Try this classic South Indian dish mamidikaya pappu, a blend of unripe mangoes and lentils and spiced with aromatic spices. It is a vegan dish and makes a comforting meal on midweek when paired with rice or chapati.
This tangy raw mango lentil curry is prepared with toor dal (split pigeon peas), unripe green mango, and basic Indian spices. First, dal is pressure-cooked with turmeric and salt until it softens. Then the spices are tempered, the mango is cooked until tender and everything is combined with mashed dal.
Despite being simple to prepare, this mango dal is incredibly tasty, bursting with flavours. It is ideal for a midweek meal, especially on hectic or lazy days. Serve it hot with steamed rice and Andhra pickles such as avakaya, munakkaya pachadi and appalam for a wholesome and comforting dinner.
Ingredients
- Vegetables: Unripe mangoes, fresh coriander leaves, green chillies, garlic, curry leaves,
- Spices: Mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, turmeric powder, dried red chillies and salt.
- Lentils: Toor dal (split pigeon peas)
- Liquid: Oil to season spices and water to cook dal.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Step By Step Instructions
Step 1: Rinse and wash toor dal thoroughly and soak it in water for about 10-15 minutes.
Step 2: In a pressure cooker, add the soaked dal, 2.5 cups of water, turmeric powder, and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 4-5 whistles until the dal is soft and mushy.
Step 3: While the dal is cooking, peel and chop the unripe green mango into small pieces. If the mango is too sour, you can adjust the quantity to suit your taste.
Step 4: Once the dal is cooked, mash it with the back of the spoon or a masher
Step 5: In a saucepan or pot, heat the oil over medium heat.
Step 6: Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and let them splutter.
Step 7: Now add garlic, asafoetida, slit green chillies, dried red chilies and curry leaves. Sauté for a few seconds until fragrant.
Step 8: Add chopped mango, splash of water and cook for a minute or 2 until the mango starts softening.
Step 9: Add the cooked dal to the mango mixture and mix well.
Step 10: Let the dal simmer for another 5-7 minutes to allow all the flavours to meld together.
Step 11: Turn off the heat and mix in freshly chopped coriander leaves.
Serve the piping hot mango dal with steamed rice and any side dish of your choice such as aloo palak, vankaya vepudu or kandagadda fry.
Hint: You can use an Instant Pot to cook dal instead of a traditional pressure cooker.
For a typical Andhra thali, serve mamidikaya pappu with rice, dollop of ghee, appalam, tomato pachadi, munagaku karam podi, goru chikkudukaya vepudu/aratikaya puttu, garlic pepper rasam, yogurt and semiya payasam.
Substitutions and Variations
Lentils: If you don’t have toor dal on hand, you can substitute it with moong dal or red lentils that cook quicker than toor dal.
Ghee: Use ghee instead of oil for a rich flavour. Just remember that the dish will no longer be vegan.
Mangoes: If fresh, unripe mangoes are not available, you can use frozen ones instead. You don’t need to thaw them.
See this instant pot version of this recipe on my website!
Storage
Store leftover mamidikaya pappu in a clean airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat it in a saucepan or pot on the stovetop over medium heat until piping hot, stirring regularly. Alternatively, reheat it in a heatproof bowl in the microwave until piping hot.
Tips and Tricks
Choose the Right Mango: Use mangoes that are firm and sour. Adjust the quantity based on their sourness.
Peel Mango Skin: Make sure to peel the mango skin, as it can impart a bitter and unpleasant taste to the dal.
Consistency: Adjust the consistency of the dal by adding hot water as needed. It should neither be too thick nor too watery.
Simmer Dal: Allow the dal and mango mixture to simmer for at least 5-7 minutes so the flavours meld together nicely.
Cook Dal Properly: Ensure the dal is cooked until it’s soft and mushy.
Adjust Sourness: If the raw mango is too sour, you can adjust the quantity according to your taste. Start with a small amount and add more as needed.
FAQ
Dal can be cooked in a pot over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it becomes soft and mushy. It takes around 15-20 minutes to cook if you soak dal for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
More Curry Recipes
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Raw Mango Dal
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker
- 1 Trivet
- 1 Steel container
- 1 Steel pot
- 1 Spoon/Ladle
Ingredients
1 Cup = 250ml ; 1 Tablespoon = 15ml ; 1 Teaspoon = 5ml
- 115 gms toor dal (split pigeon peas)
- 2.5 cups water
- salt as required
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- big pinch asafoetida/ hing
- 3 cloves garlic peel and chop
- 2 dried red chilles adjust to suit your spice levels
- 3 green chillies adjust to suit your spice levels
- 1 sprig curry leaves remove leaves from the stem
- 200 gms unripe green mangoes wash, peel, remove seed and chop into medium size cubes
- 6-7 sprigs fresh coriander leaves wash and chop finely
Instructions
- Wash the 115 gms toor dal (split pigeon peas) thoroughly and soak it in water for about 15-20 minutes.115 gms toor dal (split pigeon peas)
- In a pressure cooker, add the soaked dal, 2.5 cups water, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, and salt. Cook for about 4-5 whistles until the dal is soft and mushy.115 gms toor dal (split pigeon peas), 2.5 cups water, salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- While the dal is cooking, peel, remove the pit and chop the 200 gms unripe green mangoes into small pieces.200 gms unripe green mangoes
- Once the dal is cooked, mash it with the back of the spoon or a masher.
- In a saucepan or pot, heat the 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat.2 teaspoons oil
- Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and let them splutter.1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- Now add 3 cloves garlic, big pinch asafoetida/ hing, 3 green chillies, 2 dried red chilles and 1 sprig curry leaves. Sauté for a few seconds until fragrant.big pinch asafoetida/ hing, 2 dried red chilles, 3 green chillies, 1 sprig curry leaves, 3 cloves garlic
- Add chopped mango, splash of water and cook for a minute or 2 until the mango starts softening.200 gms unripe green mangoes, 2.5 cups water
- Add the cooked dal to the mango mixture and mix well.
- Let the dal simmer for another 5-7 minutes to allow all the flavours to meld together. Check the taste and add salt if necessary.
- Turn off the heat and garnish with chopped 6-7 sprigs fresh coriander leaves.6-7 sprigs fresh coriander leaves
- Serve the piping hot mango dal with steamed rice or chapati.
Made this dal yesterday and it turned out good. My family loved it. Cooking mango separately is a brilliant idea. Mango chunks always turned mushy and mix up with dal whenever I pressure cook.
I’m so glad your family liked this recipe and thanks for your feedback!
It’s a good recipe and I’m sure is delicious but why do you call it Raw?
Everything seems to be cooked.
That’s a good question. Since I used unripe green mangoes, commonly known as raw mangoes, it is named raw. That’s just to make it clear as both ripe and unripe mangoes are used in curries. However, I think I’ll include green mangoes in the title to avoid any confusion.