Sambar

Sambar is famous in Tamilnadu.  Without sambar they cannot imagine their food..  Everyday they must have it. Not only with rice, also with iddlli, dosa, masala dosa, vada, uttappam , pongal and even with pulka and chapathi we like to eat it.

Take a bowl of sambar, drop vada pieces or iddli pieces and have them. It becomes so difficult to stop the count.

With rice have the combination of papad.

Ingredients:

- tuar dal                       1 cup
- moong dal               1/4 cup
- rice                             1tsp
- tamarind extract          1  ttbsp
- tomatoes                      2
- onions                          5 medium size
- green chillies               3 - 4
- garlic cloves                2(opt)
- potato                          1 small
- carrot                           1 small (opt)
-drumstick                      1 (opt)
- corriander leaves (opt)
- ladys finger                 2(opt)
-sambar powder
- salt
- oil
- water
- ghee                     1tsp

Tarka:

- urad dal              1tsp
- mustard seeds     1/4 tsp
-jeera                     1/4 tsp
- dry red chillies     2 (opt)
-curry leaves            5 (opt)
- hing (optt)            pinch

Procedure:

- cook tuar and moong dal  along with rice, tomato and garlic in a pressure pan with 1/2 ltr water and ghee. Soak it for 1/2hr  for fast cooking.

- grind it into fine paste.

- cut the vegetables into big pieces.

- now take 2lt pan and heat it with 3tsp oil. Add tarka ingredients except curry leaves and hing.
  when urad dal turn to golden colour, add curryleaves and hing.  When curry leaves fry add                   vegetables and saute for 5 min. Add dal paste and fry few more min.  Now add tamarind extract,         salt,and sambar powder as per instructions. Add 1ltr water and cover with the lid and whistle.

-keep on high flame for 4 whistles.Then turn the flame to low for 5 min and turn off.

- after removing the whistle, check the thickness.  It must be in flowing consistency like rasam..            Check the taste also. add water, tamarind salt and sambar powder as required .

- boil on high flame till a foam farms on it,

-add coriander leaves. Turn off the flame. Cover it .

-have a nice breakfast or lunch or dinner.


Tips:

- if you have no small pressure pan, take a big vessel, after tarka and adding vegetables and etc keep     it in a big pressure cooker and cook for 4 to 5 whistles.
- if you cook directly on the flame in a vessel it takes long time and more over you have to check           frequently.
- in the last step, before  boiling it must be more liquid than required as it becomes thick after boiling.
- dont boil too much as it turns to dal.