Vahchef with Indian food videos inspires home cooks with new recipes every day.
Vahchef with Indian food videos inspires home cooks with new recipes every day.
Easy Tasty Sambar:
Nowadays, most ‘home- makers’ are ‘office-goers’ and to catch up with the pace of life most of the women look for new recipes/ ideas in quickening the cooking process. This easy tasty Sambar is one such remarkable and appetizing dish which quickens the process in making a sambar that is actually very tasty, simple and fast to prepare.
Easy Tasty Sambar is a scrumptious zesty stew like dish that is made combined with lentils (toor dal), mixed vegetables, tamarind broth to give a little tanginess and spiced with sambar powder and other spices. The distinctiveness of this dish is the use of coconut milk in the sambar. Fresh coconut milk has a kind of sweet and nutty taste. It also slightly thickens the consistency of sambar.
Normally in making the sambar, south Indians use fresh home-made sambar powder which consists of various spices and freshly grated coconut that are dry roasted and ground to make fresh sambar powder. This is then added to the dish which actually imparts an impeccable flavour to the dish. The easy tasty Sambar also nevertheless tastes the same and will keep your fingers licking.
About Sambar:
Basically the origin of Sambar is uncertain, although legends say that it originated in the kitchen of Thanjavur Marathas ruler Shahuji during the 18th century from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sambar is one of the connoisseur dishes of south Indians especially made in Tamil Nadu that is prepared daily served with Idli, vada, dosa or rice etc.
There are many variations of making the sambar and each state in Southern India prepares according to its taste and environment. Pappuchaaru is a variant of sambar that is commonly made in Andhra Pradesh. Typically, sambar/ sambhar consists of lentil (toor dal – boiled and mashed), added to several seasonal vegetables along with sambhar powder.
A perfect delicious sambar naturally acquires its flavours from the freshly ground sambar powder, hing (asafoetida) and coconut mixture. Vegetables like Okra, carrot, radish, drumstick, pumpkin, brinjal and tomatoes are commonly added to the sambar. Fresh coriander and curry leaves are essential elements in making a traditional sambar which imparts tremendous flavours in the dish. It gives a pleasant herbal aroma into the dish.
Sambar Powder:
Sambar powder is the key element that makes the sambar aromatic and flavourful. The freshly dry roasted ingredients that include toor dal, chana dal, coriander seeds, dried whole red chilli, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper and coconut are ground to a rather coarse powder and added while cooking the sambar.
There are also readymade sambar powder masala available in various brands in the market, but the fresh sambar masala is always the best as it holds its uniqueness in taste and flavour. Generally fresh coconut is used but can be substituted with coconut powder or coconut milk.
Varieties of Sambar:
There are many variants in making the sambar depending on the meal, region, vegetable and spices used. Some of the popular Sambar recipes are: Drumstick sambar, chow chow sambar, Onion sambar, Udipi sambar, Traditional Kerala Sambar or Sambar given at Tiffin centre (Tiffin centre Sambar) etc.
How to prepare an Easy Tasty Sambar:
Ingredients:
Bottle gourd - 8 pcs
Carrot - 2 nos
Coconut milk - ½ cup
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 6 nos
Drumsticks - 1 no
Eggplant - 2 nos
Fenugreek seeds - ¼ tsp
Garlic - 4 nos
Hing - pinch
Jaggery - 1 tbsp
Mustards seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Shallots - 10 nos
Onions - 1 no
Red chillies - 4 nos
Red chilli pd - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Sambar pd - 2 tbsp
Tamarind juice - 1 cup
Turmeric pd - ¼ tsp
Directions:
Boil the toor dal in a pressure cooker until soft and mashy. Heat oil in a pan and add dry red chillies, mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds crackle, add cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, turmeric, red chilli pd, hing, garlic pieces and sauté. Add drumsticks, eggplant, bottle gourd, carrot, curry leaves, onions, shallots and sauté well. Add tomatoes, tamarind juice, sambar powder, jaggery, coconut milk, salt and add water.
Cover the pan with the lid and cook till the vegetables are tender. Add boiled and mashed dal and place the lid and cook for another 15 mins on slow flame. Add coriander leaves, switch off the flame and serve with rice. So Friends! By preparing this dish you will not miss your original taste of sambar, hence ahead and give it a try.
Enjoy and live through the flavours. Happy Cooking!
You could also check the below link for detailed recipe:
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