Bengaluru Vankaya Charu

I am not sure wether or not 'charu' fits the dish I am blogging. Here is what I made with Chaoyate Squash which is called
Kannada : Seemebadanekayi
Telugu : Bengaluru Vankaya

Here you go with the recipe......

You need the following:
Chaoyate Squash : 1 (Peel and cut into 1" Cubes)
Togari bele/Split Pigeon Peas/Toor Dal - 1 fist full and 1 tablespoon
Turmeric : 1 pinch

Pressure cook all the above for 3 whistles.

To make into paste :
Garlic : 1 pod (here we get big pods so I have used 1 pod, India users may use 2-3 little ones)
Pepper: 5 corns
RedChillies: 4 (take care here..I added 4 and I had to have a fire engine outside..)
Grated Wet Coconut : 3tbsp
Poppy Seeds : 1/2 tbsp (fry it till the raw smell goes away)
Tamarind Paste : 2 tbsp (or according to taste)
Salt
Fry garlic, pepper and red chillies in a drop of oil. Make a paste of all the above ingredients.

Tampering :
Oil, Mustard, Red Chillies, Curry leaves and hing/asafoetida

Note: Spelling of Vankaya is wrong in the pic, apologies

Method :
1. Once the pressure is down, take out the dal and squash mixture. Take out half of the squash pieces and keep it aside. Mash the other half pieces with dal to form a coarse mix. Add back the whole squash pieces
2.Heat oil in a pan in which you intend to make dal/charu
3.Add mustard seeds, once it stops crackling add red chillies curry leaves stir and add asafoetida. Wait for a second till you get nice aroma of asafoetida.
4.Add the paste to the tampering mix and little water. Let the paste get cooked for 2 mins.
5.Add mashed dal and squash mixture and bring it boil. If you feel that charu/dal is thick add more water
6.Adjust flavors as needed.
7.Serve hot with rice.

This goes to Hari Priya of Indian hut who is hosting SWC-AndhraPradesh