Dals are the most popular staple in Indian homes. Eaten in every state, they are usually paired with rice, forming a balanced meal.
Mung, masoor, chana, toor are the most common varieties used and what distinguishes preparations of dal between states is the kind of tempering.
Mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, red and green chillies, curry leaves, with a dollop of ghee, is standard.
In Andhra Pradesh, a typical meal generally consists of rice and pappu, the Telugu name for dal. A variety of dals/lentils are used in this cuisine, sometimes with assorted vegetables as a stir-fry, or even on their own as an individual dish.
Kandi pappu (toor) is the most preferred dal. The lentils are boiled with a few tomatoes, seasoned with mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves, making for the most delicious and tangy Tomato Pappu, a dish eaten with steamed rice and pickle in every Andhra home.
Utthi Pappu, on the other hand, is roasted, boiled toor dal, paired with spicy curries and rice.
In summers, Mamidikaya Pappu is a perpetual favourite and is prepared with raw mango and toor dal.
Green sorrel leaves or gongura, when combined with toor dal, results in the popular Gongura Pappu.
Toor is not the only pappu used in Andhra food. Mung dal or pesara pappu is also cooked with vegetables or greens, especially spinach to make Palakura Pappu, where garlic is used for tempering.
Interestingly, Dosakaya Pappu, made with toor dal or even chana dal, makes use of yellow cucumber.
Chef Sarafath Khan offers his delicious ghee-laced recipe for Gongura Pappu. And Sumitra Kalapatapu shows us how to prepare a simple, tasty Tomato Pappu.
Gongura Pappu Recipe
Recipe: Chef Sarafath Khan
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
- 250 gm toor dal or pigeon peas
- 2 cups water
- 500 gm gongura or red sorrel leaves
- 30 gm garlic, mashed or minced
- 30 gm onions, chopped
- 6 tsp jeera or cumin seeds
- 3 tsp haldi or turmeric powder
- 50 gm green chillies
- 25 gm red chillies
- 60 gm ghee + extra to fry the garnish
- 2 tsp rai or mustard seeds
- Few curry leaves + extra for garnish
- Salt to taste, about 1½ tsp
Method
- Roughly chop and blanch the sorrel leaves and keep aside.
- Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker, over medium heat, and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves.
Let it crackle.
Add the onions, garlic.
Then mix in the blanched sorrel leaves, green chillies, haldi, salt and gently fry. - Now add the toor dal, 2 cups water and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles or till done.
Allow the pressure to release naturally and open the cooker and mix thoroughly.
Add more salt if required. - In a small frying pan, heat the ghee for the garnish and fry the remaining curry leaves, red chillies.
- Serve hot with rice.
Tomato Pappu
Recipe: Sumitra Kalapatapu
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
- 1 cup boiled toor dal or pigeon peas
- 3 large tomatoes, chopped
- 3 red chillies
- 3 green chillies, slit lengthwise
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- ½ tsp rai or mustard seeds
- ½ tsp jeera or cumin seeds
- ½ tsp hing or asafoetida
- 1 tsp oil
- ¼ tsp haldi or turmeric powder
- Water
- Salt to taste
- Handful fresh green dhania or coriander leaves or cilantro, chopped
Method
- Mash the toor dal well.
- In a kadhai, heat the oil over medium heat.
Add the mustard seeds, jeera, red chillies, green chillies, curry leaves, hing.
Allow the spices to splutter.
Add the chopped tomatoes, salt, turmeric powder. - Sprinkle a little water.
Cover and cook until the tomatoes are mushy.
Now add the dal and the chopped coriander.
Add more water, if necessary, to adjust the consistency of the dal. - Serve hot with steamed rice and ghee.
Chef Sarafath Khan, an alumnus of IHM Bhubaneshwar, is an executive chef at Welcomhotel Devee Grand Bay, Visakhapatnam. He has 24 years experience, working in several hotels across India.
Turning to food as a therapy to overcome a personal tragedy, Sumitra Kalapatapu is the home chef behind the Bengaluru-based brand Sumi's Kitchen, known for its Andhra Brahmin cuisine from West Godavari district.
Passionate about food, she is a popular face at five-star hotels, where she does pop-ups regularly. She is also known for her delectable pickles. Sumitra won Restaurant India's Home Chef of The Year in 2018.
© 2026