sambar powder

Bread Boo

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Bread BooBread Boo is a tasty dish made from, as you might have guessed it already, bread. It is a savory item and is very easy to make. I have had this dish made by my mom and my MIL. Bread Boo involves minimum ingredients and I would categorize it as a quick-fix breakfast; something prepared in minutes with less effort.

Bread BooBread BooIt had been quite a while since I had eaten Bread Boo until when my MIL made it for me recently. And all my childhood memories came back when I had it. When I was a kid, I was not a big fan of sweetness in general. I always preferred spices and savory items (I still do!). So whenever it was bread and jam for breakfast at our home, my Mom used to prepare Bread Boo for me (my mom tries to make us eat by keeping these different kinds of names 😀 ).

Bread BooFor those who don’t prefer sweet dishes and for those who want variety in their breakfast, Bread Boo is an ideal choice. Also, you can substitute any type of bread in this recipe like raisin bread, wheat bread, oatmeal bread etc. Try this tasty and easy Bread Boo in your kitchen and let me know if it is a tasty breakfast indeed 🙂

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Bread Boo
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2 to 3
 
Bread Boo is a tasty dish made from bread. It is a savory item and is very easy to make.
Ingredients
  • Oil – 1 tbsp
  • Onion, medium, chopped – 1 no
  • Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
  • Tomato, small – 1 no
  • Salt as required
  • Homemade sambar powder – ½ tbsp
  • Red chilli powder – ¼ tsp
  • Garam masala – a generous pinch
  • Bread slices – 6 nos
  • Cilantro, chopped – 1 tbsp
Instructions
  1. Toast the breads slightly, either in a toaster or on a flat pan. Cool them down to room temperature and break or cut to bite size pieces.
  2. Heat a tawa with oil and add finely chopped onions. Sauté until they turn translucent.
  3. Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears.
  4. Add in tomato and sauté until they turn mushy.
  5. When the tomatoes are well cooked add in all the masala powders ( sambar, red chilli and garam masala) .
  6. Finally add all the toasted bread pieces. Mix well until the masalas are well coated.
  7. Switch off the flame and garnish with chopped cilantro. Enjoy!
Notes
You could also add beaten eggs to this dish just after the tomatoes are well cooked and before the masala powders are added.

Bread Boo

Sambar Rice

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Sambar riceSambar rice is a south indian dish similar to Bisibela bath but has a different method of preparation. As the name suggests, it is a mixture of rice and sambar. Sambar is a mainstay in southern cuisine and is popular all over India as well (especially those north Indian celebrities who always make it a point to say that their favorite dish from Tamilnadu is Sambar ;))
Sambar rice
Sambar riceSambar rice is one of my most recent favorite dishes. I came across this recipe online while searching, as usual, for a new recipe to try. This particular one caught my attention because of the way it was prepared. In Bisibela bath, you put all vegetables, along with dal and rice and cook them together. But here in Sambar rice, you prepare the rice and sambar separately and mix them together later (I would suggest doing this right before serving).
Sambar rice
Sambar riceSambar rice always reminds me of my college days when it was served during our industrial visits (those days, huh :)) One good thing about sambar rice is that you don’t need a side dish. It tastes just fine with only chips or pickle. Enjoy this favorite dish by cooking it in your kitchen and as always post your comments

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Sambar Rice
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 3
 
Ingredients
  • Rice – 1 cup
  • Toor dal – ½ cup
  • Tamarind – marble size
  • Drumstick – 1 no
  • Other vegetables , chopped – ½ cup (carrot, potato, brinjal)
  • Shallots – 10 nos
  • Tomato, chopped – 1 no
  • Sambar powder (sakthi) – ½ tbsp
  • Homemade sambar powder – ½ tsp
  • Turmeric powder – ⅛ tsp
  • Asafetida – ¼ tsp
  • Curry leaves – a sprig
  • Cilantro, chopped – 2 tbsp
To roast & grind :
  • Red chillies – 3 nos
  • Channa dal – 1 tbsp
  • Coriander seeds – 1 & ½ tsp
  • Fenugreek seeds – ¼ tsp
  • Grated coconut – 2 tbsp
To temper:
  • Oil – 1 tbsp
  • Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
  • Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
  • Asafetida – ¼ tsp
Instructions
  1. Cook the rice. Soak tamarind in water and extract the juice.
  2. Soak toor dal in water for an hour and pressure cook for 5 whistles. When done mash it and keep aside.
  3. Heat few drops of oil in a pan and roast the above given ingredients except coconut. Roast until they turn golden brown. Roast coconut separately. Allow them to cool and blend all together to a fine powder.
  4. Heat a pan with a tbsp of oil and temper the given ingredients. Add shallots and curry leaves. Sauté until onions turn translucent.
  5. Add tomatoes and fry till they become soft.
  6. Add the tamarind extract and bring it to boil.
  7. Now add turmeric powder, sambar powders, asafetida and all the vegetables.
  8. When the vegetables are cooked. Sprinkle all the ground sambar powder on top slowly, stirring constantly. Switch off the flame- Do not add sambar powder as aheap as it might form lumps. Sprinkle little by little.
  9. Add the sambar to the cooked rice along with dal and mix well (without breaking the veggies).
  10. Add 2 tbsp of ghee and garnish with cilantro.
  11. Enjoy the hot sambar rice with fryums and pickle! 

 

Sambar rice

TIFFIN SAMBAR

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Tiffin sambar
Tiffin sambar!? I know, right! What is Tiffin sambar? Back home, in restaurants, the sambar served for tiffin items (like idli, dosa etc or to keep it simple, anything that is not rice :)) has a different consistency and taste than that is served with rice during lunches (unless the people in that restaurant is really lazy and serve the same for both tiffin and rice ;)). This variety that is served with tiffin is called as the Tiffin sambar (‘Tiffin saptaacha’ – Had your tiffin?, Tiffin saapidalama – Shall we have tiffin?, are common talk in my native, referring to either breakfast or dinner)
Tiffin Sambar
There are many different varieties of sambar like, Murungai sambar, Kathirikka sambar, Araithuvitta sambar etc and Tiffin sambar is one among them. One advantage with sambar varieties in general is that you can add any vegetable that you want to to the recipe. And in Tiffin sambar, potatoes or drumsticks are added. In my home, my mom usually prepares it for breakfast and calls it as avasara (quick) sambar since it can be prepared in a short while. I still remember my mom stacking up thin dosas with tiffin sambar poured in between for my lunch while in school. It was very popular among my friends.
Tiffin Sambar
Tiffin sambar is one of the recent recipes that I have started to cook and is fast getting to be an ‘often cooked’ recipe. Dosa with Tiffin sambar or Idlis soaked in Tiffin sambar, also called as Sambar idli are some of the dishes that you must have from Tamilian cuisine. So is it going to be Tiffin sambar for breakfast tomorrow in your home? What say? 🙂

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TIFFIN SAMBAR
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • Toor dal – ¼ cup
  • Vegetable (potato,drumstick,carrot) - 1 no
  • Shallots – 10 nos
  • Green chilli – 2 nos
  • Tomato – 1 no
  • Tamarind – small gooseberry size
  • Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
  • Jaggery – a small piece
  • Asafoetida – a generous pinch
  • Curry leaves – few
  • Cilantro – for garnishing
  • Ghee – 1 tsp
  • Salt as required
To roast and grind:
  • Channa dal – 1 tbsp
  • Coriander seeds – ¾ tbsp
  • Red chillies – 3 nos
  • Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp
  • Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
To temper:
  • Oil – 2 tsp
  • Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
  • Jeera – 1 tsp
  • Curry leaves – a sprig
Instructions
  1. Soak tamarind in water for half an hour and extract the juice. Add two cups of water to it and keep it aside.
  2. Soak toor dal for an hour. Wash the potato or drumstick and cut to desired pieces. Pressure cook the dal with a cup of water, turmeric powder, asaofetida, few drops of sesame oil and potato or drumstick for 4 whistles. When done, allow it to cool, peel off the skin and set aside. Mash the dal with the help of a ladle and set aside.
  3. Now heat a kadai or a pan with few drops of oil and roast the ingredients altogether given above, stirring constantly. When they turn light brown, add cumin seeds at last and give it a stir. Do not over roast it. Let it cool and blend to a powder.
  4. Heat oil in a sauce pan and temper the above ingredients. Add a pinch of asaofetida snd shallots. Sauté until the onion turns translucent. Add green chillies and tomato and sauté for a couple of minutes.
  5. Add the tamarind juice and bring it to boil. Add few curry leaves, cilantro, salt, turmeric powder and asafoetida. Again bring it to boil.
  6. Add the potato and cook for another couple of minutes.
  7. Sprinkle the sambar powder on top stirring constantly – Do not add sambar powder as a whole as it might form lumps.
  8. Add the cooked dal and stir well. Now you can add water according to your desired consistency. Add jaggery and garnish with curry leaves and cilantro. Switch off the flame. Enjoy it with hot idlis, dosas and ven pongal! 

Tiffin Sambar

VENTHAYA KUZHAMBU

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Venthaya kuzhambu is a south Indian gravy that is usually had with white rice (and rarely with idli or dosa). I learnt this dish from my MIL. She is my go-to source for all traditional south Indian (especially Tamilian) recipes. Venthaya kuzhambu is very much like puli (tamarind) kuzhambu except for the fact that we use only fenugreek seeds (venthaiyam/methi) in the recipe.
Venthaya Kuzhambu
Venthayam/Methi/Fenugreek is a healthy spice especially for new moms (for milk production) and also used for digestive problems. Fenugreek seeds in general are bitter in taste. Hence be cautious in the number for fenugreek seeds you use for the preparation of Venthaya kuzhambu. Personally, I have cooked Venthaya kuzhambu only for two, so, I use very little amount of fenugreek seeds (half in that I fry and the rest I add as is in the gravy).
Venthaya Kuzhambu
Like all those dishes that tastes better as they get older (pizza, fish gravy etc), Venthaya kuzhambu tastes excellent as it gets older. As I had mentioned above, you can have this gravy with white rice or as a side dish for curd rice, yummy! Try this healthy (for all those new moms) and tasty recipe in your home and as always let me know your comments and thoughts.

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VENTHAYA KUZHAMBU
Recipe type: lunch
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
Ingredients
  • Shallots,chopped – 6 nos
  • Garlic cloves, chopped – 4 nos
  • Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp ( 5 to 6 nos )
  • Tamarind – big gooseberry size
  • Sambar powder – 1 tbs
  • Grated Coconut – 1 tbs
  • Gingelly oil – 2 tbs
  • Salt – as required
Instructions
  1. Soak tamarind in water for half an hour and extract the juice. Add sambar powder to the tamarind extract, mix well and set aside.
  2. Grind the coconut along with one chopped shallot and little water in to a fine paste.
  3. Dry roast the fenugreek seeds in a hot pan until golden brown. Allow them to cool. keep half of them aside and blend the remaining half to powder.
  4. Heat a pan with oil and add the shallots. Sauté until the onions turn translucent.
  5. Add garlic and sauté well.
  6. Add tamarind extract and the dry roasted fenugreek seeds.
  7. Now add the coconut paste and bring it to boil. Add the fenugreek powder. Mix well and cook until the gravy is thick and dark brown. Switch off the flame.
  8. Serve venthaya kuzhambu along with white rice and egg podimas or fryums on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
1.Be careful while roasting the fenugreek seeds as it tastes bitter when overcooked. 2.Grinding very few fenugreek seeds to powder is a difficult job. So make a batch and use very little for this gravy. Store the remaining in a small air tight container.

Venthaya Kuzhambu