Paruppu Kulambu ~ Paruppu Kuzhambu | Simple Aloo Roast | South Indian Thali ~ Step by Step Recipe

There are really times when you see something and realize that there is still so much you got to learn. I felt that way when I saw my colleague who got this for his lunch. He had cooked up this dal and seeing how nice it looked, I asked him what it was. He said it was Paruppu Kulambu, imagine I have lived all my life here and I haven't heard something like this. On closer investigation I understood it was the Mudda pappu or thick toor dal cooked plain and served the way  it is served in Andhra. He was calling it by a different name. Still it was a lesson I liked learning.

Within couple of days I had the chance to make it myself. It was a saturday and hubby dear wasn't coming for lunch. I decided I will try this simple dal and pair it with yet another simpler aloo Roast. As you might have guessed Aloo roast anytime tastes great, especially the way I made with extra few more drops of oil. Plus the fact it had garlic added. When I was making the meal, I was reminded of the fact that this could very well be called Cooking up a meal. Infact after I made it, I almost wanted to change the theme to Cooking up a meal. But imagined how it might actually be. With simpler dishes it's always easy to plan such things.

End of the entire cooking adventure I was left with a urge to capture a typical classic homely comfort, a simple dal, curry, rasam, curds and semiya payasam! A comforting meal for a weekend special. The entire meal got completed in 30 minutes, maybe few mins more for clicking the Step by Step Pictures. Planning to collect such Thalis for those tough times when we run out of ideas!

 A South Indian Thali!

Paruppu Kulambu ~ Paruppu Kuzhambu

Wash and pressure cook the toor dal.

Once cooked, add more water as required and make it thin.

In a pan, heat oil and ghee.

Add the tempering ingredients and cook.

Keep stirring till done.

 Pour over the cooking dal.

Bring it to boil again.

..till you get the right consistency!

Paruppu Kulambu 

Ingredients Needed:

Toor dal - 1 cup
Turmeric a pinch
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves few

For Seasoning

Mustard, Urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves few
Red chilies - 2 -3
Ghee and oil - 1 each

How to make Paruppu Kulambu

Wash the toor dal and take it in a pressure cooker.
Pressure cook the dal with enough water. Once the pressure falls, add salt and more water to make it thin.

Put it back to heat and bring to boil.

Simple Aloo Roast / Potato Curry

I am sure there will hardly be a person who will not profess undying love to this tuber! I was resisting for a long long time, until recently I have given up and confessed by love, atleast to this roast! It does surely grow on you, the more you resist, the worse you fall.

Microwave for 7 mins after making marks on the washed potatoes.

Heat a non stick pan with oil, add mustard, urad dal and curry leaves

Add boiled and cubed potatoes.

Simmer and cook adding few drops of oil every few mins.

Add crushed garlic and sambar powder, salt.

combine and cook

After 15 mins you are done!


Simple Potato Roast

Ingredients Needed

Potatoes - 4 medium
Salt to taste
Sambar powder
Garlic - 2 big cloves
Curry leaves
Mustard, urad dal
Oil - 3 -4 tsp

Meanwhile heat a pan with ghee and oil, temper with seasoning and pour over the dal. Finally garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

While the dal is getting cooked, you can microwave the potatoes by marking slits on it and microwaving for 7 mins. Once done, cool and peel the skin. Chop it into fine pieces.

Heat a non stick pan with oil, add curry leaves, mustard, Urad dal. When the mustard pops, add the cubed potatoes. simmer and add crushed garlic, sambar powder, salt. Simmer and cook on open till the potatoes turn crispy.

Add few drops of oil as you cook, so that the potatoes are well roasted. Continue cooking till you get the aloo very crisp.

This takes about 15 mins or so.

Cumin Pepper Rasam!

Tags: South Indian Recipes, Tamil Recipes, South Indian Thali, Simple Dals, Potato Roast

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Pappu Pulusu – Pappu Charu Andhra Style - Lunch Box Recipes

This is another method to make the famous Andhra way of making a lentil vegetable stew with Tamarind base. Normally the pappu charu is not that sour but mildly made using tamarind, however in this method Amma makes use of little more of tamarind pulp that renders a little more hint of tamarind in the gravy.

Pulusu is anything that's thin in texture and we normally use tamarind in the base. Some years back, Pappu charu was the default Sunday night comfort meal. After the hectic lunch preparation, it was this mild simple comfort food.

This is was my lunch when I had made a different menu for the family. I paired it with Hing and red chilli powder seasoned potato chips.

Pappu Pulusu ~ Tamarind based lentil Stew with Vegetables

Ingredients Needed

For the Pulusu

Toor dal - 1 cup
Onions - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 medium
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind pulp - 1 lemon size.
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tsp

Vegetables used:

Drumstick - 1, chopped into small pieces
Arbi / Colacasia / Samagedda (Chama dumpa) - 3- 4 nos
Snack gourd / Potlakaya - 1 small

Tempering ingredients:

Mustard seeds, Urad dal - 3/4 tsp
Curry leaves few
Green Chillies - 3 nos
Dry Red Chillis - 1

How to make Pappu Pulusu

Wash and cook Arbi till done. Arbi can be cooked in a pan of water or in microwave. Once cooled, peel skin and chop into rounds of 1" thickness.

Chop drumstick into small pieces. Microwave for 5 -7 mins in microwave. Prep the snake gourd and wash well. Chop into small pieces. Snake gourd can be cooked in the gravy itself. Keep all the vegetables aside.

Pressure cook toor dal till done with turmeric and few drops of oil. Keep it aside.

Heat a pan with oil, add mustard, urad dal, curry leaves. When the mustard pops add the finely chopped onions. Saute till the onions turn colour. Add green chilies, red chilies. Saute for couple of minutes.

Then add finely chopped tomatoes. Add salt, turmeric powder, simmer till the tomatoes turn soft. Then add the vegetables, saute in oil for couple of minutes.

Next add the red chilli powder, followed by the tamarind pulp. Add 1 cup water and bring to boil. When it starts boiling, simmer and cook with lid covered for 15 mins.

Serve with steaming rice and potato chips

Boiling Vegetables in Microwave
Check out how to boil Drumstick, Arbi, Potatoes in Microwave.
Pappu Charu Recipe 1

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Dalcha Recipe | How To Make Dalcha

Dalcha can easily be called a silent killer. Yes famous among its peers yet not so well known outside its crowd. While everybody knows and raves about Biryani, not many may know how important a dalcha is, when you talk about Biryani. Especially when it's a non vegetarian biryani. Growing up in a non vegetarian family I have often heard about Dalcha being talked about in reference to Biryani. Yet I never seen Amma preparing this often. It mostly belonged to the Muslim families, who make this with non veg added to the gravy. So you can imagine I never got around tasting it.

Yet during one of my conversation with our family friends who are experts in making Dalcha including the Muslim biryanis, I came to know that not all of them make a dalcha with non veg included. I was really so happy knowing that. Our family friend shared two recipes, one that I have kept aside for my book. The other one happens to be what Amma got from her. This is completely different from the other one, yet equally good.

As I was talking about how my hubby dear refuses to eat just plain Veg Biryani with Raitha, this is yet another gravy that has come to our rescue. We are still enjoying a relatively relaxed holidays with kids. Konda's school reopens 1st of June and she will be getting her books by the last week. While I was dreading the fact that there will be loads of books literally that I have to cover, FIL has promised to come down to help me.

Coming to the recipe, this is very healthy as it has different vegetables added to it along with dal.

Dalcha Recipe

Ingredients Needed

Vegetables added

Bottle gourd, chopped - 1 cup
Brinjal - 3 medium
Carrot - 1 medium
Beans - 5 nos
Potatos - 1 medium  
Tomato - 1 medium

Dals

Toor dal  - 1/2 cup
Bengal gram - 1/2 cup

For the paste

Coconut paste - 1 tsp
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon - 1"
Poppy Seeds / Gasa Gasa powder - 3/4 tsp

For the gravy

Ginger Garlic paste - 1/2
Tamarind - 1 marble size

For seasoning
Mustard, Curry leaves

Method to prepare:

Wash and soak the dals for 10 mins.

Chop all the vegetables and keep it aside.

Make a smooth paste with coconut, cloves, cinnamon, and poppy seeds.

In a pressure cooker, take everything excluding the seasoning, add 1 cup water and pressure cook for 2 whistle, switch off.

Once pressure is all released, add the tamarind juice bring to boil.

Finally season the gravy with mustard, curry leaves.

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Dosakaya Pappu | Indian Lunch Box Recipes

Reading my post on Dosakaya Kootu, I realized that it's been almost 10 months since I started using Facebook regularly. Last June I seem to have done this, yet here I was thinking it's been just a while ago. And this pappu also gets done often, though somehow never came on the board. Since I have chosen to blog on 30 minutes meals, I can't but get those hidden dals that get done on a regular basis right! 

Pappu is our most favorite dish and the one that gets done in different circumstances. It's what we make when we return from a trip. It's what we make when we feel we have to revive our taste buds. Yet we keep making it often. It's like the parupu podi that Amma makes. Last night when it was fish for the rest of the family, I declined anything saying I will eat fruit for dinner. Within minutes I saw Athamma busy roasting something and tempting aroma was sneaking to the hall. I saw she had immediately made the podi for me. I was so touched. She was wondering if it tasted as good as how Amma makes, I said it surely did and had a blast. I was remembering how that podi and these dals are such must on our table.

Dosakaya Pappu

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 15 mins
Cuisine : Andhra Cuisine

Ingredients Needed

Toor Dal - 1 cup
Dosakaya / Yellow Cucumber - 1 medium
Dried Red chillies - 5-6
Onion - 1 small
Tomato - 2 medium
Garlic - 4 cloves
Tamarind - small marble sized
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard, urud dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves few
Water for cooking
 
Method to prepare:

Clean the dal and keep aside. Chop onions and tomatoes. Crush the garlic cloves along with the skin.


Peel the dosakaya and cube into small pieces.


Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add mustard and urad dal. then curry leaves and cumin seeds. Once it splutters, sauté onions, red chillies and garlic. Once onion browns, add dal, dosakaya pieces and fry for few mins.

Then add tomatoes, tamarind, turmeric, and water for cooking. Cover it with lid and pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistles till the dal is cooked well.

When the pressure is off, take the dal masher or pappu guthi, mash the dal well with the red chillies. Add salt. and cook on high flame for 2 mins.

Serve with steamed Rice.

This is the same way we make most dals, only difference would be when you add the vegetable and how mushy you cook it.
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