Menthi Kura) - washed and leaves plucked
1 cups of Toor dal(Kandi pappu)
1 tomato
2 green chillies -halved
Small lemon sized tamarind
1/4 tsp of turmeric
Salt to taste

Popu/Seasoning/thiragamaatha/tadka :

1 tsp of oil , mustard seeds, cumin and urad dal
Few curry leaves
Pinch of hing powder

Preparation:
Cook dal: In a pressure cooker, take toor dal, fenugreek leaves, tomato, green chillies, and turmeric -one and half cups of water and pressure cook them till 3 whistles. When the valve pressure is all released, remove the lid, add tamarind, half teaspoon of salt and cook for 2 more minutes.

Popu: In a laddle heat one teaspoon of oil, add the remaining popu or tadka ingredients. Saute till the seeds start crackling,.

Add popu to the cooked dal, stir well and cover. Tastes great with rice and chapati.