photo credit: Jayashree Govindarajan

Well who doesn’t know what sambar is? I had shared with you a quick sambar recipe for those who have less time to spend in the kitchen. However its Onam time, and spending some time in the kitchen is totally justified

Brinjal – 1 no (diced)
Drumstick – 1 no (cut into 2 inch pieces lengthwise)
Ladies Finger – 4-5 nos (cut into longish pieces)
Potato – 1 no (peeled and diced)
Carrot – 1 no (peeled and diced or sliced)
Tuar dal (yellow lentils) – 1 cup
Tamarind – size of a big lemon
Water- 4 cups
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Salt to taste
Asafoetida – ¼ tsp
Coconut Oil – 2 tbsp

For fresh Sambar masala
Husked gram dal (chana dal)- ¼ tsp
Fenugreek (methi) – ¼ tsp
Dry red chili – 4 nos
Coconut Oil – ½ tsp
Dry coriander seeds – ½ tsp

1. Fry all ingredients for sambar powder, cool, grind and keep aside
2. Wash dal and cook it with turmeric powder and 2-3 curry leaves
3. Mash tamarind in 1 cup water and strain to get tamarind water
4. Boil tamarind water with red chili powder, salt, curry leaves and asafetida
5. Add coconut oil when it boils and add all the vegetables except ladies finger as it cooks faster
6. Once the vegetables are done add the cooked dal and bring it to a boil and ladies finger
7. Add the prepared sambar masala and allow it to boil
8. Temper it with mustard seeds and dry red chilies
9. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves

* if you don’t like any of the vegetable used in this recipe, omit and use what you like instead! Onions, tomatoes, raddish anything!

Onam Asamsakkal!

Now if you already have tried your hand at making dosa (Indian pancakes)…lets move one step ahead and make its with some filling…yeh just like French Galette . You can be creative with your filling cooked spicy mutton / chicken to paneer (cottage cheese) and soya! Use what you like or comes to your mind.

Here, I have used potatoes. The standard Masala Dosa you would get in any South Indian restaurant across India served with chutney and sambar.

And if you have some left over masala (potatoes) you can either have it with hot puffed pooris or just make a plain quick sandwich For the recipe of potatoes and poori…click here

A restaurant in Kochi called Pai Brothers is famous for its 57 varieties of dosas…yes you read that correct 57 different filling for each dosa…so what’s stopping you from getting creative?

Till next time…. happy cooking!

For recipe click here

photo credit: avlxyz

This is my favorite all time food… I can have idlis for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yeh, thats how much i love them!During our stay in the North India….my mom used to be a official idli supplier to most of our north Indian and Punjabi neighbors! No kidding…you should have seen the amount of batter my mom used to ready in the huge electric grinder we had at home!

Though I know how to make the batter for Idlis, I play a little lazy. Now that I am staying in the south ready made batter is available, which I use. But for bigger families better option is to prepare the batter at home…Its much more viable.

Idli Recipe

Idli rice – 4 cups ; Raw rice – 1 cup
Black Gram dal – 1 cup

Batter
1.    Combine both rice and soak for 3 hrs
2.    Wash daal and soak separately
3.    Grind daal first. It comes out fluffy. Remove it into a container
4.    Now grind rice
5.    Mix both ground rice and daal. Add salt and leave it overnight to rise.
6.    Please note that the final batter should be of drooping consistency.

Making idlis
1.    Fill water in the water compartment
2.    Grease stand slightly with oil using your fingertips
3.    Place the batter into the greased idli stand ith the help of a spoon
4.    Steam it for 15-20 minutes
5.    Serve with Sambar

* you need idli stand / vessel to prepare idlis

Sambar Recipe

This is an easy recipe I learnt from my mother while I was working and hardly had time to cook!

Toor dal / Arhar dal (Yellow lentil) – 1 cup
Combination of vegetables (drumstick, lady’s finger, carrot, aubergine) – 1 cup
Onions – 2 medium (diced)
Tamarind water – 4 tbsp (soak small lemon sized tamarind ball in warm water and squeeze out juice after 10 minutes)
Tomato – 1 big (finely chopped)
*Sambar powder –2-3 tsp

For tempering
Asafoetida (heeng) – ½ tsp
Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1-2 tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Red chili – 1 No.

1.    Pressure cook or boil Toor daal till soft and mushy.
2.    Add vegetables and onions to boiled dal and let it cook
3.    Add tomatoes when vegetable are half cooked
4.    Add salt and tamarind water
5.    When its starts boiling, add sambar powder
6.    Take a small pan and add 1 tsp oil. When warm add mustard seeds and wait till it splutters
7.    Add red chili, fenugreek seeds, Asafoetida,curry leaves and add to the main dal
8.    Garnish with Coriander leaves (optional)

Serve hot and steaming idlis with hot sambhar

*if you do not have sambar powder then take in a cup 1 tsp coriander powder + ½ tsp chili powder and add sufficient water to soak the masala. This is to be used in the last stage along with tempering and added on to main dal.

Till tomorrow….happy cooking!