Lentil-based vegetable curry Recipe
There are a variety of sambars that you would come across in South India. However, this is a kind of Tamil Nadu-style sambar [at least closest to it]
This recipe would serve about 2–3 people for 1 Meal.
Ingredients Required :
- A Small cup of Toor Dal ( Pigeon Peas or Tropical Green peas )
2. 2 Medium sized Tomatoes
3. 8–10 garlic petals
4. 1cm of ginger
5. Vegetables such as drumstick/Ladies' Finger/ Eggplant/Raddish. Any one or Two of these vegetables as you may please! 100–200g
6. 1 Large onion
7. Curry leaves 6–8
8. Tamarind 5–2cm
9. Salt
10. Turmeric 0.5Tsp
11. Sambar powder 1.5 Tsp
12. Asafoetida 0.25 Tsp
13. Oil 1.5 Tsp
14. To saute along with onion-
a.Mustard 0.5 Tsp
b. Jeera 0.5 Tsp
c. Fenugreek seeds 0.25Tsp
First, place the toor dal, tomatoes, peeled garlic and finely chopped ginger in a cooker-friendly container. You could place this above the container of rice while cooking the rice. Wait for 3–4 Whistles
In the meantime, do the following-
A. Wash all the vegetables and cut them to small sizes as you wish to eat it, not too small!
B. Keep the onion chopped. You could also use shallots alternatively.
C. Soak the tamarind in warm water and leave it aside.
Once the Dal is done in the cooker, pour half of the Dal into another container in which you plan to cook the sambar and add the washed chopped vegetables, about a glass of water or more if needed and allow the vegetables to cook in it. Add sambar powder and salt to it.
After about 10 minutes, check if the vegetables are cooked by feeling for their soft consistency by taking one of the vegetables out. If not cooked, allow it to boil some more.
Once the vegetables are cooked, add the tamarind juice, do not add the tamarind. ( get this tamarind juice done by squeezing the soaked tamarind as many times as possible)
Now add the remaining Toordal. Check the taste for salt. Check for the consistency of how you want the curry to be and add more water if needed and allow it to boil.
Take a small pan add 1–2 Tsps of Oil, Heat it and saute the chopped onions, asafoetida, Mustard, Jeera, Fenugreek seeds, and Curry leaves. [Just until the onions turn light brown]. Add it to the boiling mixture.
Allow it to boil for a minute or two and switch off the stove.
Eat with Rice or Idli or Dosa!
