Okra Dal ~ Bendakaya Pappu

'O' for Okra dal - My entry for Nupur's A - Z event.
Pappu, the traditional Andhra dal is a regular dish prepared at our homes. The usual, standard vegetables that go into our pappus are green mango / mamidikaya, cucumber/dosakaya, tomato, green leafy vegetables to name a few. My husband’s family use okra to make pappu. To me, who love okra in it’s crispiest state, this was kind of an unusual dish.
Today, to my surprise, my husband volunteered to prepare our lunch and presented me with ‘O’ dish for Nupur’s event. The following recipe is my husband’s and he has taken the liberty of a chef when it comes to the ingredients list. The optional ingredients mentioned in the recipe are not used in a traditional pappu recipe at our homes. Their addition did enhance the taste and was delicious. So, here comes my husbad’s first recipe on my blog.
Ingredients:
Toor dal - 1 cup
Okra - 1 Lb
Green chillies - 6/8
Salt - Accordingly
Tamarind extract (obtained from soaked tamarind) - 4 Tbsp or accordingly
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 4 Tbsp
Ginger, chopped fine - 1 tsp (Optional)
Cumin powder - 1 tsp (Optional)
Garlic Powder - 1/2 tsp (Optional)

For Tempering:
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 1 /4 tsp
Curry leaves - A few

Preparation:
I used 1 Lb frozen okra packet. If using frozen okra, thaw and remove any excess water. If using fresh ones, wash them, wipe them dry and chop into circles after trimming the ends. Chop the green chillies fine.
Cook toor dal, green chillies and turmeric powder with sufficient water in a pressure cooker or in a big pot till it is cooked soft. Pappus are not watery like sambhars and therefore, the quantity of water required to make pappu is only a little more than needed to cook dal.
Heat 4 tbsp of oil to a pan and add chopped okra. Keep frying the okra till all the stickiness (if present) disappears and it is cooked. Gently rotate the okra with the spoon while frying, so that okra doesn't become mushy. Add tamarind extract, salt, cumin powder to the okra mixture and let it cook on low flame till the mixture comes to a boil. Add cooked toor dal to the pan and stir the whole mixture once with a ladle. Let it simmer for few more minutes.
Heat oil in a small pan and add ginger. when ginger starts to turn light brown, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds start to pop and cumin seeds turn brownish, add asafoetida and garlic powder. Turn off the stove after a few seconds. Add to dal, stir the mixture with a ladle and close the lid. Let the dal sit for a few minutes so that all the flavors are infused.
Serve with hot rice and a spoon of ghee.

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