Wednesday 7 October 2009

Arachu Vitta Sambar


Ingredients:

Toor dal (cooked and mashed) – 1 cup.
Drumsticks (cut) – ½ cup.
Onion (chopped) – 2.
Tomatoes (chopped) – 2.
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tbsp.
Tamarind extract – ½ cup (lemon size tamarind pulp).
Oil - 4 tbsp.
Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp.
Curry Leaves - 5 or 6.

For Grinding:

Bengal gram dal (channa dal) – 2 tbsp.
Urad dal - 1 tbsp.
Coriander seeds (dhania) – 2 tbsp.
Red chillies – 3.
Fenugreek seeds (methi) – 1 tbsp.
Coconut (shredded) – 3 tbsp.
Asafoetida powder - one pinch.

Method:

1. Pressure cook the Toor dal with a pinch of Turmeric powder in it. Keep it aside.
2. In a small pan, pour a drop of oil and fry, the ingredients under "For Grinding" to golden brown.
3. Turn off the stove and now add the coconut to the above ingredients.
4. Grind it into a fine paste and keep it aside.
5. Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onions. Fry till the onions turn brown and then add tomatoes and drumstick.
6. Once the tomatoes turn mushy add the pressure cooked dal and the ground paste. Mix well for 3 mins.
7. Add the tamarind extract and two cups of water and let it cook for 15-20 mins on medium heat.
8. Heat oil in another pan, add mustard, curry leaves and once the mustard starts to splutter add to the sambar mixture.
Switch off the stove and serve with rice.

Notes:

Coconut will give nice taste to sambar. But it is optional. If you don't want it you can avoid that.