Ammamma Vantalu - Vadiyala Pulusu

Ammamma Vantalu - Grandmother's Cooking

When we were recently exchanging recipes, my mother casually mentioned about some dishes she had while growing up that I was not aware of. Such one simple dal recipe of my ammamma (maternal grand mother) caught my attention and here it is.
To sum up, vadiyala pulusu is a simple one spiced up with fried minapappu vadiyalu. Though my grandmother prepared this vadiyala pulusu only when she ran out of vegetables, we liked it very much and from now on, this is going to appear at our table frequently.

Ingredients to serve 4:
1/2 cup toordal
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
A handful of minapappu vadiyalu / uraddal vadi
Salt to taste
Chili powder to taste (about 1 to 1.5 tsp)
Lime sized tamarind (Soak the tamarind in a cup of water for about 30 minutesor nuke it in a microwave along with little water for about a couple of minutes. Squeeze the tamarind well with your fingers or put through a sieve and collect the thick pulp. Throw away the husks & residue.)
For tadka: 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp each mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, a pinch of asafoetida powder and a few curry leaves
Oil to fry vadiyalu



The cooking part:
* Wash the dal in two changes of water. Cook the dal with turmeric powder and about a cup of water in a pressure cooker till done.
* After the valve pressure is gone, remove the dal and add salt, chili powder, 3 Tbsp (or as needed) tamarind puree and mix well. Add water to bring it to sambhar consistency. Taste and adjust the salt/tamarind if needed. Bring it to a rolling boil, turn down the heat and let the sambhar simmer for about a couple of minutes more.
* Meanwhile, heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds & cumin seeds to it. When mustard seeds start to pop, add the asafoetida & curry leaves and turn off the stove. Add this to the sambhar and mix well.
* Heat about 1/4 cup of oil in a small wok / pan. Add the vadiyalu and toast them till they brown. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain.
* Add the fried vadiyalu to the cooked pulusu and mix well.

Serve immediately with hot, steamed rice and a tsp of ghee.

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