SAMBHAR

SAMBAR

Sambar is the main South Indian Dish in every household.  You can have it with Idli, dosa, medu vada, rice some people eat with chapati too, like me.  It is a delicious dish can be made in various styles.  Today I am presenting my way of making it.  Yesterday we had conducted Bhagawati Seva Pooja which is performed by every South Indians one day atleast in their house in the month of Karkidagam  (Aadi month) (Aashad) starting from July 17 till August 16 mostly except the day of Amavasya.  

I love the Padmam, rangoli made by the Vadyar (Priest), then the vilaku (lamps ) decorated with flowers and the japam (chanting of Devi's stuthi).  I cannot post the pictures of the pooja as our Priest did not allow us to click the pictures of padmam and the pooja afterwards.  We make nei payasam, medu vada for the neivedyam which is mouth watering.  

coming to the point of making sambhar.  Normally i make the sambar without tamarind pulp and it equally tastes good as we make with the tamarind pulp.  Once my brother in law and family had come to our place.  I made the sambar following the below mentioned method without tamarind pulp.  My brother in law said, sambar is excellent.  I told him that i have not added one ingredient in it, can you find out?  He said no.  When i told them that the sambar is without tamarind pulp, my sister in law could not believe it.
By the way, instead of tamarind pulp, you can add amchur powder or kokum also but i did not use even this.

Ingredients:

1 cup diced vegetables (red pumpkin, white pumpkin (ashgourd), capsicum, drumstick, colacasia)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 Cup tuvar dal (tuvaram pariuppu, arhar dal, toor dal)
salt

For the Masala

1/4 cup coriander seeds

5 tsp chana dal

1 tsp methi seeds

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

6-7 red chillies
3 green chillies
2 sprigs of curry leaves
3/4  cup grated coconut
Asafoetida
1 piece of jaggery
2 tsp oil

Optional

1/4 cup thin tamarind pulp  ( I did not use.)
6-7 shallots (on auspicious days, we do not use). you have to shallow fry the same in oil and grind along with the masalas.

Tempering:

1 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
few curry leaves
2-3 broken red chilli

garnishing

chopped coriander leaves

Method:

Cook the vegetables by adding salt and turmeric powder. (if you are using tamarind pulp, add this too)
pressure cook the toor dal and keep aside.
Now heat oil in kadai, add the coriander seeds, chana dal, red chilli saute for a minute. now add the methi seeds, black pepper, cumin seeds and fry the same, do not burn it.  now add the curry leaves, green chilli and the coconut and fry for another one minute and switch off gas. add the asafoetida powder in it.  when it cools down, grind to a fine paste by adding water in it keep aside.

Now check the vegetables, if they are cooked, add the mashed toor dal bring to a boil.  now add the ground paste, jaggery,  mix well and bring to a boil, switch off gas.

temper with the ingredients mentioned under tempering and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Sambar is ready to serve with idli, dosa, rice, vada etc.

Note:  my mother in law grind the curry leaves with the masala as it is good for health.  normally, we throw the same without knowing the medicinal value of it.

enjoy the sambar.  Yesterday, when i served with idli, and vada, everyone was  praising stating that it tasted like the hotel sambar.  so whey are u waiting.  you too enjoy, banao, khilao or khud khao or do not forget to give me the feed back.


Note: you can skip tamarind pulp, instead use tomato, amchur powder or kokum. without all these, the sambar tastes good.

NEI PAYASAM

NEI PAYASAM

Nei payasam.

Payasam means kheer.  A sweet dish made with jaggery, plenty of ghee for Neivedyam in temples as well as at home.  This mouth watering kheer remains in the fridge for around 15 days if kept properly.  This is normally made in Uruli ( a brass vessel) in temples and even at home.

IDLI FRY

IDLI FRY

IDLI FRY

Idli fry or fried idli  is very  simple, easy to make dish.  It can be made with left over idlis too.  What you need is idlis, gun powder or chilli powder, grated coconut etc.  Easy to make and serve hot.  You do not need chutney or sambar for this as with gun powder or chilli powder, it tastes awesome with garnishing of coriander leaves.

Preparation time: 5 minutes
cooking time: 5 minutes
serves: 1

Ingredients:

4 Idlis cut into 6-8 pieces
2 tbsp gun powder
1 tsp oil + 1 tsp ghee
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urid dal
few curry leaves
a pinch of asafoetida

chopped coriander leaves for ganrishing

Cut the idlis into 6-8 pieces and keep aside.
In a kadai, heat the oil and ghee, add the mustard seeds, urid dal, curry leaves, when it splutters add the idli pieces, gun powder, asafoetida  and mix well. saute for 2-3 minutes. serve hot.

a very easy, simple and tasty dish.

KADALA CURRY l BLACK CHICKPEAS CURRY l HOW TO MAKE KADALA CURRY

Black Chickpeas or Kadala Curry is made to serve along with Puttu in Kerala.  This is a famous breakfast.  The hot steamed putt along with Kadala Curry or Safed Elaichi Banana (Kunnan Pazham), Papad and Sugar.    Basically, my family members do not like this hence for me I  make it whenever I feel like eating the Puttu in coconut shell.

Coming to the Kadala Curry, the  masalas used by various people are different but here I am presenting a simple recipe.  You can try with the masalas of your choice too for variation.

Video:

RICE PUTTU l VEGTABLE PUTTU l KERALA CUISINE l HOW TO MAKE PUTTU l BREAKFAST RECIPES

Today I made Puttu and vegetable Puttu for breakfast as my brother was at home.  My children and husband do not like this item so for making it only for me, i do not take much trouble.  Since my brother likes it, I thought I am getting a chance to eat this.

Puttu  is one of Kerala’s traditional breakfast item that is usually served with Banana, pappadam, sugar or Kadala curry (Black Chana Curry).    This dish is one of the favorite breakfast in Kerala which is also very easy to make. We get ready made puttu powder in almost all malayali/tamil stores.  We can make this in the idli vessel, coconut shell etc.  The champa rice puttu podi (puttu flour ) is very tasty in fact.  It is a simple and easy to make dish.

Puttu is steamed in a vessel specially designed for this, consisting  of one bottom vessel for filling water, one cylindrical shape top portion, a perforated plate and a cover with hole in it to escape the steam while cooking.  This vessel can be purchased from any malayali stores or you get the same in Matunga.  If you happen to visit Kerala, you can pick one from there.

Here I am giving you the recipe of vegetable puttu as well as the normal puttu.  The normal puttu is made with the rice powder and grated fresh coconut and served hot with Kadala curry, pazham (banana) sugar, Papad etc.  The vegetable version can be eaten as it is or with coconut chutney, sambar or with any curry of your choice.  

Video: Rice Puttu

PUMPKIN MASOOR SOUP

Masoor dal along with pumpkin makes a very tasty, healthy soup. It is simple, easy to make and healthy too.

Pumpkin is  one of the very low calorie vegetables and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol; However, it is rich in dietary fiber, anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins. The vegetable is one of the food items recommended by dieticians in cholesterol controlling and weight reduction programs. Pumpkin is a storehouse of many anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin-A, vitamin-C and vitamin-E.

Masoor daal is used in every household to make curries or sambar. It is a very common lentil and easily available as well. Masoor daal cooks very fast and does not need any kind of soaking before cooking it. Even tough people may treat it as a simple lentil; it has many properties which are good for health. People who are pure vegetarians can eat this lentil everyday. They will get the same amount of strength that non-vegetarian people have.

Many times we see that people complain about having less blood in their body.

Pumpkin masoor soup

Let us look at the recipe now:

PULI KUTHI UPPERI (STIR FRIED VEGETABLES WITH TAMARIND PULP)

When my aunty visited my place yesterday, we were discussing about the olden days recipes as she is also a very good cook and much interested in making and feeding her own children as well as grand children.  Though I am aware of the recipe and made it long ago, could not post it.

Puli kuthi upperi is made with certain vegetables viz. lady's finger, raw banana, green brinjal, flat beans, red pumpkin.  Colacasia leaf is also included in this and it is a main ingredient in this vegetable.

This tangy stir fried vegetable can be served as a side dish for dal rice, molagootal rice, rasam rice or as a side dish for chapati too.  It is a unique,  tangy,   recipe of Palakkad (Kerala State) enjoyed specially during rainy season when the colacasia leaf is available abundantly.  The lady's finger is also a unique one which we get long greenish, whitish in colour.

Puli kuthi upperi (stir fried vegetables with tamarind pulp)

Let us look at the recipe now:

BITTER GOURD CURRY l PAVAKKA KUZHAMBU l PAVAKKA PITLA

Bitter gourd is  very bitter in taste and will not be liked by all.  However, considering the health benefits and  its medicinal properties that aid in diabetes, liver issues, stomach complaints, skin ailments such as psoriasis and blood purification, we much include this in our diet atleast once in a week.

It is an  antioxidant, fight  against cancer, to lower cholesterol, to combat HIV, kidney stones, measles, as well as malaria.   particularly high in vitamins C, A, folates, thiamin, zinc, iron, potassium, magnesium, manganese and dietary fiber.

My in laws house, they just finely chop the same and put in curd and salt and have it along with their meals.

bitter gourd curry, pavakka or parakka pitla,pavakka kuzhambu

Let us look at the recipe now:

BEETROOT TOMATO SAAR

Beetroot is a super-storehouse of both vitamin C and iron.   Both are essential elements for health.  The beta cyanin in beetroot can help detox your liver, having a knock-on effect for your bloodstream, by helping the body to eliminate toxins and potentially preventing the build-up of fatty deposits. Beetroot juice helps  to reduce high blood pressure.  Tomatoes are powerful blood purifiers and clear up urinary tract infections.   They have anti oxidant properties as they are high sources of vitamin C and vitamin A. The Vitamin A especially wards off macular degeneration and improves eyesight.   High in fiber they are freely used by weight watchers.

Today, I made Beetroot rasam following Ms. Dahlia Twinkle’s recipe of www.simpleindianrecipes.com.  As I was making it, thought of adding little bit of ingredients and make the saar.  My daughter when she was in baby sitting used to tell me Aunty’s tomato saar is very tasty.  Thought will give a twist to the Tomato Saar and the recipe is here.

Let us look at the recipe now:

NEER DOSA

Neer  dosa  preparation is is very simple, easy to make and good for the people who cannot consume Urid dal.  Recently, I was going through some recipes and comments and happened to read that one person had stated that he cannot consume urid dal. He loves dosa, can you suggest some recipes.  I had mentioned to him about this recipe.  Hope he will be enjoying it.

I happened to eat this dosa at Sion in a hotel when myself and my husband were out one day.  I liked it very much and want to make the same. Though I could not succeed in making the same as it was served in the hotel in a plantain leaf, it was tasty with chutney and sambar, I made it in my way.

My son loved it and has taken to college several times.  Lastly when I made it, he just had the dosas plain without any accompaniments.  Today I was having aam ras in the fridge and tasted with it and it was awesome.  I told him to try but he was reluctant.  Somehow I do not know why he just got up and took a bowl of aam ras and finished the dosas within 10 minutes.  When I asked him, he said I was right.

Now it is your turn to enjoy this dosa with aam ras. (mango puree)

Let us look at the recipe now: