Beerakaya Pappu

Rinse the toor dal 2 to 3 times with the rinsing water until the water is mostly clear. Peel the ridge gourd and cut it into medium cubes. Chop the onion and tomatoes, slit the green chillies, crush the garlic and remove the stalks from the dry red chillies. Rinse the curry leaves and coriander leaves, then finely chop the coriander leaves. Taste a small piece of the raw gourd first; if it is bitter, do not use it.

Toor DalWater

Add the rinsed dal, ridge gourd, onion, tomato, green chilli, turmeric, salt and cooking water to a pressure cooker. Close the lid and pressure cook on medium flame for 4 whistles, then let the pressure release on its own. The dal and ridge gourd should be soft.

Ridge GourdOnionTomatoGreen ChilliTurmeric PowderSaltWater

Heat the oil in a small kadai on medium flame for 1 minute until hot. Add the mustard seeds, cumin, urad dal and dry red chilli, and fry for 2 minutes until the mustard seeds crackle and the urad dal is light golden. Add the garlic, curry leaves and asafoetida, and fry for 1 minute until the raw smell of the garlic goes.

OilMustard SeedsCuminUrad Dal (split)Dry Red ChilliGarlicCurry leavesAsafoetida

Add the tempering to the cooked dal and mix well. Simmer on low flame for 5 minutes until the dal is smooth and has a pourable consistency.

Add the coriander leaves and switch off the flame. Serve hot with rice or chapati.

Coriander Leaves