Methi Dal / Methi Kura Pappu...truely Andhra Style!!

Can you guess from whom did I learn this dal ???....... hmmm..I learnt this dal from my sweet brother..:)....He claims that he is a super chef at our home and of course few of his dishes even got appreciation from his in-laws,especially his so called khara bath has a huge fan following in my family.Even my husband is a big fan of his khara bath and whenever I prepare it he always compares with my brother's khara bath as a standard.Even though I folllow the same procedure I could not reach the same standard level.Hope so I will also achieve that perfection and post the recipe soon on my blog.
Coming back to the dal,he has learnt this from his friends during his bachelor life.We all know that Andhra is famous for dals,pacchadi,stir fry and rasam.The preparation of dal in Andhra is quite different from other places,they mash the dal completely after it is cooked which gives a very nice texture and even the flavors blend well when made like this.The best way to eat the Andhra style dals is to mix the dal with hot piping rice and a liberal dose of ghee and with the accompaniments like alu fry or fryums,it tastes the best and just out of the world.I liked the way my brother prepared this dal and we started following the same procedure from then.Here in this recipe I have pressure cooked everything along with dal but my mom used to fry all the other ingredients like onions,tomato and methi leaves in oil and then add to the dal and pressure cook it,you can follow any of these ways as both taste equally delicious.

Ingredients:
1 onion finely chopped
1 tbsp tamarind pulp(extracted using hot/warm water)
1 tbsp chana dal
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp dhaniya powder(coriander seeds powder)
pinch of turmeric
4 tbsp oil
salt

To cook in pressure cooker:
1 cup Toor dal
1 1/2 cups chopped methi leaves
2 tomatoes finely chopped
3 green chillies
3 garlic cloves
pinch of turmeric

for Tadka:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp jeera
2 garlic pods (slightly mashed)
1-2 whole red chillies
1 tsp ghee

Method:

• Pressure cook dal,methi,tomato,chillies,garlic and turmeric for 3 to 4 whistles.Mash the dal completely to a puree kind of consistency and keep aside.
• In oil fry chana dal until red,add finely chopped onions and fry until its completely soft.
• Add the cooked dal and give a good stir and then add tamarind pulp,red chilli powder,turmeric,dhaniya powder,salt and enough water for the desired consistency and simmer it for 10 mins.
• In a Tadka pan,heat ghee crackle mustard seeds,jeera,red chillies,garlic pods and fry until garlic changes its colour and add this tadka to the cooked dal.

Serve it hot with rice,ghee and pickle/avakaaya or alu fry.

Note:

• Avoid ghee and use while tempering in the recipe for a Vegan version.

Thinking what is paratha doing in this post??
It is so simple,I prepared this paratha with the left over methi dal.Just mix up the left over with wheat flour and adjust the spice level, you will have easy peasy delicious parathas ready in no time.

Ingredients:
Left over dal
salt
wheat flour
red chilli powder
chaat masala

Method:
Mix everything according to your taste and make paratha's and fry the paratha on both sides.