Pappuchaaru - Truly south Indian cuisine - Mom's Recipe

Pappucharu is not Saambar. Both have few different ingredients and process of making is also quite different from each other.

This is my moms recipe. No matter how diet conscious people may be in my home, as soon as they smell the aroma of this dish, they pack their diet chart and throw it away.


So lets begin with the recipe.

Ingredients :
Tuar Dal : 1 cup
Water : 1 and 1/2 cup.
Tamarid extract : 2 cups liquid consistency.
For Veggie Tadka 
Tomato : 1 roughly chopped
Onion : Half of thinly sliced.
Okra : 1 roughly chopped about inch length.
Carrot : 1 medium size sliced at inch length.
Green Chilies : 5 to 6 slit them.
Red chillies : 3
Coriander leaves : Few chopped
Curry Leaves : Few chopped.
Garlic pods : few chopped.
Drum stick : 1 Large cut into 1 inch length half boiled.
Cucumber : half sliced in 1 inch.
Red Chilly powder : 2 tbspn or less or more as per your taste.
Salt : As per your taste.
Asafoetida  : 1/4 spoon.
Turmeric powder : 2 tspoon.
Oil : 4 tbspn.
Cumin seeds : 1 tspn
Mustard seeds : 1/2 tspn
Coriander powder : 1 tspn
Cumin methi seed powder : 1/2 tspn

Method :

• Wash tuar dal and soak them for 15 mins. Now in a pressure cooker add tuar dal, water, salt,  1 tspn of turmeric powder and 1 spoon of oil. Boil them for up to 3 whistles on medium flame and 1 whistle on low flame.
• Take it out of the flame and let it rest until all the pressure is out of the cooker by itself. This will help dal to cook more and make them soft with the pressure and heat inside the cooker.
• Meanwhile place a pan on low flame, add oil and let it heat up. Now add cumin and mustard seeds let it splutter.
• Now add onions, little amount of salt, saute them, Now add garlic pods, curry leaves, coriander leaves, Drum stick, carrot, cucumber, turmeric, tomatoes, okra, green chilies, red chilies and saute them. Close the lid for 3 mins and let it cook on low flame. 
• Add asafoetida and saute.
• Now add tamarid extract and mix with veggies.
• Now let it cook and come to a roaring boil.
• Add little salt at this point and saute. Turn off the flame. This is our Veggie tadka.
• Now take the pressure cooker in which tuar dal was boiled and mashed. 
• Place it on a low flame add little water is dal is too solid. Dal has to be thick liquid consistency not in solid consistency. 
• Add Veggie tadka to dal and Mix.
• Now add red chilly powder and mix
• Turn the flame to medium and let it boil.
• Check for salt taste. You can add little more salt at this point if you wish to add.
• Now add coriander powder, cumin methi powder. 
• Bring it to roaring boil and turn off the flame.
• Serve it with hot steamy rice.