Tomato Pappu

Where does tomato pappu come from?

Pappu simply means dal in Telugu, and pappu in one form or another appears at nearly every home meal in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Tomato is the most common version, along with those using gongura, drumstick or mango. The usual way to eat it is with hot rice and a spoon of ghee, a sharp pickle such as avakaya, and something crisp on the side. It is thicker than a sambar and has no sambar powder. Compared with the North Indian dal tadka, it is sourer, has more chilli and garlic in the tempering, and is eaten as a real main with rice instead of a side.

Some cooks in Telangana add a spoonful of tamarind as a matter of course, and others cook a pinch of red chilli powder into the dal. This version gives the simple home-style method common to both states.

The technique that matters: sourness and the mash

The right tomato makes the dish. Country tomatoes, often sold as naatu or desi in markets, are round, thin-skinned and sour. The long, firm hybrid tomatoes sold in most city shops are sweeter and meatier, so taste the dal once it has been cooked, and add a little tamarind or lemon juice as needed. Cooking the tomatoes in the pressure cooker with the dal lets their acid and flavour go right through it, unlike a tomato added at the end.

Mashing is what turns the pot into pappu. The traditional tool, a wooden masher called a pappu gutti, pushes the grains into a creamy mass while leaving a little body. A whisk does nearly as well. A hand blender gives a smooth, soupy result, and that is the one tool best avoided here.

What goes wrong, and how do you rescue it?

If the dal stays gritty, it may be old or the water could be very hard, so cook it for a few more whistles with a splash of hot water. Tomatoes can also slow softening slightly. If this keeps happening, cook the dal alone first, then add the tomatoes and simmer. If it is too thin, simmer without a lid for 5 to 8 minutes. Too thick is simple, as hot water loosens it. If the garlic burns in the tempering, throw that out and start again, because bitter garlic will ruin the whole pot. If the dal has come out too sour, a pinch of jaggery rounds it off, and if it tastes flat, it needs more salt before anything else.

Substitutions and a lighter version

Masoor dal cooks faster and gives a softer, paler pappu, and moong dal makes a lighter one, both of which suit a sensitive stomach. Ghee in the tempering is the more festive choice, and for a vegan meal, oil works perfectly. Shallots can replace the onion, and many cooks add a small piece of ginger. The dish is already reasonably light, so the honest way to lighten the meal further is to take more dal and a vegetable and less rice. Asafoetida is often bulked with wheat flour, so buy a labelled gluten-free packet if that matters to you.

What goes with tomato pappu?

Hot white rice is the classic partner, with a little ghee, a spoon of pickle and appadam on the side. A dry vegetable fry completes the meal, and beans poriyal or a thoran are easy choices even if they come from further south. It also pairs well with rotis or jeera rice for a lighter supper, and a bowl of curd or a glass of buttermilk closes the meal nicely. Those interested in how dals and grains together make up a vegetarian diet will find more in the plant-based nutrition course.

Storing and reheating

Cool the pappu quickly and refrigerate within 2 hours in a closed box, where it keeps for 2 days. It thickens as it chills, so loosen it with a little hot water and bring it to a rolling boil before serving. A freshly made tempering at the moment of reheating brings back the lost aroma. It freezes well for about a month, without the coriander, and should be thawed in the fridge.