Pappa Charu: Easy Indian Lentil Soup Recipe

Many people think of Indian food as being complicated to make. However, there are many Indian dishes that are so quick and simple that even a novice can make them. One example is pappa charu, which is an Indian lentil soup.

Pappa charu is one of the most popular Indian soups, which is unsurprising as it is easy to make, budget-friendly, and delicious. The base of the soup is made using lentils, onions, and tomatoes, and the flavour comes from the various spices added to the soup. It is similar to a sambar but thinner, and it is served as a starter or accompaniment rather than a main course.

If you do not have all the spices on the ingredients list, you can experiment with what you have available at home or read our additional tips at the end for some alternatives. Here is our recipe for pappa charu for you to try.

Useful Information

Preparation time;	15 minutes
Cooking time:	40 minutes
Servings:	6-8
Vegan:	YES (use oil and not ghee)
Vegetarian:	YES
Dairy-free:	YES (if you use oil and not ghee)
Gluten-free:	YES

Pappa Charu Ingredients

• 500g red lentils (kandi pappu)
• 1 litre of water
• 2 white onions, thinly sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
• 3 green chillies, cut into slices lengthways
• 2 teaspoons of tamarind paste
• 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
• Small bunch of fresh coriander (cilantro)
• 6 curry leaves
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons methi
• 1 tsp dried chillies
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons of oil or the equivalent of ghee
• Salt to taste

How to Make the Pappa Charu Recipe

1. Rinse the lentils and put them in a large pot over medium heat, then simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, you need to temper the spices and cook the other ingredients.
3. Put the oil or ghee into a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
4. Add the dried red chillies, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and methi.
5. Cook the spices until the mustard seeds start to crackle.
6. Next, add the curry leaves, garlic, and fennel seeds, then cook for another minute.
7. Add the onions to the spices and cook for a couple of minutes until the onions are soft.
8. Then, add the chopped tomatoes, sliced green chillies, and turmeric. Cook until the tomatoes are soft, then season the ingredients with some salt and add the chilli powder.
9. Remove any scum from the top of the lentil pan, then add the ingredients from the frying pan to the lentil.
10. Add the tamarind paste and give the soup a good stir.
11. Cook the soup for a further 10 minutes to enhance the flavour throughout the soup.
12. If you want the soup a little thinner, add some more water until you get the required consistency.
13. Season the pappa charu with salt to taste before serving.

Additional Tips

• If you do not have tamarind paste, there are some alternatives you can use. You can use dried tamarind fruit, but you will need to soak the tamarind for several hours before using the juice and soaking water. Alternatively, add some lemon juice or brown sauce.
• You can make this soup in a soup maker or a catering soup kettle.
• Traditionally, pappa charu is served with rice and papad. However, you can serve it alone or with the bread of your choice.
• Depending on your spice preferences, you can increase or decrease the amount of chilli in the pappa charu recipe.
• To make different quantities of the soup, use our measurement conversion chart for soup making.
• If you enjoy lentils, you might also like our recipe for Greek lentil soup.

Have you tried our pappa charu recipe? Let us know what you think in the comments below.