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Tomato Pappu Recipe

Time and servings

Nutrition

Per servings.

About

It is a simple and tasty lentil-based curry recipe prepared with a combination of juicy ripe tomatoes and toor dal. Tomato Pappu or Tomato Dal is a popular curry from the Andhra cuisine and is mainly served with hot steamed rice. Particularly the combination of rice, dal, ghee, and a spicy pickle is a popular choice in South India. It can also be an ideal choice for different types of roti, naan, and bread recipes. There are many different variations of Dal recipe across India. Tomato Pappu Dal is one variation from the South Indian cuisine. Typically the dal is made with tomatoes and onions with an optional sourness from lemon juice. However, the dal made in South India contains a lot of tamarind juice. This adds extra tanginess to make it a comfortable and complete curry. In addition, the garlic tempering helps in digestion and adds the required flavor and taste.

Ingredients

for pressure cooking:

  • 1 cup toor dal (rinsed)
  • 1 tsp ghee
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 cup water

for dal:

  • 2 tbsp oil
  • ½ onion (chopped)
  • 3 tomato (chopped)
  • 4 chilli
  • ½ cup tamarind extract
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp coriander (chopped)

for tempering:

  • 2 tbsp ghee
  • 1 tsp mustard
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 10 cloves garlic (crushed)
  • 2 dried red chilli
  • few curry leaves
  • pinch hing

Instructions

  1. Firstly, in a pressure cooker take 1 cup toor dal. You can even soak the dal for 15 minutes to hasten the cooking time.
  2. Add 1 tsp ghee, ¼ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp salt and 3 cup water.
  3. Cover and pressure cook for 5 whistles or until the dal is cooked well.
  4. Once the pressure settles down, mash the dal slightly and keep aside.
  5. In a large kadai heat 2 tbsp oil and saute ½ onion until the onion softens.
  6. Add 3 tomato and saute for 2 minutes or until the tomato softens.
  7. Further add 4 chilli, ½ cup tamarind extract, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder and 1 tsp salt.
  8. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
  9. Add in cooked toor dal and mix well.
  10. Adjust the consistency, and boil for 5 minutes or until the flavour is absorbed well.
  11. Now to prepare the tempering, heat 2 tbsp ghee. Add 1 tsp mustard, 1 tsp cumin, 10 cloves garlic, 2 dried red chilli, few curry leaves and a pinch hing.
  12. Splutter the tempering and fry until the garlic turns golden.
  13. Pour the tempering over the tomato pappu and add 2 tbsp coriander. Mix well.
  14. Finally, enjoy Tomato Dal or Tomato Pappu with hot steamed rice.

Step-by-step

1
Firstly, in a pressure cooker take 1 cup toor dal. You can even soak the dal for 15 minutes to hasten the cooking time.
2
Add 1 tsp ghee, ¼ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp salt and 3 cup water.
3
Cover and pressure cook for 5 whistles or until the dal is cooked well.
4
Once the pressure settles down, mash the dal slightly and keep aside.
5
In a large kadai heat 2 tbsp oil and saute ½ onion until the onion softens.
6
Add 3 tomato and saute for 2 minutes or until the tomato softens.
7
Further add 4 chilli, ½ cup tamarind extract, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder and 1 tsp salt.
8
Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
9
Add in cooked toor dal and mix well.
10
Adjust the consistency, and boil for 5 minutes or until the flavour is absorbed well.
11
Now to prepare the tempering, heat 2 tbsp ghee. Add 1 tsp mustard, 1 tsp cumin, 10 cloves garlic, 2 dried red chilli, few curry leaves and a pinch hing.
12
Splutter the tempering and fry until the garlic turns golden.
13
Pour the tempering over the tomato pappu and add 2 tbsp coriander. Mix well.
14
Finally, enjoy Tomato Dal or Tomato Pappu with hot steamed rice.Tomato Dal - Andhra Style

Video

Notes

  • Firstly, adjust the amount of tamarind depending on the sourness of the tomatoes.
  • Also, do not add tomato while cooking the dal, as it prevents the dal from cooking uniformly.
  • Also, if you are looking for slightly spicy dal, then increase the amount of chilli powder.
  • Finally, the Tomato Dal or Tomato Pappu Recipe tastes great when tempered with ghee.