Pappu Charuపప్పు చారు
⏱ Prep 35m🍳 Cook 25m🍽 Serves 4🌿 Vegan
Video: Vahchef - VahRehVah (YouTube)
Pappu charu is the everyday dal of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana — a light, souplike broth of toor dal simmered with tamarind water and tomatoes, far gentler than sambar and deliberately thin. In Telugu homes this is served over rice with a small amount of ghee as the first course of a full meal. The Vahchef classic keeps it simple: the tempering is restrained, letting the dal and tamarind speak. Do not thicken it into a heavy curry — the watery consistency is correct.
📍 Make it in Plano
This recipe is the same everywhere — but where you buy the ingredients and eat the dish is local to you.
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Ingredients
- ▪toor dal (kandi pappu / arhar dal)3/4 cup
- ▪tamarindmarble-sized piece (about 15g)
- ▪tomatoes, chopped2 medium
- ▪green chillies, slit3
- ▪turmeric powder0.5 tsp
- ▪saltto taste
- ▪fresh coriander, choppedsmall handful
- ▪--- For the tempering (tadka / popu) ---
- ▪ghee2 tsp
- ▪mustard seeds3/4 tsp
- ▪cumin seeds (jeelakarra)0.5 tsp
- ▪dried red chillies2
- ▪curry leaves1 sprig
- ▪asafoetidaa pinch
🌍 Cooking abroad? Substitutions
- Toor dal (kandi pappu) is available at all Indian grocery stores worldwide. Masoor dal (red lentils) substitutes well — they cook faster and produce a slightly earthier charu; reduce pressure cooker time by 1 whistle.
- Tamarind paste from a jar (1 tsp = marble-sized piece) works when fresh tamarind blocks are hard to find. Tamarind paste is widely stocked at Asian and Indian grocery stores and many large supermarkets with international aisles.
- Ghee for the tadka is traditional and strongly recommended — it rounds the sharpness of the tamarind. If cooking vegan, use coconut oil for a regional South Indian variation, or any neutral oil; the dish remains delicious.
Method
- 1Soak toor dal for 30 minutes; drain. Soak tamarind in 0.5 cup warm water, extract the pulp.
- 2Pressure cook the soaked dal with 2.5 cups water and turmeric for 3-4 whistles until completely soft. Mash well inside the cooker — pappu charu is a smooth broth, not chunky.
- 3Transfer the mashed dal to a pot. Add the tamarind extract, tomatoes, green chillies, and salt. Add 1-2 more cups of water: the finished charu should be thinner than sambar, close to a light soup.
- 4Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 15 minutes until the tomatoes are fully dissolved and the tamarind flavour has mellowed.
- 5In a small tadka pan, heat ghee. Add mustard seeds and let them pop. Add cumin seeds, dried red chillies, curry leaves, and asafoetida in quick succession.
- 6Pour the sizzling tempering directly into the charu. Stir, add fresh coriander, and taste for salt. Simmer for 2 more minutes. Serve over steamed rice with a small spoon of ghee and a papad.
A Desi.Net original recipe · part of our Indian Cuisine library. Confirm details and adjust to taste.