Gongura Pappu

Sorrel leaves toor dal — fresh gongura (Ambade/roselle sorrel leaves) washed and added directly to pressure-cooking toor dal and cooked together until both are completely soft, then mashed together and tempered with mustard seeds, dried red chilli, garlic, and curry leaves in sesame oil. The gongura leaves dissolve into the dal and turn it an olive-green colour; the combined flavour is intensely tart with the dal's earthiness providing body. The gongura pappu is one step more sour than the plain tamarind-soured dal and the step before the concentrated gongura pachadi; it is the most everyday form of gongura consumption in Telangana. Eaten over rice with a generous pour of ghee; the tartness of gongura is particularly effective as a foil to the richness of the ghee.