PUMPKIN SAMBAR

INGREDIENTS:

White Pumpkin/ash gourd-3/4 cup (cubed pieces)
Onion -1 (optional)
Tomato-1
Toor Dal -1/3 cup (Soak it in warm water for 15 minutes)
 Sambar powder- 2 tsp
Tamarind- small lemon sized ball 

Turmeric Powder -1/4 tsp

Oil - 2 tsp

Salt -1 tbsp (flat) rock salt or as required.

(If using table salt use less.) 

Mustard -1 tsp 

Hing- a generous pinch 

Red Chilli -1 

Fenugreek seeds-1 tsp 

Curry leaves -little 

PRELIMINARY PROCESS:

Soak tamarind in 1 1/2 tumbler of hot water and extract the juice. Discard the pulp. 

PREPARATION METHOD:

Pressure cook toor dal by adding turmeric powder for 3 whistles. Mash it well and keep it ready.

Heat oil in a pan/kadai and add the ingredients for seasoning .

Saute onion until it turns transparent, then add tomatoes, pumpkin pieces and saute for a few seconds. (Alternatively, you can cook pumpkin in a little water with salt separately)

Add tamarind extract, sambar powder and salt.

Keep it in medium flame and boil until the raw flavor of the tamarind  goes. By this time the pumpkin will also get cooked well. 

Add cooked toor dal  along with needed water and boil for 5-6 minutes. The consistency of this sambar should neither be thick nor thin, so adjust water accordingly.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice or idli, dosa.

Hot delicious pumpkin sambar is ready to be served with hot steaming rice. It can be had with rice,idly and dosa also.

ARACHIVITTA SAMBAR

INGREDIENTS:

Toor dal – 1/3 measuirng cup or 4 ½ tbsp

Tamarind – small gooseberry sized ball
Onion -1 (optional )
Radish - 2-3
Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp
Fenugreek seeds-1/4 tsp
Asafoetida-a pinch
Curry leaves-few


GRIND THE FOLLOWING:

Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp
Channa dal or Bengal gram – 1 ½ tsp
Red chillies - 3-4
Grated coconut -2 tbsp
Raw rice -1/4 tsp

 
Heat a tsp of oil and fry the above ingredients until dal turns golden brown. Add coconut in the end. After adding coconut, switch off the flame. Fry the coconut in the heat of the pan itself. Leave it to cool and then grind it to a smooth paste.

PRELIMINARY PROCESS:

Soak toor dal in 1 cup of water for 15 minutes.(Soaking help the toor dal to get cooked well and also consumes less time for cooking.) Pressure cook tur dal for 3 whistles or until soft. Mash toor dal well and keep it aside.

Wash radish, peel the skin and cut it into round shapes.Cook radish also along with toor dal keeping it in a small vessel along with dal as shown in the picture above.

Soak tamarind in warm water for 15 minutes and extract its juice. Discard the pulp.

PREPARATION:

Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan or kadai, add mustard, when it splutters, add fenugreek, hing and curry leaves.

Add chopped onions and sauté for a few minutes. Since I have used radish I pressure cooked along with tur dal. In case if you are using vegetables like ladies finger, brinjal, pumpkin, drumsticks, you have to sauté it in oil along with onions.

Then add 1 1/2 cups (approximately) of tamarind extract, turmeric powder, salt and boil until the raw flavor of the tamarind goes.

Then add the ground paste, cooked dal, cooked radish along with a cup of water and boil for a few minutes. The sambar should neither be too thick nor too watery, so adjust the consistency of the sambar accordingly. 

Garnish with coriander leaves 

Serve it with idly,dosa,rice,ven pongal.

METHI(FENU GREEK) SAMBAR

INGREDIENTS:

Fenugreek leaves/methi leaves - 1 cup
Pearl Onions -1/4 cup or 1 big onion
Tomato -1 (remove the seeds and chop it)
Tamarind - small gooseberry sized ball
Tur dal - 1/3 cup
Sambar powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt -needed
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Curry leaves - few tender ones 

GRIND THE FOLLOWING:

Oil -1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1 1/2 tbsp
Channa dal or bangal gram - 1 tbsp
Red chillies - 4
Raw Rice - 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp

Heat a tsp of oil in a pan, fry coriander seeds, channa dal, red chillies and rice until dal turns golden brown.Turn off the heat, add grated coconut and saute in the heat of the pan itself.

Once it cools, grind it to a fine paste and keep it aside. This is the masala for the sambar.

PRELIMINARY PROCESS:

Clean, wash and chop methi leaves. Keep it aside.
 

Soak dal in hot water for 15 minutes and pressure cook adding a pinch of turmeric powder for 3 whistles. Mash the dal well and keep it aside.

Soak tamarind in a cup of hot water and extract its juice. Discard the pulp.

Prepare the sambar masala and keep it ready.

PREPARATION METHOD:

Sambar masala is fried and kept ready for grinding. 

Heat 2 tsp of oil in a kadai/pan, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add fenugreek seeds, hing and curry leaves. Saute for a second and then add onions.

When onions turn pink, add chopped methi leaves, chopped tomatoes and saute for a few minutes.

Add turmeric powder, sambar powder (just 1/2 tsp which is optional) salt needed and tamarind water.

Let the tamarind water boil until the raw flavor goes.

 Then add the ground masala paste and the cooked dal along with 1/2-3/4 cup of water and boil well.

 

You can adjust the consistency of the sambar by adding water. It should not be too thick nor too thin, so adjust accordingly. Check for salt.

Serve with rice or even with idly or dosa.

MIXED VEGETABLE SAMBAR

INGREDIENTS:

Tur dal - 1/3 cup

Tamarind - small lemon or gooseberry sized ball.

Mixed Vegetables - 1 cup

 Sambar Powder- 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt as required

Mustard seeds -1 tsp
Hing - a generous pinch
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli - 1

Curry leaves - few

Big Onion-1(Finely chopped) 

PRELIMINARY PROCESS:

Soak dal in hot water for 20 minutes and pressure cook for 3 whistles.

Soak tamarind in hot water and extract 1 1/2 cups of tamarind juice and discard the pulp.

You can use any vegetables like beans, carrot, cauliflower, potato,brinjal, broad beans (avarakkai),  but do not add too many vegetables, then you will end up having more vegetables and very less sambar. So use just 1 cup of mixed vegetables.

I used 1/2 a carrot, 1 small potato, 2 florets cauliflower, 2 broad beans and 3-4 beans.In case, if you are using cauliflower, do not pressure cook but blanch them in hot water and add to the sambar while adding dal or paruppu.

PREPARATION METHOD:

 Heat a tbsp of oil  add mustard seeds when it splutters,add hing,red chilly,fenugreek seeds,curry leafs,chopped onion and saute for few minutes.Then add tamarind water,turmeric powder,salt,sambar powder.Let it boil until the raw smell goes.

In mean time keep vegetables and dhal in two different vessels and let it boil in a cooker.after the raw smell of tamarind has gone,add boiled vegetables in that.

Mash dhal using blender or masher and add it along with some water to sambar.let it boil for few minutes and serve it .

SAMBAR FOR IDLY/DOSA

INGREDIENTS:

Onion -2 finely chopped
Tomato -3 finely chopped ( big and juicy ones)
Moong dal /split yellow green gram -1/4 cup
Green chillies - 2 finely chopped
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Sambar powder -1 tsp( optional )
Salt to taste
Vegetables -1/3 cup (optional)
(mix of carrot, potato, chow chow/chayote)
Mustard -1/2 tsp
Urad dal -1/2 tsp
Hing - a generous pinch
Curry leaves -little
Oil -3 tsp

PREPARATION METHOD:

Heat the oil(1 tsp) in cooker,add mustard seeds,urad dal,hing,curry leaves,saute it for a while.
Fry onions well, add 2 green chillies, tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add veggies at this stage if you are using it. (Add 3 chillies if you are not using sambar powder).

Add dal, salt, turmeric powder, sambar powder,1 cup of water and pressure cook till soft .

When the pressure is released, boil for a few seconds and garnish with coriander leaves .This sambar should be watery, so adjust consistency accordingly.

I will soon share with you another instant sambar for idly which can be done in just 5 minutes.

MANGO SAMBAR

INGREDIENTS:

Raw Mango (chopped) -1 cup
Drumstick -1
Brinjal -1
Sambar Powder -2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - a pinch
Tur dal -1/4 cup
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds -1 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Curry leaves - little

 PRELIMINARY PROCESS:

Slightly scrap the skin of mangoes and cut it into medium sized cubes.

Pressure cook tur dal with a pinch of turmeric powder till soft, mash it and keep it aside.

PREPARATION METHOD:

Heat oil,add mustard seeds,when it splutters add hing and curry leafs

Now add brinjal, drumstick, sambar powder, turmeric powder and saute for a few seconds.

Add a cup of water, needed salt and boil till the vegetables get cooked.

Then add cooked tur dal, 1/2 cup of water and mango pieces. Simmer and cook for a few minutes.

Easy mango sambar is ready to be served with rice and curry.

DRUMSTICK (MURUNGAIKAI) SAMBAR

INGREDIENTS:

Drumstick/Murungakkai -3
Tur dal -1/3 cup
Tamarind - small gooseberry sized ball
Sambar Powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Oil -2 1/2 tsp
Pearl Onion- full of 1 hand(chopped)
Tomato-3(Medium size)
 Mustard seeds -1 tsp
 Fenugreek seeds -1/2 tsp
 Asafoetida/hing - 1/4 tsp
 Curry leaves - few
 Garlic-few
 Coriander leaves-for garnishing.
 Salt needed

PRELIMINARY PROCESS:

Cut drumstick into 2 or 3 inch piece removing the outer strings. You need around 10 -12 such pieces.

Soak dal in a cup of hot water for 15 minutes. Pressure cook dal adding turmeric powder,2 pearl onions,1 chopped tomato,2 garlic pieces for 3 whistles. Once the pressure subsides, mash it well and keep it aside.

Soak tamarind in 1 cup of hot water, extract the juice and discard the pulp.If using tamarind paste, just dissolve 1 tsp tamarind paste in 1 cup of water.

PREPARATION METHOD:

Heat oil, add mustard seeds, when mustard splutters, add fenugreek seeds, hing and curry leaves,onions,2 chopped tomatoes.

Then add drumstick pieces and saute for 2 seconds.

Add sambar powder, salt needed, turmeric powder and saute for 2-3 seconds. Add water (around 3/4 cup) and cook the drumstick.

Once the drumsticks are half cooked, add 1 cup of tamarind water. Cook until the raw smell of the tamarind goes. By that time the drumsticks will also become tender.

Add cooked and mashed dal, 1/2 cup of water and simmer for 5-6 minutes. The consistency of the sambar should neither be thick nor runny, so add water accordingly.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with hot steamed rice and any vegetable curry.