Broccoli – Capsicum Pappu (Dal)

We love a variety of dal dishes. I think all Andhrites are very fond of dal dishes. Every day we make sure we have any dal item or sambar item to eat with rice.  

As my kids also enjoy the taste of these dal dishes, I add different kinds of vegetables to this to make it healthier. I sometimes sneak in the vegetables like Broccoli and Celery into these dal dishes and the kids don’t even realize it and eat happily.

Here is one such dish where I added both broccoli and green bell pepper which made the pappu so tasty and healthy too. I prepared this dish during Ugadi and totally forgot to post it. As I was looking at 'to be posted recipes', I found this and thought of posting today.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients: 1 cup Pigeon Peas (Kandi Pappu, Toor Dal) ½ cup Broccoli Florets ½ cup Capsicum/Green Bell Pepper, chopped 1 Tomato, chopped ½ tsp Red Chili Powder or 2 Green Chilies A half of Lemon (Optional) A pinch of Turmeric Powder Salt as needed For Seasoning/Tempering: 1 tsp Oil ½ tsp Mustard Seeds ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds A pinch of Asafetida (Inguva, Hing) Few Cilantro leaves Preparation: Check dal for impurities and wash well.  Combine dal and vegetables (broccoli, bell pepper and tomato) in a bowl, add a pinch of turmeric, cover and pressure cook until done (for 3 or 4 whistles). Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they pop, add cumin seeds and sauté well. Then add the cooked dal and mix well. Add salt and asafetida and mix well again. Keep the dal on low flame until small bubbles appear on top. Stir well and turn off the flame. Squeeze in a half lemon, if desired. This is purely optional. Transfer the cooked dal to a serving bowl and garnish with finely chopped cilantro. This delicious dal goes well with rice as well as chapathis. Yummy.