Name: Tomato Dal Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 cup toor dal (/ split yellow pigeon peas); 2 tsp ghee; 1 tsp mustard seeds (/ rai); 2 tsp cumin seeds (/ jeera); 4-5 green chili ( / hari mirch, chopped); few sprigs of curry leaves (/ kadi patta); 5-6 garlic cloves ( / lahsun, chopped); 1 onion ( / pyaz, finely sliced); 1 tsp turmeric powder ( / haldi ); 1 tsp red chili powder (/ lal mirch powder); salt to taste; 3-4 tomatoes / tamatar (chopped)

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Tomato Dal Recipe or Tomato Pappu Andhra Style recipe with step by step photos and video instructions is a very delicious and simple to make dal recipe made with tomato and spices. Like the mix dal tadka, the main secret lies in the tempering for this dish.

What is Tomato Pappu?

It is nothing but a dal variety made with a lot of tomatoes. The tempering is done along with dal and not given as separate. It is a very famous dish in the Andhra and Telangana region.

What is Pappu?

Dal is known as “Pappu” in the Telugu language. Dal is a staple food of the many Indian homes and in Andhra, it is no different.

What are the ingredients required for making the Andhra tomato Pappu recipe?

Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker and add the mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds begin to splutter, add the cumin seeds, curry leaves, green chili, garlic, and onion. Fry till the onion turns golden brown in color and add the tomato, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt, soaked toor dal, and sufficient water.

Cook until the dal is done and mash lightly before serving it hot.

Can you make the tamatar ki dal recipe without the pressure cooker?

Yes, you can always make this dish without the pressure cooker. Just remember to soak the dal for faster cooking time. Follow the recipe as below and instead of using the pressure cooker, cook over the stove-top with sufficient water. The amount of water will be more for making over stove-top.

Which dal is used in Tomato pappu recipe?

Toor dal tastes best in this recipe. But you can also make with moong dal, masoor dal or even chana dal.

Pro Tips / Important points to remember while making the tomato dal recipe

Always soak the dal before cooking. It not only has health benefits but also helps in cooking faster.
You can substitute oil for ghee. But, it tastes authentic with ghee.
Moong dal, masoor dal or even chana dal can be added in place of toor dal.
Fry the onion well before adding the tomatoes for good color of the dal.

Step By Step Pictorial process of making the Tomato Dal recipe

1. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker and add the mustard seeds. Allow to splutter.

2. Add the cumin seeds, green chili, curry leaves, garlic and sliced onion. Fry until the onion turns golden brown in color.

3. Next, add the tomato and red chili powder, turmeric powder, and salt. Fry for a minute.

4. Add the soaked toor dal and sufficient water. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for 3 whistles or until the dal is completely done. (If you are making without the pressure cooker, add water and boil until the dal is done.)

5. Wait for the steam to cool and open the lid. Mash lightly and serve hot.

Serving suggestions:

Serve the dal hot.

You can serve this dish with both rice or roti. It pares well with jeera rice, plain rice, peas pulao, or any type of roti.

For more dal recipes you can check:

Let’s get started with the Tomato Dal Recipe – Tomato Pappu Andhra Style recipe