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Chintha chiguru pappu
చింత చిగురు పప్పు: toor dal cooked with tender, sour young tamarind leaves
Every spring the tamarind trees of Telangana put out soft, coppery new leaves, chintha chiguru, and housewives in Hyderabad and the districts strip them by the handful for a few weeks of this pleasantly sour dal. The leaves give the tang that tamarind pulp gives the rest of the year, and the pappu is eaten with hot rice, ghee and a crisp papad. The common mistake is adding all the leaves at the start; they lose their fresh sourness, so stir half in near the end. Chef's tip: if tamarind shoots are out of reach, use a mix of sorrel and a teaspoon of tamarind paste.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the dal
- 5 ½ oz toor dalrinsed
- 2 ½ cups water
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tomatochopped
- 3 green chilliesslit
- 2 ⅞ oz tender tamarind leaves (chintha chiguru)picked
- 1 tsp salt
For the tadka
- 1 ½ tbsp oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 5 garlic clovescrushed
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 pinch gluten-free asafoetida (hing)
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Pressure-cook 5 ½ oz toor dal with 2 ½ cups water, ¼ tsp ground turmeric, 1 tomato and 3 green chillies for 3 whistles (about 12 minutes), or simmer in a pot 35 minutes, until completely soft.
15 minStep 2: Mash the dal lightly, add half the 2 ⅞ oz tender tamarind leaves (chintha chiguru) and 1 tsp salt and simmer 5 minutes.
5 minStep 3: Stir in the remaining leaves and simmer 2 minutes, adding water if needed for a pouring consistency.
2 minStep 4: For the tadka, heat 1 ½ tbsp oil, crackle ½ tsp mustard seeds and ½ tsp cumin seeds, then add 2 dried red chillies, 5 garlic cloves, 10 curry leaves and 1 pinch gluten-free asafoetida (hing) and fry until the garlic is golden. Pour over the dal and serve with rice and ghee.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 200 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 28 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does chintha chiguru pappu take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of toor dal?
- Red lentils (masoor dal) (cook 10 minutes less).
- What can I use instead of ground turmeric?
- Leave it out (it mostly adds colour).
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