AI-generated image
Tomato pappu
Tomato dal
టమాటా పప్పు: Andhra everyday toor dal cooked with tomatoes, green chilli and a garlic tempering
Pappu (dal) is the backbone of an Andhra meal, and tomato pappu is the one most Telugu households cook on an ordinary weekday. Toor dal is cooked with plenty of ripe tomatoes, onion, green chillies and a little tamarind, then mashed to a thick, rustic consistency and finished with a fierce garlic and red chilli popu (tempering). It's tangier and hotter than a North Indian dal, and it's mixed into hot rice with a spoon of ghee and eaten with avakaya pickle and a crisp fried vegetable. Chef's tip: mash the dal and tomatoes together with a whisk or a wooden mathu while hot; it gives the creamy, slightly rough texture that blending never does.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the dal
- 5 ½ oz toor dalrinsed
- 3 ripe tomatoeschopped
- 1 onionsliced
- 3 green chilliesslit
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 2 ½ cups water
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
- ½ tsp red chilli powder
- 1 ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp fresh corianderchopped
For the tempering (popu)
- 1 ½ tbsp groundnut oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 5 garlic clovescrushed
- 2 dried red chilliesbroken
- ¼ tsp gluten-free asafoetida
- 10 curry leaves
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (5)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put 5 ½ oz toor dal, 3 ripe tomatoes, 1 onion, 3 green chillies, ½ tsp ground turmeric and 2 ½ cups water in a pressure cooker and cook for 4–5 whistles over a medium heat, or simmer in a covered pan for 35–40 minutes, until the dal is completely soft and collapsing.
20 minStep 2: Add 1 tsp tamarind paste, ½ tsp red chilli powder and 1 ¼ tsp salt and mash everything together well with a whisk or wooden masher until thick and creamy, with a few bits of tomato skin still visible.
Step 3: Simmer over a low heat for 4–5 minutes, adding a splash of hot water if it's too thick. It should pour slowly from the ladle, like thick porridge.
5 minStep 4: Heat 1 ½ tbsp groundnut oil in a small pan over a medium heat. Add ½ tsp mustard seeds and ½ tsp cumin seeds; when they crackle, add 5 garlic cloves and fry until golden at the edges, about 40 seconds. Add 2 dried red chillies, ¼ tsp gluten-free asafoetida and 10 curry leaves and fry for 10 more seconds. Common mistake: letting the garlic go dark brown; it turns bitter and overpowers the dal. Pull the pan off as soon as it's golden.
1 minStep 5: Pour the sizzling tempering over the dal, sprinkle with 2 tbsp fresh coriander and serve hot with rice and ghee.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 220 kcal
- Protein
- 11 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tomato pappu take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 30 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.
- What can I use instead of toor dal?
- Red lentils (masoor dal) (cook 10 minutes less).
- What can I use instead of ripe tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Sayur lodehVegetables in coconut milk
Sayur lodeh is everyday cooking in Central Java, made in big pots in Solo and Semarang kitchens and ladled over rice, with lontong rice cakes at Lebaran, or alongside opor and sambal goreng on festive tables. It's soupy rather than thick: a fragrant broth of coconut milk, galangal, lemongrass and lime leaf that carries chunks of aubergine, long beans, chayote and sweetcorn, plus tempeh and tofu to make it a meal. The flavour is mellow and slightly sweet, so the heat comes from sambal on the side. Chef's tip: keep the pot at a gentle simmer once the coconut milk goes in and stir now and then — a rolling boil splits the coconut milk into oily curds.
Indonesian
Sabudana khichdiSago with peanuts and potato
Sabudana khichdi is the dish that sees Maharashtra through every vrat (fast), from Navratri to Ekadashi, but it's so good that people eat it any day of the week. Soaked sago pearls are tossed in a pan with crushed roasted peanuts, cubes of potato, cumin and green chilli until each pearl turns glassy and separate, then finished with lemon and coriander. It's soft, chewy, nutty and gently hot. Fasting rules vary from family to family, so check yours; this version uses rock salt and no asafoetida, onion or garlic. Traditionally it's cooked in ghee; use ghee instead of oil if you aren't keeping it vegan. Chef's tip: soak the sago in just enough water to cover by the height of the pearls themselves, no more; too much water is the reason khichdi turns into one sticky lump.
Bagara bainganBaby aubergines in peanut sesame sauce
Bagara baingan is a Hyderabadi wedding dish of small aubergines cooked whole in a dark, tangy gravy of roasted peanuts, sesame, dried coconut and tamarind. Unlike a Gujarati stuffed brinjal, the aubergines here are only quartered at the base and fried until silky, then left to soak up a thin-but-rich sauce that is finished with a tempering, the 'baghar' that gives the dish its name. It's sour, nutty and gently spiced, and is served with biryani, bagara rice or plain rice. Chef's tip: choose small, glossy purple aubergines that feel heavy for their size; soft, light ones are full of seeds and turn mushy before the gravy has a chance to cling.