Pulusu is the Andra Pradesh equivalent of the sambar of Thamizhnadu and Kerala. This dish is spicy, tangy and slightly sweet. I love pulusu of any kind. I first got a taste of this dish at my friend’s home in the late 80’s. His wife, also a dear friend, used to make this for us when we all met over weekends. I immediately fell in love with it. As time passed and our weekend meets became rare, I had forgotten this dish. I recalled it a few months ago and immediately set out to prepare it. And just the taste of this pulusu transported me to heaven. As it will do you too, I am sure! In the images below, I have separated the vegetables from most of the gravy for one photograph. This is just to show my readers and followers the different kinds of vegetables. The other photo, with lots of gravy, is actually what pulusu looks like. I have earlier posted another pulusu recipe using just okra.

Ingredients
4 cups cubed vegetables (pumpkin, bottle gourd, sweet potato, potato, etc.)
1 drumstick (the vegetable), cut into 1″ pieces
8-10 shallots
3 medium sized tomatoes, quartered
3 green chilis, slit (adjust to suit your spice level)
A pinch of turmeric powder (haldi, manjal podi)
Juice of a lemon sized ball of tamarind, extracted using 1 cup of water
1 1/2 tbsp of date paste (optional)
Salt to taste
For The Masala (Spice Powder)
2-3 dry red chilis
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (sabut jeera, jeeragam)
2 tsp coriander seeds (sabut dhania, kothamalli varai)
2 tsp Bengal gram (chana dal, kadalai parupu)
2 tsp split black lentil (urad dal, ulutham parupu)
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds (sabut methi, venthiyam)
1 tsp sesame seeds (safed til, ellu) – optional
To Temper|
1/2 tsp mustard seeds (sarson, kadugu)
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp split black gram
1/8 tsp fenugreek seeds
A pinch of asafoetida
1 red chili, broken into two
1 sprig curry leaves
Method
Roast all the ingredients mentioned under “For The Masala”
Set aside to cool
Transfer to a grinder and grind to a coarse powder
Set aside
Add the vegetables, tomatoes, green chilis, shallots and turmeric powder to a heavy bottomed vessel
Add 2 1/2 litres of water and bring to boil
Reduce the flame to medium and cook the vegetables till they are half done
Add the tamarind juice and date paste (if using) and again bring to a boil
Reduce flame to simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, till the raw smell of the tamarind has evaporated
Add the masala and mix well
Continue cooking for another 7-8 minutes
Meanwhile, heat a wok and add the mustard seeds
When they begin to splutter, add all the other spices mentioned under “To Temper”, except the curry leaves
Roast for about 30 seconds and immediately add to the vegetables
Add the curry leaves and simmer for another minute
Remove from flame
Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot with steamed red/brown rice or millet rice
Enjoy!