Zero-oil Tomato Sambar

I've made this sambar a few times now. Its a one pot meal that requires no effort except for prepping the veggies. When in a hurry, I only use tomatoes and make a tomato sambar. You can add additional veggies to this recipe.
Veggies that go well in this sambar are spinach, carrots, beans,  snake gourd (padavalanga), drumsticks, ivy gourd (tindora/kovakka),sweet potatoes, potatoes, taro (cheppankezhangu/chembu/arbi), bell pepper, green peas.

Ingredients:

Lentils – 1 cup (use toor dal/masoor dal/moong dal/ or a mixture of these)
Tomatoes – 3, chopped
Onions – 1, chopped
Green chillies – 3, chopped fine
Ginger – 1″ thick, minced
Garlic – 4 cloves, minced
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Sambar powder – 3 tbsp.
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida – 1 tsp
Water – 2 cups
Additional veggies are optional – eg. carrots, beans, snake gourd (padavalanga), drumsticks (moringa oleifera), ivy gourd (tindora/kovakka), sweet potatoes, potatoes, taro (cheppankezhangu/chembu/arbi), bell pepper, green peas.
Salt to taste
Cilantro – a handful, chopped

Method:

Add all ingredients into a pressure cooker and cook for 2 to 3 whistles. After it’s cooked, sprinkle the cilantro over the top – do not forget this step because it lends the tomato sambar that signature flavor. It’s that simple!

You can have it with brown rice, and a side of other veggie dishes. Or on its own like soup.

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Sambar - South Indian Vegetable Stew

During my childhood, sambar was such a staple in my house, that I used to hate it! Can't believe I love it so much when I started preparing it on my own. So easy to prepare and you really don't need anything else when you have it with rice. Goes very well with idlis too. (I hated idlis too, but I still brought an idli thattu (idli maker) all the way from Pathanamthitta to New Jersey, so I better well make some!)

Credit: I followed Vazhayila's recipe to the T. Came out just like the way my mom used to make it.

Ingredients:

Split Red Lentils (Split Masoor Dal) or Split pea lentils (Toor Dal) - 1 cup

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Salt to taste

Water - 1 1/2 cup

Oil - 1 tablespoon

Onion chopped - 1

Green chili - 2-3

Vegetables chopped - 2 cup (any veg of your choice, i prefer carrot, potato, ashgourd (padavalanga), drumstick (moringa oleifera), ivy gourd (tindora/kovakka), french beans)

Tomato - 1 or 2, chopped

Tamarind pulp - 1/2 tablespoon

Sambar powder - 2 table spoon (storebought or homemade)

Asafoetida (Hing) - a large pinch

Salt to taste

For Tempering:

Oil

Curry leaves

Mustard seeds

Dried red chili  - 2

Method:

Wash and drain lentils. Add lentils with salt and pressure cook with just enough water for 3 to 4 whistles. If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can use a regular saucepan and cook the dal until its soft.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large dutch oven and saute onion and green chilies for a couple of minutes.

Add diced vegetables and saute for 2-3 minutes, followed by tomato.

Dissolve tamarind pulp in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of warm water and mix with Sambar powder.

Add this along with cooked lentils to the pot, with just enough water. Bring it to a boil, lower the heat to medium-low, cover and let simmer for 20 mins.

Uncover when cooled, simmer again for a couple of minutes, add a pinch or two of asafoetida and chopped cilantro (optional).

Tempering:-Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When it starts to splutter add red chilies and curry leaves. Pour it over the sambar. Serve hot (or some people like it cold too) with Idlis, Dosa or Rice.

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Parippu Curry / Kerala style dal

Credit: Sankeerthanam 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup daal
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
•  2 green chilies

To Grind:

•  1/2 to 3/4 cup grated coconut
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder

 To Temper: 

• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/8 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 dry red chilli
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbs ghee (clarified butter)
• 2 to 3 shallots, chopped
• few curry leaves

Method:

Pressure cook daal up to 2 whistles adding turmeric powder, green chillies and salt. To this, add ground coconut paste. Cook for 5 more minutes adding little bit water. Heat 1 tbs ghee in a separate pan, splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds and  fennel seeds. Add  red chillies, curry leaves and shallots, fry slightly. Pour the seasoning  into the curry. Serve with rice

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Kothavarangai Poriyal - Cluster beans stir-fry

I'm not exactly familiar with cluster beans mostly because it wasnt cooked in my home. Don't know about its use in kerala but it seems to be a regular side dish in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. I bought these last weekend for a change in variety of beans as I only bought french beans. Apparently I liked this particular dish whenever I ordered meals in the popular Andhra restaurant Nandhini. I decided to give this recipe a try at home and it was definitely good!



Credit: http://www.rakskitchen.net/2009/04/cluster-beans-poriyal.html

Ingredients:

Cluster Beans,Chopped 1 1/2 cup
Moong dal/Paasi paruppu 2-3 tblsp
Sambhar powder/red chilli powder 1 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/8 tsp
Coconut gratings 1/4 cup
Onion 1 no.
Salt As needed

To Temper:
Mustard 1 tsp
Urad dal/ulutham paruppu 1 tsp
Curry leaves  A sprig
Oil 1 tsp

Method:

1.Remove the head and tail of cluster beans,wash them and chop them finely as shown in the picture.
2.Boil the cluster beans in water,along with moong dhal,turmeric,salt,sambhar/red chilli powder.
3.Cook till done,moong dal should be just done,not too soft....by that time moong dhal gets cooked,cluster beans too should have got cooked just right.
4.Drain the water and keep aside.
5.Heat kadai and temper with the tempering items,followed by onion and fry till onion turns transparent.
6.Add the cooked cluster beans,moong dal and fry for two minutes in medium flame till moisture gets absorbed. .
7.Add the grated coconut and stir well for a minute.
8.Transfer to the serving dish! Serve as accompaniment for rice.

This tastes great when mixed with ghee and hot rice. Thats how I ate it in Nandhini too. Add a fried pappad and you're good to go.

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South Indian Toor Dal Palak - A staple curry in my house

Credit: https://www.ifood.tv/recipe/toordal_palak_curry

Ingredients:

Dal (lentil) of your choice (you can use Toor Dal or Masoor Dal or Moon dal or a mixture of them) - 1cup

Palak (spinach or baby spinach leaves) -1 1/2cups (or even a handful) finely chopped

Tomatoes-2 finely chopped

Fresh grated coconut-2tablespoon

Green chillies-6small or 2 large

Tamarind juice-1tablespoon

Salt to taste

Red chilli powder-1/4 teaspoon

Sambar powder-1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Cumin powder-1/2 teaspoon

Oil-2 table spoon

 

For Seasoning:-

Ghee-1 tablespoon

Onion-1 finely chopped

Red dry chillies- 2 broken into pieces

Garlic cloves - 3 sliced or crushed

Urad dal-1 teaspoon

Hing-a pinch
Cilantro (coriander leaves) - a small handful, chopped

Method:

My note:

1. To make tamarind juice (if not having tamarind paste)

Mix a small quantity of tamarind (about the size of a rupee coin or a US quarter) in a small bowl with some hot water. Mash the tamarind to make the tamarind juice. Strain before using.

2. I left out grated coconut on several occasions, coz I was too lazy to break a coconut and grate it.
3. I bought Sambar paste once instead of Sambar powder. The paste already contains tamarind too, so do not use additional tamarind paste if using sambar paste.

How to make Toor Dal Palak Curry

Pressure cook dal with 1 cup of water, salt to taste, 1 teaspoon oil, cool and mash well, and keep aside. If you don't have a pressure cooker, cook it in an open saucepan until its turned very soft and mushy.
Heat oil in a large pot. Add green chillies, tomato, chopped spinach and fry well till the palak has wilted and tomato has mashed a little (about 2 minutes).
Add chilli powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and 1/4 cup of water, cook the palak well.(about 5 minutes)
Add mashed dal with 1/4 cup dal water, salt, tamarind juice and sambar powder. Cook till it becomes thick.(another 2-3 mins)
Sprinkle cilantro and coconut. Allow dal to simmer on low heat. Meanwhile, heat ghee, add seasoning ingredients fry well pour on dal and mix well.
Serve with Rice or Chapattis.

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