Pappu charu is a staple in almost all Telugu households. It is a tangy lentil stew and is a cousin of sambar, thinner in consistency and prepared without sambar powder. Toor dal is used for the traditional pappu charu and there is another version of pappu charu prepared with moong dal. Moong dal is green gram or pesaru pappu in Telugu. For this version of pesaru pappu charu, lime juice is used instead of tamarind and it is not loaded with vegetables as the traditional pappu charu is. This past summer when my father-in-law visited, I made pesaru pappu charu (pappu khut ~ kattu) with lime and he mentioned that when he was growing up, his mom made it plain, without lime and tomato.

When I was planning my Telugu Meal, I chose this pappu charu as I already posted nimmakaya pappu charu. Pappu Khut or nimmakaya pappu charu is my first post on this blog. That was over seven years ago. The only difference from this preparation and that is, I did not use any tomato and lime juice in this recipe. I get bored of following a method of preparation for too long and change the method. Here I cooked moong dal, did the tempering, sauteed cooked dal in the tempering, added water and boiled pappu charu to desired consistency. In the past I use to boil cooked dal with water to desire consistency and then pour tempering over it. If one wishes, my nimmakaya pappu charu recipe can be followed to T, minus tomato and lime juice to prepare pesaru pappu charu without lime juice.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup Moong Dal ~ Pesaru Pappu
• ⅛ tsp. Cumin Seeds (to be used when pressure cooking dal)
• Few drops of Oil
• ½ – ¾ cup Water (to pressure cook dal) + 1 ¼ – 1 ¾ cup Water for later use or as required
• 1 tbsp. Oil
• ¼ tsp. Cumin Seeds
• ⅛ – ¼ tsp. Mustard Seeds
• ⅛ tsp. Fenugreek Seeds Powder (opt.)
• 2 – 3 Curry Leaves
• 4 – 6 Green Chilies, chopped (adjust to taste)
• ½ small – medium sized Onion, diced
• ½ tsp. Garlic minced
• ¼ tsp. Turmeric Powder
• ¾ – 1 tsp. Salt (adjust to taste)
• Cilantro for garnish

Preparation:

• Wash dal and pressure cook dal with ⅛ tsp. cumin, few drops of oil and ½ – ¾ cups of water until tender and soft. I pressure cooked dal for 4 – 5 whistles, reduced the flame to low and cooked for additional 5 minutes.
• Let the pressure from the cooker release naturally. Open the lid and mix the dal or mash the dal with back of the spoon. I like very soft and smooth dal and usually pressure cook it longer to get that texture.
• In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp. of oil.
• Add cumin, mustard seeds and let the seeds splutter.
• Add fenugreek powder, curry leaves, green chilies, onion and saute until green chilies change color and onions are soft.
• Add garlic saute for few seconds.
• Add turmeric and mix well.
• Add cooked dal and give a good stir. Cook for a minute or two in the tempering.
• Add 1 ¼ – 1 ¾ cups of water or as required and bring it to boil. Let it boil for for another 4-5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt. Turn off the heat.
• Garnish with cilantro ~ kothmir and serve hot with rice.

This day in 2014: Xalapa – Enfrijoladas