Tomato pappu is a simple but delicious dish, that is popular in all part of India. The dish originated in Maharashtra, and its name comes from the Marathi word pappu, which literally translates as “bread”. It is made from a combination of finely diced tomatoes and onions soaked in yogurt.
Dal is a type of Indian pulses which is slowly becoming a popular and time-saving ingredient across India. Pappu is the same thing and it’s what you need to make pappu dal. This simple dal is loaded with fiber and protein, yet has almost no fat or cholesterol. It also tastes great and is perfect for the summer.
Tomato pappu is a lentil dish. It is served with rice and as a side dish. It is best when it is made with fresh tomatoes and tomatoes that are in season. Tomato pappu is a very simple dish. The recipe is quite easy. All you need to do is to chop the tomato in half and scoop out its seeds. Add the tomato to a bowl. Add salt to the tomatoes. You may also add a little sugar. Then add the dal. Mix well. Finally, add the rice to the dal. Mix everything and serve.
Tomato pappu/dal (tamatar ki dal in Hindi) is a popular Andhra cuisine dish that is made differently in each household. Tomato pappu is a fairly straightforward dal to make. Raw mango chutney and fried chips or papad are a popular pairing with this tomato dal (we call it badi, in Telugu vadiyalu , made of rice paste). We call it tamatar ki dal at home, and we make tomato dal often since it goes well with almost any side dish. Tomato pappu/dal works great with simple rice and a ghee drizzle, as well as chapathi. You may serve any chicken or mutton dish, as well as any stir-fried vegetable (porriyal), such as okra fry, with simple rice and tomato dal.
Time to prepare: 10 minutes
Time to prepare: 30 minutes
Andhra Pradesh cuisine
3–4 servings
Medium-hot spiciness
Ingredients
For dal that has been boiled
-
- 1/2 cup toor dal (yellow split)
- 1 garlic clove (large)
- 5 to 6 green chillies (slit)
- 3 tomatoes (large)
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/4 teaspoon powdered methi seeds (fenugreek)
- 1 tsp. oil
- 2 cups water
Tadka
- 2 1/2 tbsp oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 5 dry chilies (broken)
- 25 curry leaves
- 2 garlic cloves (large, smashed or sliced)
- 1 sliced onion (small)
Method
-
- Soak the toor dal for 30 minutes after washing it.
- Prepare the tomatoes by chopping them up and slitting or halves the green chilies.
- In a pressure cooker, combine all of the ingredients (except the tadka): garlic clove (crushed), tomatoes, green chilies, turmeric powder, 2 cups water or as needed, and a teaspoon of oil.
- On medium heat, combine all ingredients and pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles.
- When the pressure is released after a few minutes, open the top and season with salt to taste.
- Mash the dal with the remaining ingredients using a ghotni (an Indian wooden masher used for crushing dal) or the back of the ladle.
Tadka(tempering)
-
- Heat the oil in a small kadai or other pot for tadka, then add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dried chilies, onion (sliced), and curry leaves, stirring well for a few seconds.
- Add the garlic, crushed or sliced, and sauté until the onion is golden crisp and the garlic is light brown, then turn off the heat.
- Add this to the dal right away, stir well, and shut the lid immediately so that the tadka’s fragrance does not escape and the dal is thoroughly mixed. Keep the lid closed for a few minutes, around 5 to 10 minutes, before serving.
Or
- Combine the tadka with the pressure-cooked dal. Cook for a few minutes on low heat with the lid covered, until you get the desired consistency.
- Serve over plain rice and a sprinkling of ghee on top. I served the tomato dal with plain rice, a ghee drizzle, okra fry (poriyal), fried rice chips (any popadam), and pickle.
Notes
- If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you may boil the dal in an uncovered pot until it’s done, then add the vegetables.
- If the dal is too thick, add water until it reaches the desired consistency.
- The quantity of water supplied to a pressure cooker should not exceed the pressure cooker’s maximum capacity; otherwise, it would burst.
- When it begins to boil, a tsp of oil is added so that the froth of dal does not escape the pressure cooker.
- Never add salt to a dal while it is cooking; otherwise, it will take longer to cook. Always add salt after the dal has finished cooking.
- You may leave out the onions and use the rest of the ingredients in thadka.
- Methi (fenugreek leaves) dal, spinach dal, mango dal, kacchi mirchi ki dal (green chilies dal), and Dosakaya pappu may all be made with the same components.
Tomato pappu (also known as tomato dal) is one of india’s most famous dals. It is made from just about the most undervalued vegetable in India: the tomato. It has a subtle flavor that is bright yet easy to overlook, but if you cook it right, the tomato dal can become one of the most satisfying meals you’ll ever eat.. Read more about dal pappu and let us know what you think.