An Indian meal is considered incomplete unless it is accompanied by dal, a well-known dish of lentils with vegetables and Indian spices. Lentils are unbelievably versatile, inexpensive and nutritious. Lentils/Pappu/Dal (The way it’s called in a few languages) is the most humble of all Indian foods. Today I’m going to share with you my all time comfort food- Tomato Pappu or Tomato dal a simple, wholesome, earthy and soulful food, which will tickle your senses with fragrant spices! The real surprise of this dish though is its simplicity. You just put everything in a pot and leave it to boil for sometime. Trust me, this will become your signature dish, a true classic
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What makes Tomato Pappu or Tomato dal stand out is the last-minute addition know as tadka or Chaunk or Popu/Thalimpu as we call it at home or tempering as I have mentioned in the recipe – whole spices cooked in oil or Ghee until fragrant. Cooking spices separately from the lentils may sound like a needless step, but this is what intensifies their essence and results in an incomparably distinct flavour. I also amp up the flavour with garlic, cumin seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves. What brings it all together, though, is the tanginess from the tamarind and tomatoes. It brightens up the entire dish, tames down the spice from both the green and red chillies, and adds another dimension of flavour that hits a different set of taste buds 
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Btw…Did you know that no two people make dal exactly the same way? In fact my own dal does turn out differently every time I make!!..Of course always tastes great 
. And that’s the beauty of this simple dal. Once you get a basic recipe you like, you can add your favourite ingredients or omit the bits you’re not that keen on. Don’t be shy with the spices, use them generously!
Serve Tomato Pappu or Tomato dal with a steaming bowl of rice and a drizzle of Ghee or with your favourite Indian flatbread (or even just on its own as a soup). This Tomato Pappu or Tomato Dal is healthy, hearty, absolutely comforting and a springboard for flavours. Skip the Ghee and it’s not only gluten free but vegan as well.
Off to the recipe for Tomato Pappu or Tomato dal!!
I’m going to walk you through the Pressure cooker method to make this Tomato Pappu or Tomato dal. Please refer to the Notes at the end, in case you want to make it without a pressure cooker. On to the recipe:)
Step-by-Step Process in making Tomato Pappu or Tomato Dal:
The process to prepare Tomato Pappu or Tomato dal involves 3 simple steps.
- Chopping
- Cooking dal along with veggies 9Today it’s mainly tomatoes and onions)
- Tempering Dal
1. Chopping:
- Slice onions into big chunks and finely chop tomatoes. Slit green chillies and set aside.
2. Cooking Dal with Veggies:
- First clean lentils and wash under running water with 2 to 3 exchanges of water.
- Add 2 to 2½ cups water and ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder.
- In a separate bowl (pressure cooker safe), add tamarind, red chilli powder and tomato pieces.
- Transfer lentils from the bowl to the pressure cooker.
- To this add onions and green chillies.
- Place this bowl with tomatoes on the dal. (basically this bowl should be smaller and fit into the cooker with dal).
- Close the lid and pressure cook for 3 whistles over high heat and then simmer to low for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Open the pressure cooker once the pressure subsides. Mash the contents in the bowl with tomatoes first and then transfer it to the dal.
- Now mash up everything together. Add required salt and a little sugar. Add water to get the desired consistency, whether thick or runny. In case you leave it as such with out adding extra water, then skip the next step.
- In case you have added water, then bring to a boil over medium heat with constant stirring for 2 to 3 minutes and turn off the heat. Make sure the dal does not stick to the bottom, otherwise you get a burnt taste.
- Transfer dal to a bowl and add finely chopped coriander.
3. Tempering the Dal:
- Grab all the required ingredients for the tempering. Crush or chop garlic pods.
- Heat oil/ghee in a small pan over medium heat. I’m using oil.
- When oil is hot enough, add garlic. Once garlic starts to turn light brown add red chillies, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add a pinch of asafoetida. Turn off the hat and add curry leaves. Transfer the tempering to the dal and mix well.
- Traditionally, this tomato pappu is served with rice along with a drizzle of ghee (clarified butter) over it. I know this way single serve might consume more ghee than needed. Instead you can make tempering with ghee in place of oil if you don’t want to compromise on the taste of ghee. This way you will not miss the flavour of ghee also also cut down few calories.
- Though it can be served with roti or paratha, white rice is the lustrous companion one craves for. Slurping through the dal coated rice is truly what composes comfort food for most Indians.
- It pairs well with Potato fry, Stuffed okra, Eggplant stir fry, Bhindi fry, Arbi fry, and my non-veg lovers can try it with Chicken fry, Masala Egg fry or even Chicken curry. My favourite combination is either a Potato fry or Chicken fry.
Note:
In case you want to make this dal without a pressure cooker, then soak lentils for at least half an hour. Add 4 to 5 cups of water to the lentils along with turmeric and cook covered till they become soft. Then add onions and green chillies, followed by tomato, red chilli powder and tamarind extract in this case. Finally there should be no grain visible. The lentils and all the other ingredients should blend well. If required add some more water while cooking. Cook in a deep pot because lentils tend to froth while cooking. If the mixture froths up, remove the lid and cook. Finally turn off the heat. For the tempering, follow the pressure cooker method.
The main advantages of using a pressure cooker are-
- Foods retain most of their nutrients and taste better.
- Saves energy and time.
Tomato Pappu or Tomato Dal
Ingredients
To Pressure cook:
- 1 cup Pigeon peas split lentils Tuvar dal/Toor dal/Kandhi pappu
- 2 to 2½ cups water to pressure cook lentils
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 large onion chopped to big chunks
- 3 green chillies slit or broken
- Gooseberry size Tamarind
- 1 to 1½ teaspoon Red chilli powder
- 3 medium sized tomatoes finely chopped
For the Tempering:
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons oil or Ghee
- 3 to 4 garlic pods crushed or chopped
- 2 Dry red chillies
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- A pinch of asafoetida
- A sprig of curry leaves
Other Ingredients:
- Required salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 Tablespoons finely chopped coriander
Instructions
- First clean lentils and wash under running water with 2 to 3 exchanges of water.
- Transfer lentils to the pressure. Add 2 to 2½ cups water and ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder.
- To this add chopped onions and green chillies.
- In a separate bowl (pressure cooker safe), add tamarind, red chilli powder and tomato pieces.
- Place this bowl on the dal.
- Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for 3 whistles over high heat. Then simmer to low for 5 minutes and turn off the heat.
- Open the pressure cooker once the pressure subsides. First mash the contents in the bowl with tomatoes and then transfer into the dal.
- Now mash up everything together. Add required salt and a little sugar. Add some more water depending on the desired consistency. In case you leave it as such with out adding extra water, then skip the next step.
- In case you have added water, bring the dal to a boil over medium heat with constant stirring for 2 to 3 minutes and turn off the heat. Make sure the dal does not stick to the bottom.
- Transfer dal to a bowl and add finely chopped coriander.
- For the tempering: Crush or chop garlic pods. Heat oil/ghee in a small pan over medium heat and dd garlic. Once garlic starts to turn light brown add red chillies, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add a pinch of asafoetida. Now turn off the heat and add curry leaves. Transfer the tempering to the dal and mix well.
- Serve with hot steaming rice along with a drizzle of ghee. It pairs perfectly with a Potato fry or a chicken fry. I wouldn't mind a crunchy papadam too.
Notes
Pressure-cooking dal saves time and retains nutrients.
Addition of sugar helps to balance out salt and sour flavours in a dish.
While cooking dal in a pressure cooker, do not bring tomatoes and tamarind (sour ingredients) in contact with lentils, otherwise the dal will not cook properly.
Usually most of them add either asafoetida or garlic in the tempering. It's believed they don’t pair together. But I love to use both.
Always use ripe tomatoes for dal.
You may also like to try out other popular posts using lentils in my blog- Mixed vegetable Sambar, Ven Pongal, Chakkra Pongal, Bobbatlu,…..Many more to come…Stay Tuned!!
This dal pairs well with Potato fry, Stuffed okra, Eggplant stir fry, Bhindi fry, Arbi fry….and for my lovely carnivores out there I have Chicken fry, Masala Egg fry or you can also try with Chicken curry….
Happy Cooking: 🙂
Padma
