Genasugadda Pulusu

Genasugadda Theeyati Pulusu ~ A Sweet & Spicy Sweet Potato - Lentil Stew

I was surprised to notice that this one is going to be my first pulusu post here considering the fact that I grew up eating pulusu / pappus on a daily basis. To this day, my mother and her siblings prepare either a sweet - tangy pulusu / pappu in their kitchens but never a sambhar. This may be surprising to many South Indians but there are many Brahmin families (especially in the coastal Andhra regions) where sambhar never makes an appearance at their dining tables. Naturally, I was (and still am) not fond of sambhar and did not start to prepare it until M (who is used to sambhar from childhood) kept insisting for it.

Like a sambhar, Andhra pulusu is prepared using toor dal and a vegetable / a mixture of vegetables. Depending upon one's preference, the consistency of a pulusu can be anywhere between a sambhar and a rasam. The main difference between these two stews is that sambhar uses sambhar powder, the signature spice mix while the pulusu doesn't need anything of that sort. The sweet, tangy flavors should balance and sometimes for the uninitiated palates, pulusus can come across as sweeter.

For today's post, I have used the sweet potato to prepare a tangy - sweet pulusu.

Ingredients: (4 servings)
1/2 cup toordal
1 cup sweet potato cubes (chopped and cubed)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chili powder
Salt to taste
1 small lime sized tamarind (soaked in water and juice squeezed)
1 Tbsp powdered jaggery (less or more quantity depends upon preference)
For tadka: 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves

Method:
* Wash the toor dal. Cook the dal along with the vegetable and turmeric powder adding about a cup of water in a pressure cooker, until softly done. If your pressure cooker takes longer to cook the dal, then the sweet potato may be cooked separately until tender either on stovetop or in a microwave. 
* When the valve pressure is gone, remove the dal container; gently mash the dal with the backside of the ladle and keep aside.
* Heat the oil in a kadai / deep pan and add the tadka ingredients. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the cooked dal, sweet potato, tamarind juice, jaggery, salt and chili powder. Add water to reach the desired consistency and check the taste and adjust the quantities of ingredients if needed. All the flavors should shine in this recipe unlike sambhar. Bring to a rolling boil and lower the heat. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes more and turn off the stove.
Serve with hot rice and koora, a vegetable side dish.

Check out the other marathoners participating in BM#5. 
Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Aarthi, Divya, Jayashree , Kaveri, Pavani,
Seven Days of Indian Sweets: Gayathri, Priya Suresh,
Seven Days of Microwave Meals: Monika,
Seven Days of Regional Specials: Harini, Me , PJ and Vaishali
Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: Kalyani
Summer Coolers: Jayasree, Kamalika, Srivalli

Today's post is going to be a part of the event I am guest hosting this month, Cooking with Wholefoods - Toordal / Pigeon Peas, originally started by Kiran.

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