Tale of a Tangy Soup (Pachi Pulusu)

This is a kind of sambar that is very easy to prepare and is a blend of three tastes like tangy, spicy and sweet. We call it as “Pachchi Pulusu” in Telugu.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium Onion, chopped lengthwise
• 1 Tomato, cut into small pieces
• 4 or 5 Green Chilies, cut into small pieces
• Some Cilantro Leaves
• 1 tsp Tamarind Pulp
• ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 2 tsp Rice Flour (to thicken)
• Salt and Water as required

For Seasoning:

• ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1 tsp Bengal Gram Dal (Chana Dal, Pachchi Senaga Pappu)
• 1 tsp Black Gram Dal (Urad Dal, Minapa Pappu)
• 1 broken dry Red Chili
• A few Curry Leaves
• 1 tsp Oil

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a deep bottomed bowl and add the mustard seeds to it. When they splutter add the cumin seeds along with the dals + red chili and the curry leaves. Fry for some time until the dals turn golden brown in color.

Then add the chopped veggies (onion, green chilies and tomato) and stir well. Add a little water to this, cover and let it cook for some time until the onions become translucent.

Later add the tamarind pulp + turmeric + sugar and mix well. Adjust the salt too.

Add more water to this, cover and leave it on medium flame until it boils and a nice aroma comes out.

This soup will be very thin at this stage. So to make it a little thicker: combine rice flour with a little water and pour this mixture into the soup. Stir well so that no lumps are formed. Leave the bowl for 5 minutes.

Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with steaming hot rice, ghee and some papads.