Gongura Pappu - Dekenee Hemp in Lentils - Dal - Andhra Telugu Recipes - Indian Vegetarian Food

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Preparations:

Take gongura leaves into a bowl and add water. Wash the leaves well. Finely chop the washed leaves and take them into a bowl. Take dal in a bowl and wash it. Add measured water to the dal. Place the dal bowl and gongura leaves bowl in pressure cooker and cook. After you hear the first whistle of pressure cooker, lower the flame and cook for 15 minutes. Once the pressure of the pressure cooker goes down, remove the bowls and keep them aside.

Method:

Now let us season the dal.

Heat a pan and add oil to it. When oil is hot add fenugreek seeds followed by bengal gram and black gram. Fry stirring, till the seeds start changing color. When the seeds are golden brown in color add mustard seeds and fry till they crackle. To this seasoning now add the cooked leaves, cooked dal and mix well. Then add turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and sufficient water (60ml) to get the desired consistency. Mix well and cook for a minute. Stir well and transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot with plain rice.

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

Points To Notice:

Many may have objection cooking leafy vegetables in pressure cooker. For convenience sake I have cooked the leaves along with dal in the pressure cooker. Those who do not feel like using pressure cooker to cook leaves, may cook them in a microwave oven for two minutes by adding few drops of water---when cooked in microwave oven the leaves would not have the raw smell (In Telugu we call it PASARU VASANA). For those who don’t have a microwave oven, it is advisable to add the raw leaves to the seasoning & fry for a while to cook the leaves. As this is a leafy vegetable it gets cooked in just few minutes.

If using a pressure cooker to cook leaves, do not mix dal and leaves and cook. Due to the sourness of the gongura the dal would take long time to get cooked. So it is better to cook them in separate bowls. When cooked for 10 or 15 minutes in pressure cooker also there would not be any smell (PASARU VASANA) of the leafy vegetables.

Taste the raw gongura leaves and check how much sour they are and then add red chili powder and salt accordingly.

Whenever we prepare a dish with sour vegetable/leafy vegetable it is a must to add few fenugreek seeds in the seasoning to balance the flavor.

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. Eating different vegetables daily gives a new taste and also fulfills the necessary vitamin, mineral requirements of the body. In south-indian recipes though the seasoning is almost same in almost all recipes, the different taste for different recipes comes from the vegetables. It is a boon which no one should forego.

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

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

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