Sambhar

Sambhar - A recipe with which is loaded with protein and fibre.

Ingredients - 

5-6 pieces of red pumpkin

4-5 pieces of carrot

4-5 pieces of Ash gourd (optional)

1 drumstick 

1 brinjal (optional)

10-12 shallots (small onion)

1 potato (optional)

1 tomato 

Lemon size tamarind pulp

1 cup toor dal

1/2 spoon mustard seeds

1/2 spoon jeera

1/2 spoon turmeric powder

1/2 spoon coriander powder

1 small piece of jaggery

1 dry red chilli

1 spoon sambhar powder

1/4 spoon asafoetida (hing)

A bunch of curry leaves

3-4 spoons of ghee.

Note: All the vegetables must be diced into small (2 inch) cubes.

If shallots are not available you can use one regular onion.

Method - 

1. Soak the tamarind in half cup warm water for 15-20mins

2. Take a pressure cooker and add toor dal, turmeric and 2 and 1/2 cup of water and allow it to cook for 5-6 whistles

3. Take another pan, add the vegetables (red pumpkin, carrot, ash gourd, brinjal, drumstick, shallots, potato and tomato), salt and pour water till all the vegetables are immersed in water and allow it to cook till all the vegetables become soft. 

(It takes around 15-20mins approximately).

4. Now let's go to back to our dal. Open the cooker and mash the dal nicely with a masher and keep it aside.

5. Once the vegetables are cooked, strain the pulp and add the tamarind juice, red chilli powder, coriander powder, sambhar powder, jaggery and allow it to cook with vegetables for 5-6mins.

6. Once the raw smell of tamarind juice goes, add cooked toor dal and mix it properly.

7. Allow the mixture to boil and once you see the froth while boiling, take a tadka pan, put 3-4 spoons of ghee. Once the ghee is hot add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter and then add cumin seeds, hing, curry leaves and broken red chilli and pour the tadka into the sambhar and switch off the flame.

Note: Sambhar can be served with hot steamed rice, idli, dosa, uttapam, ven pongal, medhu vada and iddiyappam.