Beerakaya Pappu - Ridgegourd Dal

Nurturing, nourishing dals appear in various forms across Indian kitchens everyday. Pappu, a comforting and filling one is one such dal from my home state, Andhra.
Today's recipe is beerakaya pappu - the ridgegourd dal. This dal differs from the standard papu versions and doesn't use tamarind or ground chillies. Green chilies are used for mild spiciness. This can be prepared in a cinch, if you own a pressure cooker.
Dahi mirchi is the perfect companion for these kinds of dals with sweet undertones.



List of ingredients:
1/2 cup toordal
1 cup peeled and cubed ridgegourd (remove the seeds if not tender)
4 serrano peppers (or any green chillies), slit lengthwise into 4 or 6 slices
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
Salt
Finely chopped cilantro for garnish
For tadka: 1 or 2 tsp canola oil,  1 tsp each of mustard seeds and cumin seeds, a pinch of asafoetida, 3 or 4 red chillies (broken into bits) and curry leaves. Also dahi mirchi* (uppu mirapakayalu) can be added.

The cooking part:
Wash the toordal in two exchanges of water and discard the water. Then add the gourd, chilies, turmeric powder and about a cup of water. Pressure cook (or in a sauce pan over stove top) till the dal is done. After the valve pressure is gone, remove the dal and add salt to it and stir well.
For the tadka, heat oil in a small saute pan and add the tadka ingredients in the order mentioned. Turn off the stove when mustard seeds start to pop and cumin starts to sizzle and gets brownish. Add the tadka to the dal and mix well.
If using dahi mirchi, heat a tsp of oil to a small saute pan and add dahi mirchi to it. When they slightly brown, remove with a slotted spoon and add to the dal.

*Dahi mirchi: Yogurt soaked, Sundried green chillies 

This is going to Susan's MLLA, where Srivalli is guest hosting the eighteenth helping.

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