Thotakoora Pappu

This summer, I made it a point to grow some of our favorite greens in our backyard and even in containers in the kitchen balcony. We could therefore enjoy a bounty of fresh gongura, chukkakoora and thotakoora (amaranth greens) after a long time. Today's post is about a favorite dish of mine made with thotakoora / amaranth greens. I was planning to do a special post for MLLA and when unfortunately I could not do so, I thought why not do a post about one of my favorite dishes. Thotakoora pappu or a dal with amaranth greens reminds me of home I left behind and to me is one of those homely foods that has comfort written all over it.
And obviously, this is going to Susan's MLLA, 40th edition hosted by me this month.

Ingredients: (6 servings)

1 cup toor dal / kandipappu

1 bunch of thotakoora / amaranth leaves (about 4 cups chopped leaves and tender stems)

2 tomatoes, chopped (optional but recommended.)

1/8 tsp turmeric powder
3 - 4 Tbsp thick tamarind juice or as needed (A lemon sized tamarind ball soaked in water and thick juice extracted.)
Salt & chilli powder to taste

For tadka: 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, few curry leaves and a pinch of asafoetida powder

Method:
* Wash the toordal and cook in a pressure cooker, adding the greens, tomato, turmeric powder and about 2 cups of water. Or cook in a saucepan adding water as needed until the dal turns mushy.
* Heat oil in a saucepan and add the tadka ingredients in the order mentioned. When the seeds start to crackle, add the cooked dal mixture, tamarind, salt and chili powder. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Bring it to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 3 -4 minutes and turn off the stove.
Serve warm with steamed rice / rotis. 

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Thotakoora Vadalu

             Thotakoora Vadalu ~ Urad dal - Amaranth Leaves Fritters

My last batch of amaranth leaves for the season have withstood last week's havoc caused by the gusty winds and chill. We pretty much had bad weather here in Midwest, the wind was continuously howling for about 2 & half days and 24 tornadoes were reported in 24 states on the first day. :(
This weekend, I used up those amaranth leaves to prepare these delicious thotakoora vadalu / amaranth - uraddal vadas for our lunch. Other greens like spinach / methi can be substituted for a different flavor and I promise you would enjoy them. There is nothing to complain about these fluffy, crispy vadas with the added nutrition of greens. They are perfect for breakfast / brunch or as a teatime snack. Or drop them in a bowl of piping hot rasam as I did, for the yummy & spicy rasa vadai.

Ingredients for 4 generous servings:
1 cup uraddal
1/2 cup chopped amaranth leaves / thotakoora
1 onion finely chopped
2 -3 green chillies finely chopped
Salt to taste
Oil to fry vadas

Preparation:
Wash and soak uraddal for a minimum of 2 hours. Drain the water and keep aside a handful of uraddal. Grind the remaining uraddal into a fine, thick batter adding a little quantity of water. Beat the batter for about a minute and mix in the soaked uraddal, salt, chopped amaranth leaves, chillies and the onion to the batter.

Method:
Heat oil in a kadai or a wide, deep-bottomed frying pan. When the oil is hot enough, drop small balls of the batter into the oil gently. Fill in the pan with vadas without overcrowding. On low heat, fry them till they turn golden brown, turning them around a couple of times in between. Cooking them on low flame ensures that they are perfectly cooked through. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on absorbent towels. Repeat the process with the remaining batter.
Some of the accompaniments that work are chutney / sambhar / rasam / any hot sauce / ketchup.



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