SAMBAR- MY MOTHER-IN-LAW’S METHOD







SAMBAR- MY MOTHER-IN-LAW’S METHOD
Many of my friends had been asking me to post my sambar recipe and it had been a long time since I posted any authentic south Indian recipe, so here I am with my version of sambar. This is my MIL’s method, she was the one who taught me most of my cooking. When I got married a few years back, cooking was so new to me. Poor hubby dear was having a hard time coping up with my cooking :( My MIL stayed with me for a month and taught me all the basic dishes. This is her classic dish and nothing can beat its taste. With just a dollop of ghee on top of the sambar and steaming hot idlis, this combination is my ultimate comfort food.

The sambar recipe I have posted here is ideal for idlis and dosas. Usually we don’t add any vegetables to our sambar. If needed, any vegetables like eggplants, okra, carrot, or drumsticks can be added. If you are combining it with rice, the sambar should be a little bit watery. I made this sambar to go with rice idlis and cracked wheat idlis. The cracked wheat idli recipe is from my friend Cham (thanks a lot dear). I followed her exact recipe for the idlis. The only addition was that I added some ginger paste to the batter. It came out real soft and tasty.

INGREDIENTS:
Toor dhal or red lentils, 1 cup.
Red onions, medium size, 2.
Tomatoes, medium size, 2.
Green chili,.1
Garlic, 2 cloves (optional).
Turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon.
Tamarind, a small lemon-sized ball or 2 tablespoons of tamarind pulp.
Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
Coriander powder, 2 teaspoons.
Sambar powder, store brought or homemade, 1 teaspoon.
Asafetida, 1 pinch.
Salt as per taste.
Red chili, 2.
Mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon.
Curry leaves, 1 sprig.
Chopped cilantro, a handful.
Vadakam, 1 teaspoon, (optional). This is a mixture of dried onions, garlic, and a few spices. I use vadakam for seasoning sambar, rasams, and kuzambus. This can be omitted if not available.

PREPARATION:
Dice the onions and tomatoes finely and slit the green chili into 2. Extract thick juice from the tamarind and keep aside. Wash the toor dhal well and cook the toor dhal along with the turmeric powder, diced onions, tomatoes, garlic cloves, and green chilies in a pressure cooker for up to 3 whistles. The dhal should be mashed well along with the added veggies. Heat a pan with some oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, break the red chilies into 2 and add them to the oil along with the vadakam and fry for a 2 seconds. Then add the tamarind juice, along with the chili powder, coriander powder, sambar powder, and salt along with 3 cups of water and let it boil for 10-15 minutes. Then add the mashed dhal and a pinch of asafetida and let it cook for a few more minutes until the desired consistency is reached. Garnish with curry leaves and chopped cilantro and serve hot with rice, idlis, or dosas.

26 comments:

Cham said...

Good one, I ve crossed more than 150 posts till now I didn't post sambar recipe. Got to do it!

Priya Suresh said...

Thats a delicious sambar dish..looks yummy!

Manju said...

delicious sambar!

Varsha Vipins said...

Great one Gita..thanks for sharing this traditional one wit us..:)

Pooja said...

traditional sambar...looking yum..

Raks said...

Even I have to try to add garlic in sambhar,I have just heard not tried till now...Hope to try it out soon!
Looks superb..:)

vidhas said...

Delicious Sambhar. I can feel the aroma of vadakam . I used to temper vadakam in puli kolambu.

Uma said...

mmm. nothing can beat the taste of sambar! looks so delicious Gita!

Anonymous said...

Lovely recipes there for sambar..
Btw,adding 4-5 shallots to sambar makes it more yummy,if you acn use that

Astra Libris said...

Such a beautiful recipe, and a beautiful story of cooking with your Mother-in-Law!

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

that's a mouthwatering sambar.. as i read the ingredients, i can feel the taste!

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Nice sambar recipe love to have them mmm, I liked the idlis too...

Shama Nagarajan said...

looks yummy dear.....

lubnakarim06 said...

Wow flavourful and yum.

Ammu said...

I can able to smeel ur sambhar aroma. looks simple & delicious.

Chitra said...

this is a bit different from mine,love this sambhar.will soon try this:)

Laavanya said...

I'm a big sambar fan... can never get enough of idli & sambar. That sounds like a yummy sambar recipe - thanks for sharing.

Jaishree Iyer said...

Idli with sambhar drooling gita.. Looks delicious dear:)

ARUNA said...

tht's a great sambar dish....looks yumm!!

AnuSriram said...

Looks lovely! Delicious sambar gita!

Vibaas said...

that looks yum, Gita!

Food for thought said...

Elders are very good at the traditional cooking. Nice recipe. Looks delicious.

Malar Gandhi said...

I like the idea of cracked wheat idly, it looks great, and so does the sambhar too.

Sum Raj said...

tihs looks perfect..mouthwatering..

vandana rajesh said...

Sambar with idlis and dosa yumm...The sambar looks gr8.

Seena said...

I really want to get some of this, esp. since it is a mother's recipe.. :)