Raw Mango Dal Andhra Style - Mamidikaya Pappu

I had eaten this dal, for the first time, sometime last year. A very dear friend had sent it over; mum and I could not stop raving about it. I wanted to recreate it but, alas, I waited too long (procrastinator me) and by the time I decided to get down to it, mango season had ended. I could not source raw mangoes hence shelved the cooking project. This year I decided I would not procrastinate. Some time, last week, I laid my greedy paws on 2 huge (half kilo) raw mangoes. I knew exactly what I was going to cook with these babies. While I used one mango for this recipe, you’re going to have to wait a few days for me to tell you what I did with the other one. *Oh, what the hell, a little bit of suspense is  good thing* 😊

Ingredients:

1 cup tur dal (pigeon pea lentil), soaked for 2 to 3 hours

1 large raw mango (approx. 225-250 grams in size), peeled and cut into big cubes

10 cloves garlic, chopped

5 green chilies, finely chopped or cut into 1-inch pieces

12 curry leaves

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

10 -12 fenugreek seeds (methi dana)

1/3 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)

2 large onions, chopped

3/4^th – 1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/4^th teaspoon red Deghi Mirch or Kashmiri chili powder

Salt, to taste

A handful coriander leaves, washed, and chopped

6 to 7 tablespoons oil or as required

Tadka: (Optional)

4 tablespoons clarified butter (pure ghee)

5 curry leaves

1/4^th teaspoon red Deghi Mirch or Kashmiri chili powder

2 dry red Kashmiri chilies, halved, deseeded

Method:

1.    Rinse the soaked dal in water, two to three times or until water runs clear. Leave aside.

2.    In a pressure cooker heat oil. Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, 12 curry leaves, fenugreek seeds, asafoetida and allow to splutter (but do not allow to burn).

3.    Add onions, green chilies, garlic, and sauté until onion sweat and turn translucent. Do not allow them to turn colour.

   4.    Add turmeric powder, red chili powder and sauté for a few seconds. 

5.    Add the raw mangoes (seed included), rinsed tur dal, salt and approximately 3½  to 4 cups water.

6.    Pressure cook the dal for two whistles. Then, lower flame and allow pressure to build up for one more whistle and shut off the stove. Allow the pressure to release by itself. Empty the dal into a vessel. Give a light stir so as to smoothen out about 80-90 percent of the dal. Allow a wee bit of the dal to retain its shape.

7.    Put the dal back on low heat, add coriander leaves and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

8.    Optional: Heat clarified butter in a separate pan. Add 5 curry leaves, Deghi Mirch or Kashmiri chili powder and broken dry red Kashmiri chilies. When the leaves and chilies begin to crackle take the vessel off the heat and pour the tadka over the dal. Serve with rice (Basmati or soft ghee-laden Indrayani rice would be my choice), or pair it with vegetables and chapatis.

Chef Notes: 

1. The original version of this dal does not have tadka. I love a ghee tadka with dal, hence gave it a tadka twist; precisely why I have written ‘Optional’ for ‘Tadka’. According to the original recipe, as made by Andhra-ites, once you add the coriander leaves and simmer for a few minutes, the dal is ready to be served. 
2. The consistency of this dal is entirely up to you. I served a thick-ish dal with soft Indrayani rice.
3. There is another way to cook this wherein the dal and mangoes are cooked separately and then mixed together. I chose not to go the long route and opted for this short method instead.
4. The quantity of mango added to the dal will depend entirely on how sour the mango is and also on how tangy you prefer the dal to be. The mango I used was pretty sour, but I used a whole mango as we like tangy dals and also because I had planned to pair it with rice which would dilute the tanginess to a certain extent. 
5. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.
   
   Some more photographs: