Sambar

Sambar

Sambar is a very south Indian concept. Every one has a different recipe and all taste good. They basically have a sharp taste like their sharp thinking and like well defined tastes. South Indians apply their yard stick to good cooking by the taste of the sambar one makes. Like they shake their head in disdain and say "She cannot even make sambar "or say with admiration "Oh You should taste her sambar".

It is basically gravy type dish with vegetables , lentil and spices. The skill lies in combining the right proportions in the right method. It takes special skill not to get it right - it is so simple.

All south Indians have an attachment to sambar. Sambar discussions happen in weddings, parties, hotel visits etc. My mouth waters when ever I think of hot, spicy, yummy, flavourful sambar with hot rice, Hot Fluffy idli's floating in hot Sambar, crisp vadai's floating in sambar, crisp dosas dipped in spicy hot sambar, all South Indian heritages.

When I make huge quantities in family parties, sambar always gets over fast. My sambar turns out very flavorful and tasty and is a favourite with family.

Step 1 : Get the Masala ready
2 - 3 tbsp Chana dal ( split chickpea??)
2 - 3 tbsp Dania (Coriander seeds)
3- 4 red chilly as per taste
half tsp of hing (asafoetida  ) powder
1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)

Roast above ingredients together with little oil till chana reddens a bit and a nice flavour comes. 

Add half or 1 cup grated fresh coconut if not available use desiccated , a handful coriander (curry) leaves ( I use a lot ) and roast for few minutes till the mixture blends well and a nice aroma emanates

Dry grind to a very coarse powder, add 2 medium size tomatoes ( cut) to the mixture and grind again with some water . Not too fine .
The masala is ready

Step 2 
Pressure cook 2 cups of tur dal really well

Step 3 
Soak a lemon size tamarind in water, extract the juice and strain it

Step 4
Cut vegetables into 1" size Any of the following or their combination will work
Onion
Capsicum
Drum Stick
Brinjal - egg plant
White or red pumpkin ( Elavan or pooshanikkai, Parangikkai)
Potato
etc..

If using onion, then roast onion with little oil, kadipatta leaves and turmeric powder. Cook the vegetables in tamarind water with salt to taste, turmeric powder and 1 or 2 tsp  sambar powder ( home made, Acchi Brand, Ambika for flavour.
I don't prefer sambar powders with cinnamon flavour then it does not taste authentic south indian sambar)

Do not over cook

Final Step - Integration
Add the ground masala, cooked mashed dal to the cooked vegetables
Mix well. Add water as per requirement of consistency.
Check salt and add as per taste
Add little jaggery and if that is not available then sugar to bring out all tastes and flavours. Do not add lots else sambar will become sweet and may not taste good

Boil well for 5 minutes or more till a nice aroma fills the house and the sambar looks and tastes perfect.

Garnish with some fresh coriander leaves. Give a light tadka ( seasoning) with mustard, jeera, hing, kadipatta leaves

I use lots of vegetables so it is healthy
If you want to use okra ( bhendi/lady's finger) then shallow fry them in oil to which a little salt is added, drain well and add in the end - okra might make the sambar a bit mushy .  

Adding lot of vegetables makes it healthy but you have to take care of adding proper spices too . Vegetables absorb most of the tamarind, salt and spices. If at the end you find the sambar tasting spice less, you can add little red chilli powder, amchur powder to bring the right taste. Constantly one needs to check salt. Perfect salt brings out perfect taste and flavours.

The above recipe seems a lot of work but it is not so. Some logical steps to follow will be
To start with soak tamarind in water.
Put the dal to cook in cooker.
Cut veggies ( get some one to do it) .
Roast masala
Put veggies to cook in tamarind water
Grind masala as vegies are cooking.
Assemble all together.
    

A simple alternative many south Indian families follow is to skip the ground masala with fresh coconut altogether and reserve that for grand occasions. Just add more sambar powder while cooking vegetables , add 2 to 3 tbsp dania powder and if the sambar is very watery, then add 1 to 2 tsp of rice or any other flour dissolved in little water at the end and bring to a boil to thicken it a bit. Do not add lots of flour else sambar will taste terrible. This sambar also tastes very yummy and is light.

Another variation I do is to grind tomato and lot of curry leaves finely together and the strain it through a strainer and add this to the vegetables while cooking. Adjust tamarind accordingly.


OMG - The south Indian Sambar obsessions and the Sambar Nostalgia. 

Dry Fruit Kadalai Undai

Dry Fruit Kadalai Undai

Ingredients

• 2 cups roasted ground nut
• 1 cup finely ground copra  ( dry coconut) - Fresh coconut may be used but then the undai has to be used up within 2 - 3 days 
• Raisins, Dry Roasted Badam crushed, Dry Roasted Cashew crushed, Elaichi ( cardamom ) powder
• 1 cup powdered jaggery
• 1 or 2 tbsp Honey 
• 1 tsp cooking oil
• 2 to 3 tbsp roasted and powdered flax seed - optional 
• 2 to 3 roasted and powdered Sesame seeds - optional 

Method
1) Powder ground nut fine
2) In one large bowl assemble all the ingredients
3) Mix well
4) Rub hands with oil .  Take some of the mixture, shape into balls with firm pressure.

Yummy and healthy undai is ready .
I store in fridge.  

ALL_RAW Chatni

Amazing ALL_RAW Chatni

Ingredients

1 small capsicum, 2 medium sized tomatoes, 1 small onion, - all cut into big pieces, green chilly as per taste , 1" ginger crushed, 1 handful Kadipatta ( curry leaves), 1 handful Coriander leaves, salt to taste ,  half-cup grated fresh coconut (optional) , salt as per taste

Method
Put all the above ingredients in a mixer , add little water and grind to a paste - not too fine. This chatni is  flavourful, tasty with Dosa, Idli , quick and easy to make, no oil, no thadka , healthy too.
   

Vazhaikai Curry

Raw Banana Curry

My daughter-in-law loves this recipe of mine.

Ingredients
2 to 3 Raw Banana ( Vazhaikai) - sould be firm to touch and really raw not ripened , cut into long( 2 to 3")  thick pieces ( half to one inch)

Masala:
Roast with 1 1tbsp oil  the following:-
3 to 4 tbsp Chana dal
1 to 2 tbsp Dania seeds
3 to 4 red chillies
Kadipatta
Hing

When nice aroma comes, add 1 cup of freshly grated coconut to the roasted mixture and toss on heat till a nice blended aroma emanates.

Add 1 tsp. sugar and coarse grind the dry masala. Do not add water.

In a kadai , put 2 to 3 tbsp oil, mustard . After the mustard splits add jeera, hing, turmeric powder. Add cut banana, salt. Stir well to mix. Cook clovered for few minutes. Banana cooks fast so watch out. Overcooking will make it mushy. Also toss lightly.

Now add the dry ground masala to the cooked banana, toss well.

Done !!

We can substitute raw banana with potato, baby potatoes, brinjal, Sooran.

Brinjal curry made like this can be mixed with cooked rice and served as Brinjal rice.

Gajar (Carrot) Halwa

Seasonal sweets made out of fruits and vegetables are a must in Indian households.

My family and I too love the Gajjar Halwa I often make when carrots are in season and cost appr. Rs. 20 per  Kg. ( that is about 30c for 2.2 lbs!! - Imagine) and some milk is left over.

In India we get 2 types of carrots - one is a transparent-type pink color, large, juicy and sweet. The other is orange-red, smooth and hard looking, a bit dry when grated and taste a bit more starchy then the other variety. I prefer the juicy ones for Halwa. Also buy healthiest looking ones.

I prefer Gur or Jaggery that tastes better and has a nice aroma also. Gur is supposed to be less harmful than white sugar and I buy organic gur - the label claims that no chemicals have been used.

Cardamom powder is made by lightly roasting green cardamom ( say 50g or 100g), grind to a very fine powder in a mixer with some sugar (1/2 to 1 cup) and sieved with the finest sieve. Store in an airtight container. The chaff left over in the sieve can be mixed with tea leaves and stored and used while making tea. I use this cardamom powder generously ( not a pinch as they say in recipes) .
   
Ingredients:
1 Kg juicy pink Indian Gajar
1/2 Lt Milk ( Any - cow milk/low fat preferred)
Jaggery/Gur - about 400g. less than 1/2 Kg as per taste
2 tbsp ghee
1 cup crushed nuts - cashew , almonds, walnut
1 tsp. Elaichi (Cardomom ) powder
1/2 cup raisins

Method
1) Clean, remove skin and coarse grate carrot.

2) Put the grated carrot in milk and cook partly covered on low flame for about 10 to 15 min. The carrots should be tender but not over cooked nor mushy. Do not put too much milk else cooking time increases and the carrots become mushy , over cooked and loose their flavor and taste. Also do not use water.

3) Microwave gur/jaggery for 2 to 3 min. in a glass bowl till it becomes a thick syrup and fills the air with a lovely aroma. Do not use water. BE very alert - otherwise the gur chars when heated beyond a point.  Check often.

4) Add the gur to cooked carrot, add 1 tbsp ghee and cook stirring constantly till the mixture is almost dry . Don't over cook then the Halwa is dry to taste. Stop heat. Halwa is ready. The Halwa should be tender, juicy with the nice flavor of Milk .

5) Now Garnish Halwa with nuts . Heat 1 tbsp. ghee, put the nuts , roast a bit, then add raisins and roast till raisins become puffed up full blown.

6) Add ghee-nut mixture to Gajar Halwa , add a generous sprinkling of cardamom powder

7) Stir well. Serve hot.

8) The Halwa can keep for 3 to 4 days in Fridge . Microwave for 20 to 30 sec. before serving.  The raisins and nuts blend more and more with the Halwa over time.  

Manga Pachadi

Manga Pachadi is a sweet - sour - spicy thick syrupy preparation with raw mango. 

Select raw mangoes which  are sweet + sour  ( if not then sour ones are fine) 

Cut into random shaped pieces. I mean don't bother too much. Obviously the seed is to be removed .

In a frying pan give thadka ( seasoning) with following :

Mustard
Jeera
Hing
Pinch of Turmeric powder
2 to 3 red chillies ( as per taste)
Some curry leaves (Kadi Patta)

Put the cut mango pieces into the hot tadka , add little salt and some water, toss till done.
Add powdered jaggery , stir, cook to a moderately thick consistency ( till the jaggery is well blended)

This is Manga Pachadi. Goes well with Chapati. Can be eaten by itself also. A favorite with South Indians. It has a sweet + sour + salty + hot spicy taste and a very characteristic flavor .

Amla/Avla/Nellikkai/Gooseberry Pickle

Amla Pickle

I have often read that Amla is a rich source of Vitamin C and does not loose its Vitamin by cooking. I love pickles. But the ready made pickles we buy from the shops have too much salt and may contain preservatives. Also they are not fresh and very expensive. Amla sells at about Rs. 40 per kg . So here are 2 recipes for Amla Pickle. Amla has a slightly bitter taste. If u feel the pickle is bitter, add some Amchur ( dried mango)  powder or squeeze some lime juice in the final stage.

Select biggest size that you can get , light green translucent Amla.  They taste less bitter. Wash , put in a vessel, add water to cover at least half of them ( more water is ok) , add Turmeric powder and salt. I also add little hing ( asefoteda may be misspelt here) powder for flavor. Pressure cook . One whistle is sufficient. Cool. The Amla is soft. Remove seed with a knife ( very easy) and cut into pieces. Important: Keep the cooked water. Don't throw away. 

Amla Thokku 

1. Heat Til ( sesame seed )  oil  about 4 to 5 tbsp. for half kg Amla.

2. Add mustard.

3. After the mustard has spluttered, add

• 1 tsp. methi ( fenugreek) seeds
• 4 to 5 tbsp. red chilli powder as per your taste , 
• 1 tsp. hing powder, 
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder

4. Fry together till a nice aroma comes. Methi seed should splutter.

5. Add cooked and cut Amla and the cooked water.

6. Taste to see if you require more salt.

7 Mash nicely and keep stirring and cooking till oil oozes out of the thokku. Taste to see if it is bitter. If so, add some Amchur powder or squeeze some lime. Stir and mix over heat. The thokku is now ready. .

8. Store in a air tight bottle in the fridge. 

Can be consumed for about 2 weeks.
Longer shelf life of a month or more can be achieved by storing in the freezer - in this case, reheat nicely in  a Kadai for consumption. .

Amla - green chilli - ginger pickle
1. Cut green chilli, ginger into fine pieces. Quantity will depend on the spice you require. I like nicely spicy - so more ginger and spicy green chilli.

2. Heat 2 tbsp. til oil and add mustard. When it has spluttered, add green chilli , ginger , 1 tsp. hing powder. . Fry a little. Add cooked, cut Amla and the cooked water . Taste for salt. Keep stirring , don't mash the pieces and cook till oil oozes out. Check for bitterness and add lime juice or Amchur powder. Mix and heat for a while.

3. Store in a air tight bottle in the fridge. 

My mother loves the green chilli version. The thokku goes very well with Chappati, Dosa, Idli, Curd rice etc.




Why add cooked water? Otherwise the pickle tastes very bitter.