Its good to be back after a brief break with dishes that have great memories from India and my home state Andhra Pradesh. Gongura is so special to Andhra and especially people from the Krishna District that it is served normally for any auspicious occassion. Also,almost all Andhra restaurants outside Andhra Pradesh serve the lovely gongura pachadi.

Amma was always busy with work and she normally works 8 months in a year 7 days a week. But this was a dish in which she would put all her efforts, energy , time and love as it was a family favorite. There were days when nanna wouldnt enjoy his meal without gongura and so it was a staple for many years. There would be gongura pachadi everyday mixed either with Korivi khaaram or finely chopped raw/sauteed onions or whole roasted garlic cloves. Well, we never had a bad gongura day!

I’d like to share Gongura Pappu and Gongura Nune Koora today. The Pappu is out of the world for me but the Nune kura is an acquired taste. It is an intermingling of tangy red gongura and garlic cloves sauteed in oil and of course ,what dish is complete without the wonderful popu of Andhra?

Amma never used Erra Gongura ( Red Sorrel leaves) for Pappu and Kura . This was used only for pickles as it was a little tangy for our household. We always use Tella Gongura (white Gongura). Here, I’m referring to the stem colour. As there is limited choice in the US, especially Phoenix where Indian fresh produce comes from California and not very appealing to the eye, I used Red Sorrel leaves instead and it was a pleasant surprise to us that it tastes as good as the white Sorrel leaves.

The process is a little cumbersome but the effort was worthwhile. I bought a pound of gongura leaves attached to the stems, picked the leaves, washed them and pat dried the leaves and left them a couple of hours to completely dry and chopped the leaves finely.. A drop of water will spoil the Nune kura, which normally stays fresh for a week without refrigerating. I used 2/3 of th pound for the Kura and the 1/3 for pappu.

Gongura Pappu:
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Ingredients:
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2 cups of chopped gongura leaves
2 fistfuls of dal
1 medium sized onion diced
3 garlic cloves finely chopped ( or more according to taste)
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Oil, salt to taste

For the Popu/tadka/seasoning:
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1 teaspoon urad dal
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon of Asafoetida/hing
3 red chilies
3 green chillies
A few curry leaves

Take the dal, turmeric and the leaves in a pressure cooker and cook until 3 whistles . Once done , remove from heat and keep aside.

In a wok , heat the Oil and do the popu/tadka/seasoning by adding, Urad dal, mustard seeds, hing, red chilies, green chilies, curry leaves and once the mustard seeds pop and the curry leaves sizzle, add the chopped garlic, diced onions , and saute until pink and then add the dal mixture .

Add salt, chili powder and let the dal simmer for atleast 5 minutes and remove from heat. Serve hot with rice and a dollop of ghee.

Gongura Nune Kura:
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Ingredients:
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4 cups of chopped gongura leaves
1 medium sized onion
5 garlic cloves ( or more according to taste)
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons of Oil, salt to taste

For the Popu/tadka/seasoning:
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3 teaspoons of Chana dal
1 teaspoon urad dal
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon of Asafoetida/hing
3 red chilies
3 green chillies
A few curry leaves

Heat oil in a wok and saute the gongura leaves . add salt and cook until they wilt and the raw smell disappears and keep aside.

In the same wok, add Oil again and add the Chana dal, urad dal, mustard seeds, red chilies . Once the Popu sizzles, add the diced onions and saute until pink. Add the finely chopped garlic and also the fried gongura leaves. Also add the turmeric, asafoetida, green chillies and saute for another 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and serve hot with rice and a dollop of ghee