Palakura Pappu is a quintessential dish from the Andhra Cuisine that comes with a host of health benefits in it. Relish this nutritive dish with rice and roti along with an array of other dishes in a regular south Indian Meal...
Wash the palak twice or thrice in running water and take out the leaves from the stalk.
Drop the leaves in a bowl and wash it again.
Chop them into big pieces and add into a bowl.
Now add half a cup of shallots and half a cup of chopped tomatoes to it.
Tip in two slit green chilies along with ten garlic pods.
Transfer it to a small pot and add a cup of water and place it over a stove.
Tip in a pinch of turmeric powder and a quarter teaspoon of sugar and stir in and turn on the flame.
Let it cook for about ten minutes approximately and after sometime just turn off the stove and keep the pot aside.
Take half a cup of tuvar dal and drop it in a small vessel and pour two cups of water in it.
Place it inside a cooker and pressure cook it for three to four whistles.
Turn off the stove and let the pressure subside.
Meanwhile, do the tempering for Palakura Pappu.
Place a pan in the stove and squirt in two teaspoons of ghee in it and maintain the flame in medium mode.
When it starts melting, just toss over some mustard seeds and let it splutter.
Now add a teaspoon of jeera seeds and follow it up with a dried red chili and half a teaspoon of broken urad dal.
Finally, tip in a pinch of asafoetida powder along with a twig of curry leaves and let it sizzle too.
Immediately add the boiled palak along with the other veggies and stir in.
Sprinkle the required amount of salt and a little turmeric powder.
Tip in half a teaspoon of red chili powder and coriander powder each and mash up using a masher.
After two minutes, take out the boiled dal (pappu) from the pressure cooker and drop it into the pan after mashing it well too.
Finally, plop in half a teaspoon of tamarind paste and stir in while altering the flame to high mode.
When it becomes fragrant and gets thickened, turn off the stove and sprinkle some curry leaves to it.
Now the delicious palakura pappu is ready.
Serve it with hot steamed rice along with gongura chutney, brinjal fry and a crisp.