Preparations:

Take dal in a bowl and wash it. Add water to the dal and keep it aside. Wash and clean the Gongura. Chop the gongura and take it in a bowl. Add water to the chopped gongura. Now cook the dal and gongura in pressure cooker. Just before the pressure develops in the pressure cooker and it is about to whistle make the flame low and cook for 15 minutes. Then, after 15 minutes, make the flame high and before it whistles switch it off. With the pressure inside the pressure cooker the ingredients will be cooked completely even after we remove it from flame. When cool remove the bowls from the cooker and keep them aside.

One can mix the dal and the gongura and cook in a pressure cooker. But due to the sourness of the gongura the dal will take long time to get cooked. So it is better to cook them in separate bowls. When the cooker cools down remove the bowls and keep them aside.

Method:

Add the cooked gongura, red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt to the cooked dal and keep the bowl aside.

Now let us season the dal.

Heat a pan and add oil to it. When oil is hot add fenugreek seeds. Then add Bengal gram and black gram and fry till they start changing color. When the seeds are golden brown in color add mustard seeds and fry till they splutter. Now add the dal mixture to the seasoning and mix well. Add sufficient water to get the right consistency. Let it boil for few minutes. Transfer the dal to a serving bowl and serve hot with plain rice.

This dal has a unique flavor. It tastes very good.

Points to Notice:

Some times when we cook this gongura in pressure cooker, it emanates a particular smell (In telugu we call it PASARU VASANA). When we cook this in microwave there won’t be any such smell. For those who don’t have a microwave oven, I advise them to cook this gongura directly on stove. As this is a leafy vegetable it gets cooked in just few minutes. Still, one can use a pressure cooker also.

Ladies after menstruation loose lot of iron. Leafy vegetables are rich in iron. It is advisable to take iron rich foods one week before and after your menstruation cycle. Eat leafy vegetables at least once a week to meet the iron deficiencies. It is always better to get the required vitamins from natural sources than popping pills.

Try out new recipes and feed your family members to enjoy a healthy meal.