Recipe Cooked, Photographed and Written by Praveena
PrepTime:5 mins CookTime:Given Below Cuisine:Indian
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The South Indian Andhra Sakhahara Bhojanam (Vegetarian Meal Platter) in particular, is by default served with at least one dal / pappu.
And this, Tomato Dal / Pappu, is the easiest of all the lentil & veggie based recipes, from South Indian cuisine.
In my family, my younger daughter is a hard core fan of any South Indian dal. So, I make it a point I prepare variety of dal recipes, mainly for her sake. 🙂
This is a purely Vegan + Gluten free recipe and is a No Onion No Garlic Satvik Tomato Dal Recipe. It can be made Whole Food Plant Based recipe if you exclude the ‘TEMPERING’ part of the recipe below.
Table of Contents:
Click to Expand / Collapse
- Health Benefits of, ‘Indian Tomato Dal / Tomato Lentil Stew’:
- How to serve ‘Tomato Dal / Tomato Pappu’:
- Other recipes from my blog:
- Step wise pics Procedure for ‘Tomato Lentil Dal (Stove top, Instant Pot Methods)’:
- Stove Top Method Andhra Tomato Pappu:
- Instant Pot Method Tomato Dal:
- Tips & Storage:
- Result:
- Ingredients, Accessories on ‘AMAZON’ to ‘SHOP’:
- Recipe Card & Print:

Health Benefits of, ‘Indian Tomato Dal / Tomato Lentil Stew’:
Tomatoes, are an excellent source of Vitamin C and K. Being a water vegetable / fruit, tomatoes are generally low in cals. Hence, tomatoes easily fit into Weight Loss Diet recipes.
Toor Dal/Yellow Pigeon Pea Lentils, have many health benefits like improves digestion, good source of protein, iron, fibre, controls cholesterol, has folic acid. It is one of the most common pulses in an Indian kitchen.
To Conclude, this recipe is suitable for Vegan, Vegetarian, Plant Based, Gluten free, Satvik, Whole Foods, Kids Friendly, Low Calories Diets.

How to serve ‘Tomato Dal / Tomato Pappu’:
South Indian style Dal, is a side dish or accompaniment for small platter to full meal platter. It tastes best when paired with steamed hot rice.
Here is my collection of Daily Meal Platters with details, tips & plan⇒ Bhojanam / Thali / Meal Platter
And not to forget the dollop of homemade ghee / butter. If you are Vegan, go for same amount of sesame oil / sunflower oil.
Second option is, to serve as a side with Indian bread like, roti, phulka, paratha, naan.

Other recipes from my blog:
Before starting to cook, don’t forget to see the Tips mentioned at the end.
Dal Recipes collection⇒ Dal / Pappu / Lentil Stew
Collection of Recipes without Onion & Garlic⇒ No Onion & No Garlic Recipes
Instant Pot recipes collection⇒ Electric Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot Recipes
Related Posts:




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Ingredients:
- Fresh Tomatoes – 5 (medium size) (cubed)
- Toor Dal / Kandi Pappu / Split Pigeon Peas– 1 cup (medium size)
- Salt – 2 teaspoons
- Green Chillies – 3 (slit length wise)
- Red Chilli Powder – 1 teaspoon
- Turmeric Powder – ½ teaspoon
- Tamarind – marble size (or) 1 tablespoon of puree
- Water – as required for cooking
- Fresh Coriander – 2 to 3 twigs
Ingredients for Tempering :
- Mustard seeds / Aavalu – ¼ teaspoon
- Jeera / Cumin Seeds -½ teaspoon
- Asafoetida / Hing / Inguva – ¼ teaspoon
- Dry Red Chillies – 3
- Curry Leaves – 5 (optional)
- Cooking oil – 2 tablespoons
- Garlic – 3 cloves (optional)
Special Ingredients:
- Asafoetida / Hing / Inguva

Step wise pics Procedure for ‘Easy Tomato Lentil Dal (Stove top, Instant Pot Methods)’:
Stove Top Method Andhra Tomato Pappu:







Instant Pot Method Simple Tomato Dal:




Tips & Storage:
- Using Garlic: The authentic recipe doesn’t need, so I preferred this dal to be No Onion-No Garlic recipe, but you can add 3 garlic cloves in the tempering pan.
- Stove-top Pressure Cooker Method: Follow the same method as per Instant Pot method, but let the cooker whistle 3 times and let the pressure release naturally.
- Adjust the salt and spice as per your taste.
- For the tempering, try to add the spices whichever you have, but try not to skip the tempering.
- Storage: time of this Tomato dal / lentil stew at room temperature is just 1 day but when refrigerated stays good up to a week.
Result:
- The taste of this, Easy Tomato dal / Tomato Lentil stew, is mild in spice and the texture is very soft.
- It is suitable as a side with any rice, quinoa, any bread .
- As shown in the picture below, we had this Andhra Tomato Pappu as a side with rice along with homemade ghee as topping, which tastes amazing. 🙂


Ingredients, Accessories on ‘AMAZON’ to ‘SHOP’:
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Recipe Card & Print:

Easy Tomato Dal / Andhra style Tomato Pappu / Lentil Stew with Fresh Tomatoes
Equipment
- 1 Sauce Pan / Vessel (for stove-top method)
- 1 Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker
- 1 Small Frying pan (for tempering)
Ingredients
- 5 count Fresh Tomatoes (medium size)
- 1 cup Toor Dal / Kandi Pappu / Split Pigeon Peas (measuring cup)
- 2 teaspoons Salt (or as per taste)
- 3 count Green Chillies
- 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder (or as per taste)
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 marble size Tamarind (or 1 tablespoon of puree) (optional)
- as required Water (for boiling and cooking)
- 2 tablespoon Fresh Coriander Leaves (chopped)
Ingredients for Tempering:
- 2 tablespoons Cooking oil
- ¼ teaspoon Mustard seeds / Aavalu
- ½ teaspoon Jeera / Cumin Seeds
- ⅛ teaspoon Asafoetida / Hing / Inguva
- 3 count Dry Red Chillies
- 5 count Curry Leaves (optional)
- 3 cloves Garlic (optional)
Instructions
STOVE TOP METHOD EASY TOMATO DAL (15 mins)
- Take the lentils/kandipappu/toordal into a wide vessel / sauce pan and wash them twice thoroughly.Pour 3 times of water, such that the lentils/dal are well immersed. Set this vessel aside.
- Add the tomato pieces, slit green chillies along with tamarind into the vessel.Close with lid, put it on stove-top under medium flame for 15 mins/ until the dal becomes soft.
- Later, reduce the flame to ‘LOW’. Add the salt, turmeric powder,red chilli powder & ½ cup of water. Mix everything thoroughly.Let the dal thicken to desired consistency.Switch the flame after 2 minutes.
- TEMPERING:Put a small frying pan on stove top under medium flame. Add all the ingredients for tempering. Saute by stirring continuously. Switch off flame.
- Transfer all the tempering onto the dal. Mix up everything,take into a serving dish, garnish with chopped coriander. Done!!
TOMATO DAL in INSTANT POT PRESSURE COOKER(7 mins)
- Wash the dal / lentils twice with running water, take them into the Instant Pot. Add 2 cups of water, tomato pieces, slit green chillies & tamarind (optional).
- Switch the gadget ON, close the Lid, set to ‘PRESSURE COOK’ mode,for 5 mins,under ‘HIGH PRESSURE’ with valve to sealing.
- Release pressure naturally (NPR) or quickly (QPR) anyway is fine. Set the IP to ‘SAUTE‘ mode for 2 mins. Add the salt,turmeric powder,red chilli powder,chopped coriander leaves & ¼ cup of water.Mix everything.Later switch off the gadget.
- TEMPERING:Put a small frying pan on stove top under medium flame. Add all the ingredients for tempering. Saute by stirring continuously. Switch off flame.
- Transfer all the tempering onto the dal. Mix up everything,take into a serving dish, garnish with chopped coriander. Done!!
Notes
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Hi. You have mentioned tamarind in ingredients . So when do we need to add that to the dal coz its nt mentioned in the process it seems .plz revert. I really liked your recipies.
Thanks a lot! 🙂 Thats my mistake I missed it. But, now corrected it after seeing your comment. Thanks once again.
The way you made this recipe looks very unique and different. Will try this soon!!!
Thank you 🙂 Thats nice to know and let me know how you liked it!