Thotakura pappu / Amaranth leaves daal

Hello Guys,

I have a mini garden where I try to grow as many as plants possible . So I planted Amaranth seeds .. so that I can have fresh pesticide free , leafy vegetable for my dishes .. I know its very tempting for you right now to grow some leafy vegetables in your backyard .. well go ahead , all you need is some space, soil,seeds .. !! Happy planting ..

So Today I plucked some of the fully grown leaves to prepare daal . So lets see how to cook it ..

My Cute Amaranth Plant... :)

                       

You need:

Thotakura/ Amaranth leaves : A small Bunch 

Toor daal / kandi pappu : 1 Cup uncooked 

Garlic Cloves : 5 finely chopped 

Onions: 1 Small , chopped length wise

Cumin/Jeera seeds : 1 Tsp

Mustard seeds : 1 Tsp

Red chillies : 2 broken into pieces

Green chillies : 5 Slit 

Oil : 2 Tbsp

Turmeric powder : 1 Tsp

Curry leaves : 5 

Salt : adjust to taste

tamarind paste: 1 Tsp

Water : 1 small cup

Method:

1 . Cook Daal along with Amaranth/thotakura leaves, turmeric powder , I used 2 1/4 cups of water for 1 cup of daal.

2. Keep the pan on the stove , heat the oil .. when oil is heated enough .. add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves and let them splutter.

3.Once they start popping , add green chillies , onions and garlic . Fry them until onions turn translucent. By this time a seducing aroma of garlic should be dancing all around the kitchen :) .. 

4. Now add the cooked daal ,Amaranth/thotakura leaves and salt to the pan.

5. Add some water and the tamarind paste to the daal and mix well.

6. Now cook the daal for few minutes until the bubbles starts showing , once the daal starts bubbling , you can turn off .

7. Serve hot with rice / chapati / roti .

Sorry I couldnt take all the pics as I cooked this today morning where I am in a hurry ... but will upload soon when I prepare next time .. 

Here are the pics of my steaming Daal .. 

Fresh Amaranth/ thotakura leaves from my garden.. :)

heheh ;P .. Already I packed Some daal to my dear husband's lunch box .. 

Tips :

1. You can also add tomatoes if you want the daal to be more colorful and sour.

2. If you dont have tamarind paste in handy , add lemon juice .. it gives the same taste as tamarind .. most of times I use lemon juice as it is quick.

3.Dont chop the Amaranth/thotakura leaves because as you cook them with daal they automatically become mushy and gets small when cooking.

4. If you dont like the daal spicy .. then you can eliminate green or red chillies but not both .

It took only half an hour for preparation and cooking .. Enjoy this quick , tasty and healthy recipe and let me know after you try it .. !!

                                   Stay Happy Stay Healthy :)