Sambar (simple and easy cooking)

Cooking

Sambar

          Sambar with rice is one of the main courses of both formal and everyday tamilian cuisine. It is also prepared in other parts of southern India with mild variations. Often served by pouring it over steamed rice, best accompanied with curries and appalam.

Ingredients
1 cup	Toor dhal (Thuvaram paruppu/kandi pappu,soak for atleast 1 hour)
1 no	Onion (cut lengthwise)
1 cup	Choice of vegies (carrots, radish,drumstick,beans,okra,brinjal))
2 nos	Tomato
1 no	Green chilli
3 clove	Garlic
3 tsp	Tamrind juice (or thick store bought pulp 1/4 tsp)
3 tsp	Red chilli powder
2 tsp	Corrainder powder
¼ tsp	Turmeric powder
2 tsp	Sambhar powder (store bought gives good color)
2 tsp	Salt (or to taste)
2 tbsp	Oil
½ tsp	Mustard
½ tsp	Cumin seeds
¼ tsp	Fenugreek seeds
2 nos	Dry red chilli
½ tsp	Asafoetida powder
7 nos	Curry leaves
3 cup	Water
1 stks	Corrainder leaves (chopped for garnishing)

Instructions

          Wash and soak Toor dhal (Thuvaram paruppu/kandi pappu ) in water for atleast 1 hour. Then pressure cook it with little salt until you get 3 to 4 whistles from your cooker. Once done and when the pressure releases, open and mash it immediately with spatula or blend well and keep aside.

          Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add mustard, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, dry red chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida, let them splutter, then add Onions, greeen chilli , garlic, tomatoes, all the vegies except okra(Ladies finger) and fry them for few minutes. To this add tumeric powder, red chilli powder and dhania powder and pressure cook them with salt and 1 cup of water. Do not pressure cook ladies finger this may turn the sambhar very mushy and sticky, so instead, shallow fry them seperately in a pan and keep aside. Now transfer all the contents to a regular deep sauce pan, mix cooked dhal or paruppu , tamrind pulp , sambar powder and  salt, bring it to a boil and reduce to simmer. When it reaches desired consistency garnish with corrainder leaves.

Rasam

Ingredients
1 cup	Dhal water (Boiled dhal water)
1 no	Tomato (small)
3 tbsp	Tamarind juice (or thick store bought pulp 1/4 tsp)
1 tsp	Rasam powder
1 no	Dry red chili
½ tsp	Cumin seeds
¼ tsp	Mustard seeds
6 nos	Curry leaves
1 tsp	Oil / ghee
1 tsp	Salt (or to taste)
1 cup	Water
4 stks	Coriander leaves
1 pinch	Turmeric
¼ tsp	Asafoetida

Instructions

          Crush and squeeze the tomato in one cup of water.  To this, add tamarind juice, pinch of turmeric, asafoetida, rasam powder, salt, dhal water and chopped coriander leaves. Mix everything and keep aside. Now heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard, cumin seeds, curry leaves and dry red chili. Add the roughly chopped pearl onion and fry for few minutes. When they turn translucent, add the pre-mixed tamarind dhal water. Bring it to one boil and swtich off.

Notes

          Dhal water (Pressure cook 1/4 cup Toor dal with 2 cups of water. Drain the water and use it for rasam and use the cooked lentil for making sambar). You may also add cooked dhal to this rasam.

Yield 4 servings.

Rasam Powder

2 nos       Dry Red Chili

2 Tbsp     Coriander seeds

1 tsp        Black peppercorns

1 Tsp       Cumin seeds

1 Tbsp      Bengal gram(senega pappu/kadalai parupu)

1/2 Tbsp   Split Red gram(thuvaram paruppu/kandi pappu)

          Dry roast each item separately and ground to a coarse powder. Use just a tsp of this for the above recipe and store the rest for future use.