This Sunday be little South Indian with tomato sambar!

Lifestyle
Mar 29 2016 09:23 AM
News Track

class="ERSIngredients" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; line-height: normal; color: rgb(138, 138, 138); font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">

INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

for pressure cooking:

⅓ cup tuvar dal/arhar dal/pigeon pea lentils
250 grams or 2 large tomatoes or 1.5 cups roughly chopped tomatoes, pureed
8 to 10 pearl onions or shallots or 1 medium onion or ½ cup thickly sliced pearl onion or onions
¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
a pinch of asafoetida/hing
1.25 cups of water for pressure cooking

for tamarind pulp:

1 tsp tamarind soaked in 3 tbsp hot water

other ingredients:

2 to 3 tsp sambar powder
1 or 2 green chilies, slit
1.5 to 2 cups water to be added later or add as required
salt as required

for tempering:

1 to 1.5 tbsp sesame oil or any oil
1 tsp mustard seeds/rai
2 to 3 dry red chilies/sookhi lal mirch
1 sprig curry leaf/kadi patta
a pinch of asafoetida/hing

INSTRUCTIONS

preparing tamarind pulp:

first soak 1 tsp tamarind in 3 tbsp hot water for 15 to 20 minutes.
after 15 to 20 minutes squeeze the soaked tamarind pulp. filter and keep aside.

cooking lentils:

meanwhile when the tamarind is soaking, take 1.5 cups roughly chopped tomatoes in a mixer or blender jar.
puree the chopped tomatoes to a smooth consistency. keep aside.
in a bowl, rinse ⅓ cup tuvar dal a couple of times.
add the rinsed tuvar dal in a pressure cooker along with the tomato puree and ½ cup thickly sliced pearl onions or regular onions.
now add ¼ tsp turmeric powder and a pinch of asafoetida.
add 1.25 cups of water.
stir very well.
now pressure cook everything for 8 to 10 whistles or 12 to 15 minutes on a medium to high flame.
when the pressure settles down on its own in the cooker, open the lid of the cooker. mash the cooked lentils with a spoon.

preparing sambar:

keep the cooker on a low to medium flame. now add the tamarind pulp to the cooker.
add sambar powder.
season with salt as per taste. mix very well
add 1.5 to 2 cups water to thin the consistency. stir well. you can add the amount of water as per your requirements. for idlis, you can make a slightly thin sambar and for rice, you can make a slightly thick sambar.
bring the sambar to a simmer and then add 1 or 2 slit green chilies.
continue to simmer the sambar on medium flame for 10 to 12 minutes or till you get the desired consistency. cover and keep aside.

preparing tempering:

heat 1 to 1.5 tbsp sesame oil or any other oil in a small pan. add 1 tsp mustard seeds and crackle them. keep the flame on low while tempering.
then add 2 to 3 dry red chilies, 1 sprig of curry leaves and a pinch of asafoetida. saute till the red chilies change color and the curry leaves become crisp.
pour the tempering in the tomato sambar. cover and keep aside for 5 minutes for the tempering flavors to infuse with the sambar.
serve tomato sambar hot with steamed rice or with idlis.