Gongoora Chutney

2 Bunches (2 pounds) fresh gongoora. Remove leaves, wash and dry them on a clean fabric or paper towels. Chop roughly.
2 1/2 tablespoons oil
4 long green chilies cut into two inch pieces
Large marble size tamarind without seeds and strings
1 tablespoon salt or to taste
½ teaspoon turmeric

Tadka

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons fenugreek (methi) seeds 
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
10 red dry chilies 
¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing)

1 teaspoon oil
10 garlic cloves peeled and cut lengthwise three pieces each (optional)

Heat 2 1/2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet in medium low heat. Add green chilies and gongoora and fry until gongoora reduces to half. Mix continuously making sure the leaves are not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add tamarind and fry for three minutes in low heat. Turn the heat off and cool it completely. Sprinkle salt and turmeric.

Heat oil in a small pan. Add fenugreek seeds. Fry until light brown. Add mustard seeds. When they start to splatter add red chilies and asafetida. Fry for a minutes. Cool popu and grind it into powder in small spice grinder or coffee grinder. Mix this powder with gongoora and chop in mini chopper. Do not blend it in a blender because it might become too soft.
In a small pan heat one-teaspoon oil and fry garlic pieces (if using) until light brown. Add this to gongoora chutney and mix with a spoon. 
This chutney stays fresh for a long time if kept in the refrigerator in a tight lid bottle. Avoid wet spoons to serve. 

Variation: Some people add chana dal and urad dal to the tadka.

This chutney tastes very good with rice, chepathi, and dosa.
Gongoora is a green leafy vegetable with very sour taste. Little tamarind takes away any bitter taste from the leaves.
This is a very popular dish in Andhra Pradesh. Lots of Andhras mix this chutney with rice and eat with raw onion pieces.

Gongoora Soup

½ cup chana dal (chick pea dal)
1/2 lb fresh gongoora leaves separated from their stems
3 cups water
2 long hot green chilies cut in to 2 inch pieces.
¼ teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
1 teaspoon salt or to taste.
Small marble size tamarind (imli)

Wash gongoora leaves in a colander and chop them.
Put chena dal in a three-quart saucepan and wash. Cook dal with three cups of water in medium heat for 10 minutes. Add gongoora leaves to dal and cook for 10 more minutes. 
Mix chilies, turmeric, salt and tamarind in to the soup. Pour more water if the soup is too thick. Continue cooking for five more minutes and reduce the heat.

Tadka

1-tablespoon oil
¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi seeds)
½ teaspoon red mustard seeds
2 red dry chilies broken in to three pieces each
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing)

6 fresh garlic cloves peeled (optional)
2 teaspoons rice flour
¼ cup water

Heat oil in a small dish and fry fenugreek seeds until brown. Add mustard seeds. When they start popping add red chilies, cumin seeds, asafetida, and garlic cloves. Fry for two minutes or until garlic gets blisters. Add this to gongoora pulusu. In the same popu pan mix rice flour and water. Add this to the pulusu and cook for three minutes. If it is very thick add little more water and cook for two more minutes.

If you are using garlic you don’t have to use asafetida.
Variations: This soup can also be made with thoor dal instead of chena dal. You can also make it with onions and no dals. 

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