Pappu charu, made with toor dal, tamarind juice and little seasoning is very commonly prepared stew in Andhra homes . It is a  lighter version of sambar, takes less time to cook and is good with steamed rice. Many Variations like Benadakaya(Okra) pappu charu, Vankaya(Brinjal) pappu charu, Munnakkaya(Drumstick) pappu charu and Mullangi(Radish) pappu charu are famous. It can be cooked without vegetables too.

I wanted to make this recipe soon after saddula bathukamma when I made whole grain prasadam. But, I finally made this over last weekend and it came out very well. Its nothing but replacing rice with barley in Pappucharu/Sambar rice. Since barley is good with soups and stews, I recommend replacing rice with barley in any stew when cooked with dals(lentils) like samabar rice/ dal rice/ pongal/ sweet pongal and even in dosa recipes.

 Ingredients:

1. Toor Dal – 1 Cup
2. Barley – 2 Cup
3. Water – 6 Cups (twice the quantity of pulses/grain ingredients)
4. Tamarind – Small Lime size ball
5. Oil – 2 tbsp
6. Mustered seeds  – 1 tsp
7. Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
8. Dry red chilies –  2
9. Curry leaves – 6
10. Garlic cloves – 3
11. Green Chillies – 5
12. Onion – 1 (chop into big chunks)
13. Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
    
14. Tomato – 2 (chop into big chunks)
15. Okra –   10  (cut into 2″ pieces)
    
16. Carrot – 2 ( slice into thin rounds)
17. Edamame seeds – ½ Cup
18. Cumin – Fenugreek powder – big pinch ( you can use cumin powder and fenugreek powder separately)
19. Coriander powder – 1 tsp
20. Coriander Leaves – 2 tbsp ( chopped finely)
21. Salt – 2 tsp (adjust)
22. Jaggery – 1 tsp
    

Method:

1. Wash and pressure cook dal and barley  with water for up to 3 whistles.
2. Soak tamarind in enough water in a separate bowl.
   
3. Crush garlic cloves with ¼ tsp cumin seeds.
4. Heat oil in a vessel over medium heat, add mustered seeds, cumin seeds and dry red chillies. When mustered seeds are spluttering, add curry leaves, green chillies and onion. Fry them for a minute. Add turmeric powder mix well.
5. Now add all vegetables (tomato, carrot, okra and edamame seeds), mix well, add salt and mix.
   
6. Cover with lid and cook vegetables on medium low heat until they are soft and cooked completely.
7. Extract tamarind juice and discard pulp
8. Add cumin- fenugreek powder,tamarind juice and cooked barley-dal, jaggery, coriander powder. Add water if needed. Mix well and cook for 10 minutes.
   
9. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve warm.

Barley lentil and vegetable stew

Notes:

• Tastes better after 4 to 5 hours of preparing this dish.
• Replace the vegetables based on availability and taste to make your own version.

I am sending my 2’nd entry to cooking with seeds–barley which is started by priya