A - Z Andhra Recipes ~ G for Gongura - Mamidikaya Pappu

My initial ideas about 'G' dishes revolved around garelu (husked black gram fritters and not the medu vada though some call it garelu as well), gongura (sorrel leaves) and godhum appalu (wheat flour - jaggery based traditional sweet). I had to rule out garelu in mid way since I had already three deep fried fritters in my finalized list of recipes. I had prepared both gongura pappu and appalu for my 'G' recipe. In fact, appalu was my choice until this morning but gongura dish won finally for the regional authenticity. Andhra appalu are done a little differently than the neighboring state versions but still I thought of going with gongura. Gongura is one of the most cherished leafy greens in Andhra and there was no way I would have a 'A - Z' list of Andhra dishes without including it. 

My recipe today comprises the two culinary aspects of Andhra - the 'pappu' preparation and the addition of green mango to leafy green dals. A pappu is a lentil / toor dal based preparation from Andhra, which is usually on a thicker side, compared to other south Indian dal preparations. Moong dal may replace lentils, sometimes. Any spice powders or sweeteners are not used in the preparation of pappu. A particular vegetable or leafy greens are added to lentils while making a pappu and the dish takes the name of that particular vegetable used in the preparation. Mamidikaaya pappu is the one using mamidikaaya or green mango, Palakoora pappu is the one using paalakoora or spinach and so on. The usage of green chillies / chili powder, tamarind, salt and a tempering that includes asafoetida and curry leaves balance the flavors in the dish.

Green mango is not an usual addition for gongura pappu preparation but is commonly added to other leafy green based dal preparations in the summer months. I added it since both gongura and mango available to me locally are not closer to the Indian versions in the flavor department and they are barely sour. I had to even add tamarind. This dish is like rolling two flavorful dishes in one - the popular regional dishes of gongura pappu and the green mango pappu. This is a sans onion - garlic preparation as I am used to but the green mango can be replaced with onion and above is the link for that recipe. Good variety gongura leaves do not need any souring agent and so go cautiously with the usage of green mango and / or tamarind in the dish.

Dal - A Hindi word that represents all dry and cooked versions of beans.

List of 'G' culinary terms in Telugu.

Fruits / Vegetables:
Gajanimma pandu - Sweet lime 
Gangi regi pandu - Jujebe fruit
Gadda kooralu - Root Vegetables
Genasu gadda - Sweet potato
Gongura - Sorrel leaves
Goruchikkudu kaaya - Cluster beans
Gummadi kaya - Ash gourd 

Ingredients:
Gadda perugu - Thick yogurt
Gasagasalu - Poppy seeds 
Godhumalu - Wheat kernels
Godhuma nooka - Broken wheat
Godhuma pindi - Wheat flour
Godhuma rava - Fine cracked wheat

Dishes:
Garelu & Gatti vadalu - Black gram fritters 
Gavvalu - Sweet dish
Godhuma appalu - Sweet dish
Godhuma kudumulu - Sweet dish 
Godhumannam - Cooked broken wheat
Godhuma rava upma - Cracked wheat upma
Gutti vankaya koora - Stuffed eggplant dish
Guntha ponganalu - Breakfast / Snack
Gongura pulusukoora - Sour and spicy, sauteed sorrel leaves
(Dals, curries and chutney made with above vegetables also fall under 'G' dishes.) 
 
Ingredients needed:
1 cup toordal / lentils / kandipappu
2 to 2.5 cups chopped gongura leaves (sorrel leaves)
1/2 cup green mango, peeled and cubed *
2 spicy green chilies, sliced lengthwise and/or chili powder as needed
Salt as needed 
Lemon sized tamarind ball * 
For tempering/popu: 
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1/4 tsp. fenugreek seeds
A few pinches of asafoetida
Few curry leaves 

* The quantity of mango used depends upon the sourness of the gongura. And if the sourness lend by gongura and green mango are not enough for the dal, then add tamarind as well. Both the gongura and the green mango available to me locally are not sour and so, I end up adding tamarind as well.

Method:
* Wash lentils in two exchanges of water and drain. Pressure cook together the lentils, chopped gongura, turmeric, green chillies if using and 2 cups of water. Cook green mango cubes separately in a sauce pan on stove top or in a microwave adding little water. (I cook mango separately to avoid it turning mushy in the cooker. Besides, the sourness of mangoes interferes with the cooking of lentils.)
* Soak tamarind in water or nuke it in a microwave adding half a cup of water for about 2 - 3 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind using your fingers or passing through a sieve. Discard the seeds and fibre. Use the thick puree extracted as required and save the rest for later use. 
* Once the valve pressure is gone, remove the pressure cooker lid and mash the cooked lentils with the back of a ladle.
* Heat oil in a kadai / pan and add mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start popping, add fenugreek seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves. Next add the cooked lentil mixture, mango cubes, salt, chili powder (if green chillies were not used before) and about 1/2 cup water. Stir the contents well with a ladle and check the sourness. Add the  tamarind extract if the pappu is not sour enough. Stir well once more and let it simmer for about five minutes for all the flavors to mingle.
* The tempering part can be done separately and added at the end as well.
* Serve hot with rice and a spoon of ghee as part of a Andhra style meal.

So far on A - Z Andhra Cuisine,
A for Alasanda Vada
B for Bellam Garelu
C for Chiyali
D for Dondakaaya Kaarapu Kaaya
E for Endu Kobbari Podi
F for Fine Biscuits

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Authentic Andhra Meals ~~ Gongura Pappu

No dish can get more 'quintessential and authentic Andhra' than a gongura preparation. The gongura greens are cherished in Andhra cuisine more than any of its counterparts and is used to prepare delectable pappu, pachadi and other dishes.
There are two varieties of gongura leaves available - the one with the red colored stalks (Erra gongura - the red one) and the other with the regular greenish colored stalk (Tella gongura - the white colored one). They impart their characteristic sourness to a dish  and so one need to be careful about adding any other sour agents  to gongura preparations.
Today's recipe is gongura pappu, the 'ultimate' dal preparation from Andhra.

Required ingredients:
1 cup toordal
Chopped gongura leaves -3 cups, firmly packed
One onion, finely chopped (optional)
4 medium sized chilies, sliced lengthwise (I used Serrano peppers)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt as needed (about 2&1/2 tsp)
Thick tamarind juice - 3 Tbsp (optional.) **
Chili powder - 1 tsp
For tadka/popu: 1 tsp oil, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds & a few pinches of asafoetida, few curry leaves
**Depending upon the sourness of gongura, tamarind can either be used or omitted. The gongura leaves I got were not that sour and I had to use about 3 Tbsp of the tamarind juice.
*For tamarind juice, soak about a lemon sized tamarind in water or nuke it in a microwave (of course, with half a cup of water added) for about a couple of minutes. Squeeze the tamarind using your fingers or passing through a sieve. Discard the seeds and fibre. Use the thick puree extracted as required and save the rest for later use.
If using the ready-made tamarind paste, the quantity mentioned above varies.

 
Gongura pappu in the traditional pappu ginne (container used to cook the dal)

Cooking:
Wash the toordal and throw away the cloudy water. Cook toordal along with gongura, onion, chilies and turmeric powder adding about 2 cups water in a pressure cooker.
When the valve pressure is gone, remove the cooked dal. Add salt and chili powder. Stir the contents with a ladle and check the sourness. Add tamarind juice only if required. Stir well once more and turn on the heat. Let it simmer for about five minutes for all the flavors to mingle.
Do the tadka/seasoning in a small sauté pan. Heat oil and add the tadka ingredients. When the mustard seeds start popping and the cumin turns brownish, turn off the heat. Add the tadka to the dal and mix well.
Serve hot with rice and a spoon of ghee for a delicious Andhra style meal.

This one goes to my 'Delicious Dals from India'.

     
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Gongura Pachchadi

I have reiterated the importance of pickles in Andhra cuisine on Veggieplatter, when ever I posted a pickle/chutney recipe. Undeniably, The pickles are part and parcel of Andhra cuisine. If we don't find pickle on our plates, including breakfast, we feel as if some bland, baby food has been served to us. We are the ultimate, spicy food lovers. When Latha of Masala magic has announced Andhrapradesh cuisine for the RCI event, I am not going to let go the opportunity without posting a pachchadi (pickle/chutney) recipe. Here comes Andhra special, gongura pachchadi.

Obviously as the name suggests, gongura pachchadi is prepared using the gongura leaves.Gongura comes in two varieties, the green stemmed ones (thella gongura) and the red stemmed ones (erra gongura). The red stemmed one is more sour than the green stemmed ones and hence preferred to make the gongura pachchadi. The iron rich leaves have a distinctive sourness.
In our households, gongura leaves are fried and salt is added as a preservative and stored in ceramic jars. This can be used yearlong and we are able to enjoy the pachchadi, even though we could not find fresh leaves where we live.

Storing gongura (the base for the pachchadi) :
You would need more bunches of gongura, if you wish to store. Pluck the leaves from the gongura stalks. Wash the leaves and allow them to air dry on a towel. Dry fry the leaves in a pan. In the process, water is released and so fry till all the water is evaporated. The fried leaves would have a very dark green - black shade. Remove and add sufficient amount of salt to the fried leaves. If sufficient amount of salt is not added, you would notice a layer of mold forming on the top, within a few days. Remove it and add more salt. (That's how it is done. The entire thing is not thrown away). Store it for further use.


Gongura pachchadi:
Ingredients:
Fried gongura - 1 Cup
Peanuts - 1 /4 cup
Sesame seeds - 1/4 cup
Coriander seeds - 1 Tbsp
Red chillies - 20
Asafoetida - less than 1/4 tsp
Onion, finely chopped - 1
Oil - 1 Tbsp

Dry roast the peanuts, sesame seeds, coriander seeds individually till they turn golden brown.
Toast the red chillies slightly to facilitate easy grinding.
Grind gongura, peanuts, sesame seeds, coriander seeds and red chillies into (a coarser) chutney consistency.
Heat oil in a small pan and add asafoetida and onion. Fry the onion on low to medium flame till it turns transparent. Turn off the heat. Add this to the gongura mixture and stir.
Serve with hot rice and a spoon of ghee.

This is my entry for Latha's Andhra Cuisine - RCI

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