Tomato Pappu Recipe | Tomato Dal
Tomato Pappu / Tomato Dal is a delicious and comforting South Indian lentil stew made with toor dal (split pigeon peas) and tomatoes. It is a staple dish in many Indian households and is typically served with rice or Indian bread like roti or naan.
Ingredients
Pressure Cook
- ½ cup Toor Dal
- 2 Tomatoes
- 2 Green Chillies
- Tamarind a small lime size
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- Asafoetida a pinch
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 10 Curry Leaves
- 2 cups Water adjust
To make Tomato Pappu Gravy
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 2 Red Chillies
- 8 cloves Garlic crushed
- 1 inch Ginger crushed
- 10 Small Onion / Shallots
- 10 Curry Leaves
- 1 Tomato
- Salt as needed
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
- ¼ cup Water
- Coriander Leaves a handful
- 1 teaspoon Ghee Optional
Instructions
- Wash and soak toor dal in warm water for 30 minutes. Once done, drain the water and add the toor dal to a pressure cooker. Add all the other ingredients under "Pressure Cook" to the cooker. Add just enough water to cover the ingredients. I used 2 cups of water.
- Pressure cook for 5 to 6 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally. Open the cooker and mash the ingredients along with the dal. Keep it aside.
- To a pan, add oil. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once it crackles, add red chillies, curry leaves, crushed ginger and crushed garlic. Saute for a minute and add chopped small onions. Let it cook for 2 minutes.
- Add one chopped tomato and mix well. Add salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Mix and let it cook till the tomato becomes soft and almost mushy.
- Add water and let the mixture come together. Once it starts boiling, add the cooked and mashed dal mixture.
- Cook for a few minutes till the dal comes to a boil again. Switch off. Garnish with coriander leaves. Add a teaspoon of ghee on top, if desired.
- Delicious Tomato Pappu is ready to be served with Rice / Roti.
Notes
Soaking the toor dal for at least 30 minutes before cooking helps to soften the lentils and reduce the cooking time.
Use fresh, ripe and juicy tomatoes for a tangy and sweet flavour.
Adjust the spice levels according to your taste preferences. Depending on your heat tolerance, you can add more or less green chillies and red chilli powder.
Andhra Style Tomato Pappu is generally on the thicker side. However, if you prefer it to be thinner, adjust the consistency by adding hot water to the dal and cook accordingly.
Tamarind gives sourness to this dal. Just a tiny lime-sized ball is enough for this recipe. If your tomatoes are very sour, you can avoid the tamarind. If your tomatoes are sweet, add a little more tamarind. Adjust according to the desired taste.
Instead of using small onions/shallots, you could also use 1 roughly chopped regular onion.
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