• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Cooking From Heart
  • Home
  • Recipe Index
  • About
    • CH Accolades
    • CH Video Recipes
    • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Subscribe to our Blog!
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipe Index
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipe Index
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Indian » Andhra Recipes

    Thotakura Pulusu | Tangy Amaranth Leaves Gravy | Mom’s Recipe Series

    Published: Feb 3, 2016 · Modified: May 30, 2016 by Ramya · 29 Comments

    8 shares
    • Facebook7
    • Twitter

    CH_DSC_0153_10

    I am probably one of the people who love green leafy vegetables. Even as growing up, I never troubled Amma in eating anything that was served to me.. In short I was a non-fussy eater. As I grew up, my love for green leafy vegetables only kept growing bigger. My Amma makes a lot of things with Amaranth leaves that are a power house of a lot of vitamins and minerals. My personal favorite is the Pulusu, a name given for anything that is like stew, but tangy. When she made this for me last week, I quickly clicked some pictures for I wanted to record how she made it. I wouldn’t like it any other way but the way she makes it 🙂 My MIL does a different recipe using the Amaranth leaves, which is quite tasty too but then when I am down, I stick to my mom’s recipes – like this one. This is very simple and goes really well with Indian bread (roti) or with hot rice. My Amma also has a special ingredient that makes it very unique and tasty – fresh drumstick pieces in Pulusu always enhance the flavour of the gravy. Its absolutely okay to skip them but do add if you can find them. By the way, my dad chopped these amaranth leaves so finely, spending more than an hour 🙂 I dont talk about him much on the blog but he is an inspiration for my cooking!

    ETA: This post should have made it to the blog on Monday but I was ill and miserable for the last two days, so here it is as a recipe for today.

    CH_DSC_0164_13

    To make Thotakura Pulusu | Tangy Amaranth Leaves Gravy

    • Servings: 2
    • Time: 40 mins
    • Difficulty: Easy
    • Print

    What I used –
    • Thotakura/Amaranth Leaves Finely Chopped, 2 cups (tightly packed)
    • Onion, 1 large
    • Drumstick Pieces, 8 – 10
    • Split Pigeon Peas/Toor Dal, ½ cup
    • Sambar Powder, 1.5 tbsp
    • Turmeric Powder, 1 tsp
    • Fresh Tamarind, small lemon sized ball
    • Salt, as required
    • Oil, 1 tsp
    • Mustard Seeds , ½ tsp
    • Cumin Seeds, ½ tsp
    • Dried Red Chilli, 1 or 2
    • Asafoetida, ½ tsp
    • Water, as required

    CH_DSC_0159_11

    How I made –

    1. In a thick bottomed vessel, add chopped onion and cut drumstick pieces along with turmeric powder. Cook covered for 6-10 mins until the onion and drumstick pieces are cooked. Add finely chopped amaranth leaves/thotakura. Cook covered for another 5-10 mins.

    prep1

    2. Meanwhile, add hot water to the tamarind and let it sit for 5 mins. Extract tamarind juice. Set aside. Cook toor dal/split pigeon peas with enough water in a pressure cooker and cook for 3-4 whistles. Once pressure drops, gently mash the dal. Add sambar powder to the dal and mix well.

    prep2

    3. Add extracted tamarind juice to the cooked amaranth leaves and also add the cooked toor dal. Mix well. Add salt. Cook covered until the pulusu/gravy boils.

    prep3

    4. In a small pan, heat oil. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and roughly cut red chillies. As the mustard and cumin seeds pop up, add asafetida and remove from heat. Add the tempering to the cooked pulusu and mix well.

    prep4

    5. Serve hot with rice/roti and some fryums.

    CH_DSC_0162_12

    Note –
    • Any kind of amaranth leaves can be used to make this. Finely chop them.
    • Instead of the sambar powder, red chilli powder can be used as well.
    • In the tempering or while making the pulusu, add peeled garlic to enhance the taste.
    • Drumstick pieces are optional but give a good flavor to the pulusu.
    • Adjust spices accordingly.
    • For spicier version, slit green chillies can be added as well.

    Share this: Show some love!

    • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
    • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
    • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
    • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram
    • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp

    Like this:

    Like Loading...

    More Andhra Recipes

    • Pesarattu Recipe
      Pesarattu | Andhra Special Pesarattu | Green Moong Dosa
    • Tomato Coriander Chutney Recipe
      Tomato Coriander Chutney | Easy Tomato Kothimeera Chutney
    • Easy Pesara Punugulu Recipe
      Pesara Punugulu | Moong Dal Fritters
    • Restaurant Style Raju Gari Pulao Recipe
      Raju Gari Pulao | Raju Gari Veg Pulao

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Comment Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. MyCulinarySaga

      February 03, 2016 at 1:46 pm

      Yum.. i love this..

      Reply
      • CHCooks

        February 03, 2016 at 1:51 pm

        Thanks much dear 🙂

        Reply
    2. Lynz Real Cooking

      February 03, 2016 at 5:41 pm

      I have never had this before looks very nice! So different CH!

      Reply
      • CHCooks

        February 03, 2016 at 9:45 pm

        Thanks much Lynn 🙂

        Reply
        • Lynz Real Cooking

          February 03, 2016 at 9:52 pm

          🙂 xxx

          Reply
          • CHCooks

            February 08, 2016 at 1:50 pm

            🙂

            Reply
    3. Susan

      February 03, 2016 at 6:28 pm

      Oh I hope you're feeling better! This dish looks delicious!!

      Reply
      • CHCooks

        February 03, 2016 at 9:44 pm

        Thanks Susan.. I'm still recovering,thanks for checking 🙂

        Reply
    4. srividhya

      February 03, 2016 at 7:18 pm

      Yummy. Great share. Between how are you feeling now? Hope u r ok. Take care.

      Reply
      • CHCooks

        February 03, 2016 at 9:44 pm

        Thanks Sri.. Feeling little better 🙂

        Reply
    5. Chitra Jagadish

      February 04, 2016 at 3:48 am

      Healthy and flavorsome gravy....

      Reply
      • CHCooks

        February 08, 2016 at 1:49 pm

        Thanks a lot dear 🙂

        Reply
    6. Freda @ Aromatic essence

      February 04, 2016 at 6:08 am

      This looks delicious! Hope you are better now dear! Many congrats on winning the recipe challenge:)

      Reply
      • CHCooks

        February 08, 2016 at 1:48 pm

        Thanks a lot dear 🙂 Yes, feeling much better!

        Reply
    7. Nish Kitchen

      February 04, 2016 at 7:27 am

      I love green leafy veggies. Definitely trying your recipe!

      Reply
      • CHCooks

        February 08, 2016 at 1:48 pm

        Thanks Rose 🙂 Do give this a try!

        Reply
    8. Bharani

      February 04, 2016 at 10:31 am

      My all-time fav is greens... my comfort food.... i can eat green leafy veg everyday...:)

      Hope your feeling better....

      Reply
      • CHCooks

        February 08, 2016 at 1:48 pm

        Same pinch Bharani 🙂 Even I can eat greens all day - so hi-five 😀 Thanks - I am feeling much better 🙂

        Reply
    9. kushigalu

      February 04, 2016 at 10:19 pm

      Hope you are feeling better. Very healthy and delicious gravy!

      Reply
      • CHCooks

        February 08, 2016 at 1:47 pm

        Thanks much Kushi.. yes dear feeling much better 🙂

        Reply
    10. lynne hoareau

      February 05, 2016 at 3:19 pm

      This really sounds amazing and looks so good too. Thanks for such a lovely blog, and for always showing a step by step method in cooking your fabulous food. Hope you have a lovely weekend. x

      Reply
      • CHCooks

        February 08, 2016 at 1:45 pm

        I am so glad you liked the recipe Lynne 🙂 Hope you had a nice weekend - I did 🙂

        Reply
    11. Traditionally Modern Food

      February 06, 2016 at 6:08 am

      Hope u r OK now.. I was also down with tgoart infection.. Pulusu looks grt..grandma recipe are always best

      Reply
      • CHCooks

        February 08, 2016 at 1:43 pm

        Oh take care Vidya! Thanks a lot 🙂

        Reply
    12. AppetiteDeluxe

      February 08, 2016 at 11:17 pm

      YUM! Definitely trying this

      Reply
      • CHCooks

        February 09, 2016 at 3:36 pm

        Thanks much and welcome to my blog 🙂

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Welcome

    Ramya-CookingFromHeart

    Hi! I am Ramya, the face and voice behind Cooking from Heart 🙂 I was born in Andhra Pradesh, brought up in Chennai and currently living in Bangalore. My food is an amalgamation of the different exposures I have had in my life. More about me →

    Popular Recipes

    • Eggless Gulab Jamun Cake
      Eggless Gulab Jamun Cake
    • Fried Gram Chutney without Coconut
      Pottukadalai Chutney | Fried Gram Chutney without Coconut
    • Soya Sukka Curry
      Soya Chunks Chukka | Soya Sukka Curry
    • Bakery Style Egg Puffs Recipe
      Egg Puff | Bakery Style Egg Puffs Recipe
    • Pressure Cooker Tomato Rice | Easy One Pot Tomato Rice
    • No-Bake Mango Cheesecake with Agar Agar
      No-Bake Mango Cheese Cake with Agar Agar

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    As seen on

    • Featured
    my foodgawker gallery

    COPYRIGHT © 2025 - Cooking From Heart

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're okay with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT
    8 shares
    %d