Last week, my friends Sudha and Geeta gave me a basket of fresh vegetables from their garden - sorrel leaves, cheery tomatoes, capsicum, and long beans. The fresh gongura is a sepcaility in Andhra and Telangana and I remember my friend Pratima from Rhode Island making a terrific dal .

Here I present gongura chana dal - A Telangana special!

1 cup chana dal soaked for 4 hours

3 cups water

2 cups of fresh gongura leaves chopped

8 cloves sliced garlic

1 tsp salt

For tempering

2 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp methi seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp urad dal

1.2 tsp cumin seeds

2 dried red chillies

1 green chilly

1 sprig curry leaves

1 pinch hing

1 small red onion chopped ( optional )

Cook chana dal with 3 cups of water till the dal is soft but not grainy. Each grain of  dal must be separate. Now add the chopped gongura leaves, the sliced garlic and salt. Cook for another 5 minutes till the leaves wilt and garlic is soft. Remove from heat.

In a small frying pan, add the oil for tempering, add all the seasonings except the onion till the dal is brown and the mustard seeds pop. Now add the chopped red onion and fry till brown. Pour this over the dal and stir. Serve hot!