Thotakura Pappu (Amaranth Leaves And Lentil Curry)

I, myself love green leafy vegetables or greens( aaaku kooralu ) a lot. I like to buy fresh greens from the vendor back home which were just picked looking so vibrant and full of life. My grandmother( and my mom ) made sure we eat any aakukooralu( greens ) atleast once everyday. Its really hard for me to buy greens here in US so when i find thotakura i buy a lot., boil and freeze for further use. I know its not the best way to eat greens but i dont see any other alternative.
And when i buy them i make stirfry( thotakura talimpu ) , green leaves and lentil curry ( thotakura pappu ) , green leaves in tamarind sauce( thotakura pulusu ), green leaves stalks stew( kadala pulusu) and green leaves chutney( thotakura pachadi ) and enjoy them the whole week.


I remember we used to get molakoora( these greens have very small and tender leaves compared to thotakura ) back home, but i do not think i can find them anywhere in the US.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup tightly packed chopped amaranth leaves( thotakura ).
• 1/2 cup kandi pappu or toordal(tur dal, tuwar dal) Clean and drain the dal
  
• 4-5 green chillies( slit length wise)
• 1 onions chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 1 big tomato chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 lemon sized tamarind( soaked in warm water )

For Tadka:

• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds( jeera )
• 8-10 curry leaves
• pinch of hing
• 2tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp turmeric

Procedure:

• Please discard any hard stalks from the leaves. Only add the very tender ones chopped very finely. I store the remaining stalks and make stew ( kadala pulusu ). I will post it once i make the stew.
• Chop the leaves very finely( since it takes longer to cook than spinach ).
• I usually use pressure pan to make the dal since it takes very few minutes.
• Heat the pressure pan, add oil, mustard seeds, jeera( cumin seeds ), and hing.
  
• Once it starts spluttering add curry leaves and turmeric.
• Add onions and green chillies and fry for a minute or two.
• Add the chopped thotakura(green leaves ) and tomatoes and tamarind.
  
• Add tuwar dool and fry for a min.
• Add 1 - 1 1/2 cups of water.
• Mix well and cover with pan lid and put the whistle(weight).
• Cook on medium heat for 3 whistles.
• Open the cooker only when the weight comes out easily.
• Put the cooker on flame and cook to for 5 more min stirring occasionally.
• Switch off the flame., I will add some BUTTER or GHEE to enhance the flavor.
• Adjust salt to taste.

This is the easiest way to cook amaranth leaves using pressure pan/cooker that i know of. Moreover this is a one pot dish which most of us love to do during the busy weekdays. I find this curry very comforting and healthy( full of vitamin A and proteins from dal ). This thotakura pappu tastes heavenly with hot rice along with papad or dried yogurt marinated chillies. Chapathis and this pappu go very well hand in hand. Hope you will try this recipe..!

Tags: Aaku kooralu, Amaranth Leaves Curry, Indian Green Leaves Curry, Thotakoora Pappu, Thotakura Pappu