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Gongura pappu
Lentils with sour roselle leaves
Gongura pappu (గోంగూర పప్పు): Andhra toor dal cooked with sour roselle leaves and a garlic and red chilli tempering
In Guntur, Vijayawada and across Telangana, gongura pappu is the everyday lunch dal that people who move away miss most: toor dal cooked soft with handfuls of sour roselle leaves, which melt into a tangy, olive-green purée, then finished with a sizzling tempering of garlic and dried red chillies. It is eaten mixed into hot rice with a spoon of ghee or oil and a crisp papad. A portion gives about 20 g of protein, almost all from the toor dal, and about 23 g with a plate of rice. Gongura is sold in Indian grocers in bunches; you need only the leaves. The most common mistake is cooking the leaves in an aluminium or iron pan: their acid reacts with the metal and the dal turns dark and tastes metallic, so use a steel or enamelled pot. Chef's tip: mash the dal and wilted leaves together hard with a whisk or wooden masher before tempering; a smooth, creamy pappu carries the sourness evenly instead of in stringy patches.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the dal
- 12 ½ oz toor dal (split pigeon peas)rinsed 3 times
- 5 ½ oz gongura (roselle) leavespicked from 2 large bunches, washed and roughly chopped
- 1 onionsliced
- 4 green chilliesslit
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 4 ¼ cups water
- 1 ½ tsp salt
For the tempering
- 2 tbsp groundnut oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 8 cloves garliclightly crushed
- 4 dried red chilliesbroken in half
- 15 curry leaves
- ¼ tsp asafoetidagluten-free if needed
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put 12 ½ oz toor dal (split pigeon peas) in a pressure cooker or heavy steel pot with 4 ¼ cups water, ½ tsp ground turmeric and a few drops of the oil. Pressure-cook for 4 whistles (about 15 minutes), or simmer with the lid ajar for 40–45 minutes, until the dal is completely soft and collapses when pressed with a spoon.
20 minStep 2: While the dal cooks, put 5 ½ oz gongura (roselle) leaves, 1 onion and 4 green chillies in a steel or enamelled pan with 4 tablespoons of water. Cook over a medium heat, stirring, until the leaves wilt and darken to olive green and the onion is soft.
8 minStep 3: Tip the cooked leaves into the dal with 1 ½ tsp salt and mash everything together hard with a whisk or masher. Simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring, until it is thick and creamy but still pourable; add a splash of hot water if it is stiff.
5 minStep 4: For the tempering, heat 2 tbsp groundnut oil in a small pan over a medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp mustard seeds and wait until they pop, then add 1 tsp cumin seeds, 8 cloves garlic and 4 dried red chillies and fry until the garlic is golden at the edges, about 1 minute.
2 minStep 5: Take the pan off the heat, add 15 curry leaves and ¼ tsp asafoetida (they will spit), and pour the sizzling tempering straight over the dal. Stir it in, taste for salt and sourness, and serve hot with rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 12 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does gongura pappu take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 35 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.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of toor dal (split pigeon peas)?
- Red lentils (masoor dal) (cook 10 minutes less).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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