Telangana Dosakaya Pappu Yellow Cucumber Dal Sour Fresh

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup toor dal
• 1 medium dosakaya (yellow cucumber / Indian round cucumber) — peeled, deseeded and cut into 2 cm pieces
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 3 green chillies — slit
• For tempering:
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida
• 8 curry leaves
• 2 dried red chillies
• 4 garlic cloves — roughly crushed
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• Salt
• Fresh coriander

Method

1. Pressure cook toor dal with the dosakaya pieces, water, turmeric and slit green chillies for 4 whistles.
2. The dosakaya will cook completely soft and dissolve its natural sourness into the dal.
3. Whisk lightly. Season with salt. The dal should have a pleasant natural sourness from the cucumber.
4. For tempering: heat 2 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds — pop.
5. Add cumin, asafoetida, curry leaves, dried red chillies and crushed garlic.
6. Fry garlic 1 minute. Turn off heat. Add red chilli powder.
7. Pour tempering over dal. Garnish with coriander.
8. Stack the cooked flatbreads and keep them covered with a clean kitchen cloth to retain their warmth and softness until serving. Serve with the accompaniments while still warm — flatbreads lose their best texture as they cool.