Tomatillo - Tomato Pappu

Being a South Indian and a person who loves simple cooking, I tend to lean towards basic dals. I welcome simple yet fulfilling dals with oodles of enthusiasm. Today's recipe is one such dal prepared with tomatillos and tomatoes - the green, tart and red, savory balls respectively.
Tomatillos are an unknown entity in an Indian kitchen since they are mostly cultivated in the Western hemisphere. However it is not hard to adapt tomatillos in Indian cuisine. They come with a paper thin husk, which needs to be removed before cooking. They are not to be confused with the unripe, green tomatoes available in India.  Today's recipe is based on my MIL's green tomato pappu.

For 2 Servings, the following ingredients are required:
1/2 cup toordal
4 tomatillos 
1 big sized tomato - chopped into cubes
2 green chilies - chopped fine (I used Serrano peppers. Adjust the chilies quantity if using other varieties.)
1 & 1/2 tsp salt or as needed
A pinch of turmeric powder
For tadka: 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 8 - 10 curry leaves, a pinch of asafoetida powder

Making Dal:

• Remove the husks, wash and then chop the tomatillos.
• Wash the toordal and throw away the cloudy water. Then add about a cup of water and turmeric powder to the toordal. Cook the toordal in a pressure cooker till it turns soft. Alternatively, you can cook on stovetop in a pan and adjust the water quantity accordingly.
• In a sauté pan or kadai, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds start to pop, add the curry leaves and asafoetida. Next add the green chilies and saute for about 30 seconds and then add the chopped vegetables. Sauté them till they turn mushy.
• Remove the dal from the cooker and mash it with the back of a ladle. Add this mashed dal and salt to the tomatillo mixture and mix well.
• Let it simmer for a couple of minutes more and then turn off the stove.
• Serve it with steamed rice / rotis. Ours was served with kohlrabi parathas.

Note:
1. The tart tomatillos acts as the souring agent in this dal recipe. If you find your tomatillos not that sour, then tamarind can be added.
2. You can add the chopped vegetables and chilies directly to the toordal while cooking it.

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