Pulihora Gongura (Red Sorrel Leaves Pickle)

Gongura (Sorrel leaves) have a special place in andhra cuisine. These leaves are used widely to make pickles, dals, pulusu (sambar) and non-vegetarians use these in making mutton curries too. Of all Gongura pachadi (Sorrel leaves pickle) is very famous in andhra cuisine. Again you find this at every occassion with out fail.

I made a variety pickle which I never tried before. The reason is red sorrel leaves are very very tangy so you need a lot of red chillies to make the pickle to substantiate that tangyness. I did not have enough red chillies in hand and I was sure I wanted to make this pickle. My cousin sister (akka) use to say alot about this pickle that it tastes great with hot rice. So, I remembered that and put my little imagination to bring out this wonderful pickle.

So here I share with you guys this pickle:

1 cup packed red sorrel leaves
1 tsp oil

Wash and spread the sorrel leaves on a cloth and leave it to try. Once they are dry, heat a tsp of oil in a pan and add the sorrel leaves to that and fry for a minute. You will see that they will change the color and become mushy and come together. Turn off the heat and let it cool.

3 tbsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp fenugreek powder (dry roast few fenugreek seeds in a pan and grind them to form a smooth powder)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Add the above to the mushy sorrel leaves and grind to a paste. Take it into a bowl.

For Tempering:

3 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp chana dal (senaga pappu)
1/2 tsp urad dal (mina pappu)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds (aavalu)
1 red chillie teared into two pieces
1 green chillie sliced into thin strips
a dash of hing (good amount to get the nice flavour)

Heat oil in a pan and add the above ingredients to the oil and fry until the chana dal turns golden brown color. Turn off the stove and add the above sorrel leaves paste to this oil and mix thoroughly, while it is hot.

Take it into a jar and keep it in the refrigerator. I think it stays good for atleast 15 days.

PS: There are two types of sorrel leaves, one is red sorrel leaves which is very tangy, where as the other version which has slightly white stems is not that tangy. If you are using that one then add a lemon sized ball of tamarind. Soak it in water and extract pulp. After tempering ingredients start spluttering add the tamarind pulp to that and let it cook until it leaves oil like we do for pulihora (tamarind rice). Then add the sorrel leaves paste. 

This is my entry for "Only Greens" event being hosted at Sara's Corner by Saraswati and also at Pari's blog Foodelicious.