SAMBAR (CHENNAI STYLE)

SAMBAR.. Sab ka favorite.. This is a popular recipe of south india prepared with vegetables using yellow lentils and tamarind.. Today i am sharing with you tamilnadu style of sambar which is very very popular all over the world. Addition of masala paste n sambar powder gives extra taste and aroma to the dish. This recipe i learned from my mom.. MOM.. this one is for u... :)

Preparation time : 30 min
Cooking time : 30-40 min

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup toordal / kandipappu / yellow lentils
lemon size tamarind extract
2 drumsticks, chopped into 2 inch pieces
1 cup bottlegourd pieces, chopped into cubes
2 tomatoes, chopped into cubes
1 onion (optional), finely sliced
3-4 greenchillies, slit into 1 inch pieces
salt as per taste
1/4 tsp haldi / turmeric powder
3 tsp sambar powder ( i used MTR)
3 tbsp jaggery
1 sprig curryleaves
FOR THE PASTE
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tbsp chanadal / bengal gram / senagapappu
1 tbsp dhaniya seeds / dhaniyalu
1 tbsp minapappu / urad dal
1/2 tbsp mustard seeds / aavalu
1/4 tbsp peppercorns / miriyalu
1/4 tsp methi seeds / menthulu
2 laung / lavangalu
1 inch dalchini / dalchinachekka
1/2 cup fresh coconut pieces
3-4 garlic pods (optional)
1 tbsp raw rice
1 tbsp oil
FOR THE TADKA
2 tbsp ghee / oil
1 tsp uraddal / minapappu
1 tsp mustard seeds / aavalu
1/4 tsp hing
4 redchillies, broken into 1 inch pieces

PREPARATION

• Boil toordal and keep aside.
• Soak tamarind and extract pulp from it and keep aside
• Take a pan and add oil and add the ingredients FOR THE PASTE mentioned above and fry them. Once it is fried off the stove and let it cool. Then grind into a fine paste.

COOKING METHOD

• Take a wide cooking pan and add sufficient amount of water and add chopped vegetables, curryleaves, greenchillies and let them boil.
• Then add bolied dal, tamarind extract and let it boil for 5- 10 mins.
• Add the grinded masala paste, mix well and let it boil for another10 mins. If the mixture is thick u can add sufficient quantity of water.
• Add salt, haldi, jaggery and sambar powder. Mix well and let it boil for another 10 mins.
• In the meanwhile take a tadka pan and add ghee. Once the ghee is hot add the ingredients FOR THE TADKA mentioned above. Once the tadka is fried add this to the sambar mixture.
• Mix well and let it boil for another 5 mins.
• Serve hot with piping hot rice and papad.

TIPS

• U can add different vegetables of your choice.
• After preparing this serve after 1 hour. This improves the taste of sambar.