Recipe Source : Kanthamani Vantakalu (a telugu cook book)
Sambar is my comfort food of any day. Sambar is a thick lentil soup in which you
can almost any vegetables. On Sunday I want to keep the lunch simple so made
this simple munakkaya(drumstick) sambar. I have used Toor Dal (Pigeon peas) but
you can always use moongdal (greengram) or masoor dal(Red Lentils) instead of
it. Have to admit moongdal sambar is bit lighter compared to the toor dal
version.
Things you need
1.
Toor dal (Which ever lentils
you are using) – 1 Cup
2.
Onion - 1 Medium One Sliced length wise
3.
Fresh Tomato – 1 Medium Chopped
(or) 2 peeled plum tomatoes from can
4.
Drumsticks – 2-3 cut into
pieces , or vegetables like carrots , okra , brinjal
5.
Turmeric – ¼ tsp
6.
Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
7.
Sambar Powder – 1 tbsp , you
can find this in any indian store
8.
Tamarind Paste – ½ tsp , you
can always use normal tamarind
9.
Coriander Leaves – chopped handful
10. Salt - As per taste
11. Water – 4 Cups
For Tempering:
1.
Oil – 3 tsp
2.
Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp
3.
Cumin Seeds – ½ tsp
4.
Curry leaves – 2 Sprigs
5.
Garlic – 1 fat Clove crushed
6.
Dry Red Chilli – 2 teared in
between
Now the method:
Once you have the all things you need you
can start.
1.
Wash the lentils and soak them
for ½ hour in warm water. This makes the lentils to cook easily.
2.
In a Pressure cooker Pan , add
soaked dal , tomato , onion and turmeric
, 2 cups of water or until the lentil mixture is immersed and pressure
cook for 4 whistles. Note : Its easy to
cook green gram and red lentils on stove top but pigeon peas takes lots of time
if you cook on stove top
3.
After you have pressure cooked
the mixture mash it smoothly with a masher.
4.
Now heat a deep bottomed pan ,
add oil then add mustard seeds allow it to splutter followed by cumin seeds
then curry leaves , then garlic allow the aroma to release and then finally dry
red chilies(be careful not to burn it)
5.
After red chilies quickly add drumstick
pieces, sauté them in low-medium flame until they are half cooked. Now add the
cooked lentil mixture , then ½ tsp. of tamarind paste , sambar powder , redchilli
powder , salt and 2 cups of water and allow it to boil for 10 minutes .
6.
Finally add coriander leaves
and switch off the flame.
Any typical south Indian vegetable fry or
chicken/mutton fry goes well this.
