Sambar is one of the identities of my home state in India, Tamil Nadu, along with Kaanchipuram silks, Temples and Bharatanatyam ( Do tell me if I had missed anything in the comments section below :) ). Sambar is a very common south Indian dish which can be had in your breakfast, lunch or even dinner. It is a staple dish in almost all marriage feasts where there is a vegetarian menu.
Ingredients
Toor dal - ¼th cup
Green chillies – 3
Shallots - 1 (Cut horizontally into thin round slices - like how you cut for onion bajjis).
Tomato - 1
Sambar powder - 1 tbs
Sakthi sambar powder - 2 tbs
Coriander leaves - for garnishing
Oil - 1 tbs
Onion vadahams ( Thaalippu vadaham)- for seasoning
Salt - as per taste
Hing - a pinch
Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
Raddish – 1
Tamarind – big gooseberry size
Seasoning: (alternative for sambar vadaham)
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Urad dal – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Onion – 1 tbs
Curry leaves – few
Instructions
Soak tamarind in a glass of water for 15 minutes and extract the juice.
Pressure cook the dal with pinch of turmeric powder, hing and few drops of sesame oil for 5 whistles.
Heat a tbs of oil in a kadai, add onions and sauté until they turn translucent.
When onions turns golden brown or transparent add tomato and sauté until tomato gets cooked well.
Now add in the vegetables, sambar powders, salt, two cups of water, mix well and bring it to boil.
Mash the cooked dal and add to the sambar bring it to boil and wait until the sambar gets slightly thicker.
Now add the extracted tamarind juice to the sambar, bring it to boil and switch off the flame.
Garnish with coriander leaves.
Season onion vadaham in a tsp of oil and add to sambar. Serve it hot with white rice (don’t forget to drizzle a tsp of ghee on top before serving).
Recipe by MyEdibleCravings at http://myediblecravings.com/mullangi-sambar/