Gongura Pappu (Gongura Dal)

Updated: August 4, 2022, By Swasthi

Gongura Pappu is a delicious, healthy and nourishing dish of lentils cooked with gongura leaves, spices and curry leaves. For a comforting meal, serve it with plain rice & ghee alongside Avakaya or Mango Pickle & papads. Gongura pappu is a staple in Andhra and Telangana regions of Southern India. Tangy, spicy and delicious is how this lentil dish tastes and a lot of people love this dish for the ease of cooking & the health benefits it offers.

gongura pappu

Recipe Comments

Gongura belongs to a family of Roselle and is known as Ambaadi in Marathi, Pulichakeerai in Tamil and Pundi Palle in Kannada. The leaves of this plant are a rich source of iron, folic-acid and many vitamins. So these are often used to cook many dishes like chutney, curry, sambar, pickle and dal dishes.

This Gongura Pachadi, Gongura Chicken, gongura pickle, gongura pulihora, gongura mamsam & gongura royyalu are some popular dishes made with these leaves.

About Gongura Pappu

Gongura pappu is protein packed and iron-rich so make sure you eat it at least once in a while if these are available to you. Gongura is not easily available like spinach or other leafy greens, so look for it in a South Indian Stores.

In this post I have shown making it the traditional way where lentils are cooked first until soft and then gongura is added to it along with onions and chilies. When the leaves wilt and soften completely, I make a tempering. However you will find many other ways to make this.

Sometimes I also pressure cook all of them together including gongura. The flavor of this is different as the leaves are overcooked. Make a tempering at the end. A few times I felt the dal did not cook well since I cooked it with the gongura. Acidic ingredients hinder the lentils from cooking softer.

To make in the Instant pot, I make the tempering first and then add all the other ingredients. Pressure cook for 10 mins. If using mature leaves, increase the timing to 12 mins.

People on a low oxalate diet also blanch the leaves and add them to the cooked dal. Some people are allergic to gongura, so blanching helps to minimize the allergic effects.

There are 2 kinds of gongura – red and green. While one is too sour and the other is moderately sour.

I have not used tomatoes but you can use them if your leaves are not too sour.

gongura leaves swasthis recipes

More Andhra Dal Recipes
Mamidikaya pappu
Tomato pappu
Sorakaya pappu
Palakura pappu
Beerakaya pappu
Gummadikaya pappu

Photo Guide

How to Make Gongura Pappu (Stepwise Photos)

Preparation

1. Pluck 1 cup gongura, add them to a large bowl filled with salted water. Leave it for a while for the mud or dirt to settle down at the bottom. Rinse several times in fresh water and drain them. For this recipe you will need 1 cup chopped gongura leaves.

washing red sorrel leaves for gongura pappu

2. Wash ¾ cup dal and pour 2 cups water. You can use half moong and half toor dal if you want. But traditionally only toor dal is used.

pressure cooking gongura pappu

3. Pressure cook on a medium flame until you hear 1 to 3 whistles, depending on the kind of cooker. I pressure cook for 1 whistle. If cooking in a normal pot without cooker, bring it to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat and cook on a medium to low heat until tender , soft and mushy. If required add more hot water.

two to three whistles for gongura pappu

4. I like to mash the dal to smooth. If you prefer some texture, don’t mash. Make sure the lentils are cooked fully as they won’t cook well after adding gongura.

mashing dal for gongura pappu

Make Gongura Pappu

5. Add chopped gongura, 1 to 3 slit green chilies, 1/8 teaspoon turmeric and 1 small sliced onion. Mix well and pour some hot water.

making andhra pappu recipe using gongura

6. Bring it to a rolling boil and reduce the heat. Cook until gongura is completely tender and cooked. Add ½ teaspoon salt. Taste test for salt and spice.

cooking andhra pappu

7. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons ghee or 1 tablespoon oil to a pan. Heat up on a medium heat. Add ¼ teaspoon mustard, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, red chilies, curd chilies (optional), 1 to 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 sprig curry leaves (pat dry) and a pinch of hing. Saute until the curry leaves turn crisp. Set your curd chilies aside to retain their crisp texture. If you like your dal to be spicy, add ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chilli powder to the hot tempering. Be careful as it burns quickly.

sesasoning with ghee for gongura pappu

8. Pour this over the gongura pappu.

Delicious gongura pappu ready in minutes

Serve gongura pappu with rice or phulka.

gongura pappu is gongura leaves cooked with dal

Related Recipes

Recipe Card

gongura pappu

Gongura Pappu (Gongura Dal)

5 from 12 votes
Dal cooked with gongura leaves, spices and curry leaves is a staple in the Andhra Cuisine. It is protein packed, delicious, spicy and tangy. Serve it with rice or roti.
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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Servings4
AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

  • ¾ cup toor dal (split pigeon peas or ½ cup toor dal & ¼ cup moong dal)
  • 2 cups water (½ cup more for adjusting if required)
  • 1 cup gongura leaves chopped (measured after chopping)
  • 1 onion small to medium
  • 1 to 3 hot green chili slit (optional)
  • teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ to ¾ teaspoon Salt (adjust to taste)

Seasoning

  • 2 tablespoons ghee or 1 tablespoon oil
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ½ to ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 to 2 dried red chilli (broken)
  • 2 to 6 Curd chilies (optional)
  • 1 Pinch hing (asafetida, optional)
  • 1 to 2 garlic pods crushed
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • ½ teaspoon red chilli powder (optional for more heat)


Instructions

  • Add dal to a bowl or cooker and rinse it well a few times. Pour 2 cups water and pressure cook on a medium heat for 1 to 3 whistles depending on your cooker.
  • Mean while soak gongura leaves in vinegar and salt water for some time. Rinse them well a few times and drain aside.
  • Chop gongura finely, slice onions, slit green chillies.
  • When the pressure drops, open the lid and mash the dal slightly. Add gongura, chilies, onions and slit green chilli.
  • Mix well and check the consistency. If it is too thick pour some hot water and mix. Bring to a rolling boil and reduce the heat. Cook until the leaves are fully tender and soft. Taste test and adjust salt.
  • Heat a small tadka pan with ghee or oil. Add cumin, mustard, garlic and red chili, curd chili. when the spices begin to splutter, add curry leaves and hing. If you want you can also set aside the curd chilies and turn off. Then add the red chilli powder.
  • Pour this to gongura pappu.

Instant Pot Gongura Dal

  • Pour oil or ghee to the steel insert. Press the saute button, add mustard, cumin, garlic, red chilies, curry leaves and hing.
  • Add onions and green chilies. Saute for 1 to 2 mins. Add red chilli powder, turmeric, dal and gongura.
  • Press cancel and pour 2¼ cups water. Deglaze the pot. Secure the IP with the lid and position the steam release vent to sealing. If you want you may put a trivet and your rice (short grain rice only) bowl over that.
  • Press pressure cook and set the timer to 10 to 12 mins, depending on how mature your gongura is.
  • When the pressure drops, open the lid and mash the dal. Add salt and mix well. Serve gongura pappu with rice and ghee.


Notes

The proportion of dal to gongura used depends on how sour the leaves are. Judge how much to use. The proportions mentioned in the recipe suit our taste buds. Using too much of gongura can make the dal very sour.

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts
Gongura Pappu (Gongura Dal)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 221 Calories from Fat 72
% Daily Value*
Fat 8g12%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 19mg6%
Sodium 385mg17%
Potassium 407mg12%
Carbohydrates 27g9%
Fiber 13g54%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 10g20%
Vitamin A 425IU9%
Vitamin C 23mg28%
Calcium 40mg4%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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© Swasthi’s Recipes

Gongura Pappu Recipe First published in March 2015. Updated & republished in August 2022.

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About Swasthi

I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me

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5 stars
I can’t get fresh gongura or fresh curry leaves where I live, so I have to rely on dried leaves. Do you know what the ratio is of dried:fresh?

5 stars
Thank you swati fr such a lovely recipes..when i have to impress someone with food my hand directly goes to ur recipes online n am showered with compliments…ur homemade pizza is my kids n whole my appartments kids fvt Now.. kids ask for tht often… Thank you so much

5 stars
Awesome recipes as always. I always wanted to ask this question that how do you manage to get the ingredients in Singapore because some time even I don’t get the ingredients in India Hyderabad. please reply and from which place?

5 stars
Thank you. That’s nice. ?

5 stars
Awesome recipes as always. I always wanted to ask this question that how you manage to get all the ingredients in Singapore because some time even I am unable to get sum vegetables in Hyderabad. Plz reply.and which place from.

5 stars
Thanks for sharing the healthy way to make gongura pappu. Tasty and nice

5 stars
Thanks very tasty