The winter blustery nights should be renamed as stay at home curry nights.
I am talking about the curries that feel like home, not the greasy,masala heavy ones. The aloo curry, lauki ki sabji or the tofu curry, these are the ones that i seeing this group. There is one more that I love to make on the coldest nights,Andhra style dappalam. There is no particular explanation why dappalm on winter nights other than comfort. If you havent tried this Indian curry, today is your day.
What is Dappalam?
Dappalam or mukkala pulusu is a tangy, stew made with pumpkin, sweet potato, moringa pods, eggplants, yams and ashgourds to be served with rice. This light and low calorie curry is from the andhra cuisine. It is a lentil free, gluten free and nut free stew.
Is dappalam same as sambhar?
Dappalam is very different from sambhar both in flavour and ingredients. Though the vegetables used and the tamarind feels the same,dappalam does not use any cooked dals to thicken it. It is thickened using rice flour. Dappalam also doesn’t use any spice mix unlike sambhar which needs sambhar podi or the ground paste.
Ingredients to make dappalam
Vegetables: most vegetables that feature in Southindian curries can be used in this curry as well. Pumpkin, wintermelon, bottle gourd, ridge gourd, small eggplants, tomato, moringa pods all work well in this recipe. You can add spinach, moringa leaves, methi leaves can also be great additionally. The spiciness is added in two fold using green chillies and later on as chilli powder. Serrano peppers provide a good flavour here.
Tamarind: the tanginess is what keeps the curry interesting. Dry tamarind soaked and pulp extracted is the commonly added one. You can use storebought tamarind paste. If adding the paste ensure you stir in a little at a time as it is stronger in intensity than fresh pulp.
Spices: not much of whole spices or.spice mixes are made for this recipe. What goes in is salt turmeric powder amd red chilli powder. Choose your red chilli powder based on the heat you prefer. It can be mild Kashmmiri chilli or sick thikat lal. You can also.vhoose between paprika or cayenne.
Jaggery: the balance of the heat from the chillies is well balanced by a bit of jaggery that is added.
Infact the jaggery also enhances the sourness from the tamarind.
Rice flour: rice flour thickens the gravy to a pouring consistency. This can be white or red rice flour..ensure it is a fine ground powder. Glutinous rice flour is not useful to make this as it will make the gravy a bit jelly like (not pleasant to have).
Lets make this mukkala pulusu
The mukkala pulusu is a easy curry eve for beginners to master as you can keep adjusting the spices as the curry boils.
- Wash peel and cut the vegetables chosen into chunks.
- Soak the tamarind in warm water and set it aside to extract the pulp.
- After 10 minutes , crush with hand and extract the tamarind pulp.
- Add the vegetables into a cooking pot with turmeric and salt.
- Add the tamarind pulp and mix well.
- Add just enough water to submerge the vegetables.and cook them on medium heat.
- Add red chilli powder and jaggery as the vegetables start to become soft.
- Cover and cook this till the vegetables are soft.
- Make a slurry of the rice flour.
- Pour this into the curry while constantly stirring.
- Let this slow boil and thicken the curry
- When it is a pouring consistency and the curry appears glossy, it is ready.
- Remove from heat and serve.
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- tamarind for extract
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- vegetables fo cooking
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- vegies cooking in tamarind pulp
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- add he rice flour slurry
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- dappalam ready
What pairs well with dappalam?
Dappalam with steaming hot cooked rice (white or red), lettuce veppudu and some sago vadam is our Sunday meal. Don’t forget the dollop of ghee on the hot rice to get the authentic flavour. You can pair this with soft rotis, fluffy set dosa, string hoppers or idlies too.
Is dappalam a vegan recipe?
Yes Dappalam is a wonderful vegan stew recipe. It is loaded with vegetables and is free from dairy nuts and gluten.
When is Dappalam made in Andhra cuisine?
Dappalam is often made during the Sankranthi festival as a part of the elaborate meal. You can swap the sambhar out of a banana leaf meal to add this or in the south Indian thali.
Dappalam recipe
Equipment
- deep pot
Ingredients
for the tamarind pulp
- 1 lime sized ball tamarind
- 1 cup drinking water
for the curry
- 2 cups mixed vegetable pumpkin, wintermelon, moringa pods
- 2 medium green chilli
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- salt to taste
- 3 tbsp jaggery crushed
- 10 curry leaves
- 2 cup drinking water
- 1 tbsp Raw rice flour
for the tempering
- 1 tbsp Sesame oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 5 curry leaves
- 1 pinch Asafoetida
Instructions
- Soak the tamarind in water for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Squeeze and extract the pulp.
- Chop the vegetables into big pieces
- Add to the deep pot with turmeric, salt and the tamarind extract.
- Add water and cook the vegetables..
- Once they are fork tender add the rice flour slurry.
- Mix well and let the curry cook further to thicken.
- Once the curry looks glossy, it is ready to be served.
Other south indian curries
Thengarachukuzhambu
Kulith saar
Manga pachadi
Aviyal kuzhambu
Stay connected
Hope your curry nights will be easier with dappalam. Let us know in the comments how you served this curry.
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