Authentic Andhra Meals ~ Dosakaya Pappu

Like a true Andhrite, I would drool over the mere mention of the word 'pappu' though I happen to eat it once or twice a week. Some pappus happen to be favored universally where as some happen to be personal favorites. Mamidi, gongura and dosakaya pappu happen to fall in the former category and so mentioning that how much I like this particular one is nothing but a reiteration.
Dosakya - the tangy cucumber available locally is the soul of this dish. The regular, green cucumbers / keera can be substituted in absence of dosakaya but the flavor / taste offered by the latter would be missing.

Ingredients for dosakaya pappu to serve 6:
1 cup - Toordal
1 dosakaya / cucumber - peeled and cubed (about 2 cups). Remove the seeds only if they are not tender.
1/8 tsp Turmeric powder
2.5 tsp - Salt
1.5 tsp - Chili powder
A small ball of tamarind - soaked in water and pulp squeezed
For tadka: 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, few curry leaves and a little asafoetida powder
Minced cilantro/kothimira for garnish (optional)



The cooking part:
1. Wash the toordal in two exchanges of water. Add toordal, cucumber cubes, turmeric and 2 cups of water to a container, place it in a pressure cooker and cook till you hear about 3 -4 whistles. If dal takes longer to cook, then cook dal and the cucumber cubes separately since the latter turns mushy easily.
In the absence of a pressure cooker, the dal can be cooked on stovetop in a sauce pan or a thick bottomed vessel on low to medium flame adding water as needed, till the dal reaches a fall - apart stage.
2. Remove the dal container when valve pressure is gone. Add salt, chili powder and tamarind puree to the dal mixture and mix well. Switch on the stove and bring it to a boil. Then on low setting, allow it to simmer for a couple of minutes more.
3. Meanwhile, in a small sauté pan, heat the oil and add all the tadka ingredients. When they start to sizzle, remove them and add it to the cooked dal / pappu and mix well.
4. Garnish with cilantro, if using.

Serve with hot rice and a tsp of ghee for a true Andhra meal experience.

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