Recipe for Gongura Pappu

Name: Recipe for Gongura Pappu
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: ⅔ Cups Toor Dal; washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes; 2 Cups Chopped Gongura Leaves; 1 tbsp Oil; 2-3 Green Chillies; slit; 2-3 Dry Red chillies; 1 tsp Cumin Seeds; 7-8 Curry Leaves; ⅓ tsp Asafoetida; 4-5 Cloves Garlic; finely chopped; ⅓ tsp Turmeric Powder; ⅔ tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder; ⅔ tsp Coriander Powder; ⅓ tsp Cumin Powder; Salt, to taste; Fresh Coriander Leaves; for garnishing

Gongura is a tart-flavoured leaf commonly found in the southern states of India. Andhra Pradesh, the state where it is commonly found, has given the world many lovely recipes such as Gongura Pickle, Gongura Chutney, Gongura Chicken, Gongura Pappu etc. All these dishes have a unique taste and flavour, thanks to the one-of-its-kind flavour of gongura, present in all these dishes.

Recently, on my visit to an Indian shop near my home, I found fresh Gongura leaves and couldn’t stop myself from picking a bunch. The first dish I made with these fresh leaves in Gongura Pappu, which is toor dal and gongura leaves, cooked together with basic spices. The dal was tangy, spicy, and tasted great with steamed rice and ghee.

Here is how gongura leaves look like:

They have a unique shape and a red stem, which can help you identify these leaves easily.

The meal on my table looked like this. It comprised of steamed rice, Bottle gourd peel chutney, gongura pappu and carrot sabzi.

So, let’s start with the recipe:

Kitchen Equipment needed:

Pressure Cooker: https://amzn.to/47gdnDa
Pan: https://amzn.to/45aU2Bl
Knives: https://amzn.to/3Lg64Bj
Chopping board: https://amzn.to/3K0dh8L

Ingredients needed to make Gongura Pappu:

⅔ Cups Toor Dal; washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes
2 Cups Chopped Gongura Leaves
1 tbsp Oil
2-3 Green Chillies; slit
2-3 Dry Red chillies
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
7-8 Curry Leaves
⅓ tsp Asafoetida
4-5 Cloves Garlic; finely chopped
⅓ tsp Turmeric Powder
⅔ tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
⅔ tsp Coriander Powder
⅓ tsp Cumin Powder
Salt, to taste
Fresh Coriander Leaves; for garnishing

Method to make Gongura Pappu:

Cook the dal with 2 pinches of turmeric powder in a pressure cooker.
While the dal cooks, heat a pan with oil.
Add garlic and fry it well.
Add cumin seeds, dry red chillies, green chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida.
Then add chopped gongura leaves. Add salt. Reduce the heat.
Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and red chilli powder.
Mix well. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add this to the cooked dal. Mix well. Add water if the dal looks too thick.
Boil for 3-4 minutes.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice.

When I recently made Gongura Pappu, I served it with steamed rice and Bottle gourd peel chutney.

Here are some more pictures:

Here is the recipe in printable format: