Already I have posted few sambhar recipes, but I never posted the usual sambhar recipe which I make very often (basic sambhar). I have made this sambhar with carrots and drumstick, but you could also put radish, white pumpkin, brinjal(baby eggplant). Let us move on to the sambhar recipe.
Ingredients:
- Pigeon pea / Tuvaram paruppu / Toor dal – ½ cup
- Onions – 2 nos(medium sized)
- Tomato – 1 no
- Carrots – 2 nos
- Drumstick – 1 no
- Ashgourd / White pumpkin – 1/4 kg
- Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
- Sambhar powder – 2 tsp (available in all Indian stores)
- Asafoetida – ¼ tsp
- Tamarind – a gooseberry size
- Salt to taste
- Curry leaves- a string
- Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
- Split blackgram – ¼ tsp
- Fenugreek / Methi – ¼ tsp
- Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp
- Oil – 3 tsp
Preparation:
- Pressure cook the pigeon pea/toor dal and wait for 3 whistles.
- Prepare the Tamarind extract.
- Peel the onion, carrots, radish, ashgourd. Chop the carrots and radish into small rings, chop the drumstick to 3 inch length, chop the ashgourd into thick cubes, separate cauliflower into small florets, chop the tomatoes roughly and finely chop the onions.
- Heat oil in a kadai. Add all the spices (mustard, cumin, black lentil, fenugreek seeds) and curry leaves, wait till they crackle.
- Add the onions and fry till they are transparent.
- Add the tomatoes and fry till they are mushy.
- Add the vegetables, turmeric powder, little salt and fry for 10 mins. Pour in a cup of water and add a tsp of sambhar powder and bring it to boil. Cover with the lid and cook till the vegetables are done.
- Remove the lid, pour in the boiled pigeonpea along with the water and add another tsp of sambhar powder, give a stir. Cover with the lid and keep in medium flame for 20 mins.
- Remove the lid and pour in the tamarind extract. Cover and cook in medium flame for another 10 mins
- Remove the lid and keep in low flame till the oil separates and the sambhar comes to a curry consistency.
- Transfer it to a bowl and garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with steamed rice.