Gongura Pappu

Couple days ago my neighbor gave me a bag of Gongura leaves from her garden. I was skeptical about using it because the leaves are very sour. I did not know how much it will be liked by my family. It is very popular in Andhra, where they make a pickle out of it. There are 2 types of gongura, one with green stem, which is slightly bitter and one with red stem. I had the green stem leaves. My husband looked for a recipe online and read it out to me and I made it for lunch. It was not well received by my kids, but my husband enjoyed it.

Ingrdients:
1 onion, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
2 green chili, slit
1 t sambar powder
1/2 t chili powder(optional)
1/2 t turmeric powder
salt to taste
3 C chopped Gongura leaves
1/2 C cooked toor dal
For seasoning:
2 t oil
1/2 t mustard seeds
1/4 t urad dal
1/4 t cumin seeds
1/8 t asafoetida
2 red chili

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan to medium. Add the ingredients for seasoning. Add onion and green chili and cook till translucent. Add tomato, sambar powder, chili powder and turmeric powder; cook for a 5 minutes.  Add chopped gongura and salt; pour enough water; cover with a lid and cook. Stir in cooked toor dal; cook for 2 more minutes and remove from stove. Serve as a side dish with rice and sambar.