Palakura Pappu

Get ready by rinsing the toor dal two or three times. Wash the spinach, tomato, green chillies and curry leaves. Remove the thick spinach stems and chop the spinach roughly. Peel and chop the onion, chop the tomato, slit the green chillies, peel and slice the garlic, and break the dry red chillies. Pat the curry leaves dry so they do not splutter in hot oil.

Add the dal, spinach, tomato, onion, green chilli, turmeric powder and water to a pressure cooker. Close it and cook on medium flame for 3 whistles, until the dal is soft and the spinach has cooked down.

Toor DalSpinachTomatoOnionGreen ChilliTurmeric PowderWater

Let the pressure come down on its own for about 10 minutes, until the safety pin drops. Open the cooker and mash the dal and vegetables with a ladle for 3 minutes, until the mixture is mostly smooth.

Add salt and mix well. Simmer on medium flame for 8 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the dal becomes a pourable gravy and the raw smell of onion is gone.

Salt

Heat the oil in a small kadai on medium flame for 1 minute, until hot. Add the mustard seeds and cook for about 1 minute, until they crackle. Add the cumin, garlic, curry leaves, dry red chilli and asafoetida. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes, until the garlic is light golden.

OilMustard SeedsCuminGarlicCurry leavesDry Red ChilliAsafoetida

Pour the tempering into the dal and mix. Simmer on low flame for 2 minutes, until the tempering blends into the gravy. Serve hot with rice or chapati.