Go Back

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.
Print Recipe
Ingredients Method

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)

Method
 

  1. 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.
  2. Mash the dal with a pappu gutti or just beat it well with a spoon.
  3. 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.
  4. Once these are cooled, grind them to a fine powder in a spice grinder.
  5. 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).
  6. Fry until fragrant (but don’t let the spices burn) and follow soon after with the cooked dal. It will splutter, watch out!
  7. 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.
  8. Switch off the flame.
  9. 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.