Beerakaya Pappu - Ridge Gourd with Pigeon Peas Dal - బీరకాయ పప్పు - Andhra Recipes

Preparations:

Take a bowl and add pigeon peas into it. Add water to dal and wash well. Add 125ml water to washed dal and keep it aside. Wash ridge gourds well and peel the skins using a peeler. Take the peeled ridge gourds and cut them into small cubes. Add the ridge gourd pieces to dal bowl. Place the dal bowl in pressure cooker and cover the bowl with a lid. Close the pressure cooker with lid and cook dal on high flame. After first whistle, cook the dal on low flame for 10 minutes. Cool the pressure cooker and then remove the dal bowl. If curry leaves are big, then chop the leaves and take them into a plate.

Method:

Heat a pan and add oil and heat oil. When oil is hot add black gram and fry stirring till seeds start changing color. Then add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and fry stirring till seeds splutter. Then add asafetida and chopped curry leaves and mix. Now add cooked dal and mix well. Once everything is mixed well, add turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt and mix well. Add sufficient water to get the required consistency---here I have not added any extra water. Allow the dalto cook on low flame till it reaches a boil. Then mix the cooked dal once and it is ready to serve. Serve the beerakaya pappu with hot plain rice. As the ridge gourd is soft in taste (KAMMAGA VUNTUNDI) serve it with a pickle as a relish. Do try this simple recipe of beerakaya pappu and serve to your family members.

Points To Observe:

Ridge gourds are soft in taste (KAMMAGA VUNTAYI) and hence taste excellent when added to lentils.

We get two varieties of ridge gourds in market---one with a rough skin called BEERAKAYA IN TELUGU and the other with a soft skin called NETI BEERAKAYA IN TELUGU. This dal can be made with both these vegetables.

There is lot of fiber in the skin of ridge gourds. Use the peels of ridge gourd and make chutney or use these peels in making paste for gravy dishes to add volume to it. If wished to cut the ridge gourds with the peel on it and make this dal---then also it would taste good---but remember to chop the ridge gourds into small pieces so that the skin also cooks well. When using NETI BEERAKAYA use it along with the skin---remember to chop into small pieces. As all vitamins lie just beneath the skins of the vegetables it is advisable to eat the skins also for better health. However it is not possible to use the skins of the vegetables in all dishes. So use them innovatively and enjoy the health benefits.

Serving Beerakaya pappu with plain rice and a pickle is an all time relish.

Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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