Andhra Gongura Pappu ~ Lentils Cooked with Red Sorrel Leaves

Gongura is known and grown for its edible leaves, which are sour in taste. These leaves are so versatile that when cooked with meat or lentils turns out heavenly. Some of the variations are gongura-mamsam (lamb meat), gongura-royyalu (shrimp). The most popular one however is gongura pachadi (pickle), which is a must with a meal in the Guntur region of Andhra Pradesh. These leaves come in two colors of the stem, green and red. The red stemmed is sourer and thus tastes best for these preparations. I have used red stemmed sorrel leaves / erra gongura for today’s recipe. Try this dal variant, I am sure, you will not leave your fingers licked.

Ingredients
1 cup toor dal / kandipappu / pigeon pea
1 bunch sorrel leaves / gongura
1 tomato
2 green chilies
salt to taste
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp red chili powder
Tempering:
1 tsp oil
5-6 garlic, slightly crushed
2 dry red chili
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida

Method

• Rinse toor dal and soak for 15-20 min.
• Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles or until soft, mash it and set aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let them splutter, now add cumin seeds and allow crackling.
• Add asafoetida, chopped garlic, curry leaves, and sauté for a minute.
• Add chopped tomato, coarsely chopped gongura, and cover with lid and cook on medium low flame (if required add little water).
• When it turns mushy, add the mashed dal, water as desired and let boil for 3-4 minutes.
• Add red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt, and mix well.
• Set the consistency by adding little water and simmer for 5 min.
• Check the seasoning and switch off the flame.