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Pappurabindi, or a toor dal chutney

This is a classic, minimalist Andhra preparation, perfect for pantries that are running low on vegetables or for a quick, nutritious meal fix at the end of a long work day. It’s a cooked dal, thick like a chutney and liberally spiced with both ground and whole red chillies—but usually less spicy than all that chilli use would appear to indicate! [Their heat is balanced by the other spices and the dals]. Suma of Veggie Platter has a very similar recipe and some additional family context here.
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup toor dal
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder

For the spice mix:

  • 2 teaspoons chana dal
  • 1 teaspoon urad dal
  • 1 ½ teaspoons coriander seeds
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
  • A few pieces of copra or dry coconut
  • 3-4 dry red chillies
  • A few pieces of dry tamarind

For the tempering:

  • 2 tablespoons ghee or oil
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • A generous pinch of asafoetida
  • 3-4 dry red chillies, roughly broken
  • 2-3 sprigs of fresh curry leaves
  • 3-4 garlic cloves, skin on, lightly crushed (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Cook the toor dal with the turmeric powder on stove top or pressure cooker. Use sufficient water to get a soft dal, but don’t add an excessive amount or you’ll wind up with a thick dal rather than a chutney. For 1 cup of dal, 2 cups of water should do.
  • Mash the dal with a pappu gutti or just beat it well with a spoon.
  • Dry roast all the ingredients for the spice powder except the tamarind, adding the coconut pieces last, until they are lightly browning and very fragrant. Use a drop of oil if necessary.
  • Once these are cooled, grind them to a fine powder in a spice grinder.
  • Now heat the tempering oil or ghee in a wide pan or kadai until very hot. Add all the dry tempering ingredients—wait for them to splutter—and follow with the curry leaves and garlic (if using).
  • Fry until fragrant (but don’t let the spices burn) and follow soon after with the cooked dal. It will splutter, watch out!
  • Now add salt and the spice mix. The mixture will thicken quite fast, so do not leave it unattended. Keep a little extra water on hand, in case you want to adjust texture, but add it only minimally.
  • Switch off the flame.
  • Serve the pappurumindi with hot rice or chapatis, a spoon of ghee, and maybe a sprouted mung bean salad on the side for fresh tastes to accompany the smokier ones of the dal.