Radish/ Mooli/ Mullangi Sambar

Thinking what's new about this sambar????? Actually, the sambar is  a regular south Indian sambar. But this time I made this in pressure pan. I have always made sambar in a kadai. My mom is the one who introduced me to this pressure pan style of making sambar. My mom actually does almost 80% of her cooking in pressure pan. This time I tried making sambar in pressure pan and it came out well. Its so easy and you don't have to keep waiting for vegetables to cook, then tamarind water should cook well and then all spices must blend well etc.. etc.. Here, you just saute everything add tamarind water and spices and close the cooker. Thats it. Lets take a detailed look at the preparation....

Ingredients:

Toor Dhal - 1/2 cup

Turmeric - 1 pinch

Tamarind - lime size ball

Sambar powder - 1 tbsp

Red Chilli - 2

Mustard - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - 1 tsp

Channa dhal - 1 tsp

Methi/ Fenugreek Seeds - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Curry Leaves - 6-8

Oil - 2 tbsp

Preparation:

Cook toor dhal seperately in 1 cup water along with a pinch of turmeric. Make sure the dhal is cooked very well 

Heat oil in pressure pan, add mustard seeds . When it splutters add urad dhal, channa dhal, fenugreek, asafoetida, curry leaves. When it turns golden brown add radish and saute for about 2 mins. 

Now extract tamarind juice for about 1 cup and add it to the pressure pan. Add turmeric, salt sambar powder, and mix well. 

Add cooked toor dhal and mix well. Close the pressure pan and let it cook for 4 sounds. 

Open the pan after the pressure reduces and mix sambar well. If you feel it is diluted, keep it in high flame for 5 mins and it will thicken.  You can adjust the consistency according to your need. 

Garnish with cilantro and serve it with rice or roti. 

Tomato Puli Kozhambu / Tomato Gravy

My paternal grand mom used to make this when ever she stayed with us. I loved this kozhambu. Its spicy and tastes great with rice or dosa or idly. When ever she came home, first thing I ask her is to make this for me. In a week she would make atleast twice just for me. Its very simple. No need for any special ingredients. One day when I dint know what to make, I was reminded of this kozhambu. I made this one and it became a hit.

Ingredients:


Tomato - 1
Tamarind - lime size or tamarind paste would work too
Water - 2 cups
Salt - to taste
Turmeric - a pinch
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tbsps or more according to spice level.

For Seasoning


Oil - 2 tbsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry leaves - 6-8
Mustard - 1 tsps
Urad dhal - 1 tsps
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsps

Preparation:

First mash the tomato in 1/4 cup water and keep it aside. You could add tomato with mashing it too. Just cut it into 4 - 6 pieces.

Extract 1 cup thick tamarind juice

Heat some deep pan or deep vessel and add oil. When hot add mustard. When it splutters, add urad dhal, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds and asafoetida. Fry until urad dhal turns golden brown.

Add the mashed tomato, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and fry until tomato gets cooked. When tomato becomes tender, add tamarind extract and salt. Add rest of the water and let it boil for about 10 mins. Do not dilute it too much.

The gravy will become thick. Once it becomes thick, remove from heat.

Since it is thick, just a little portion of it will be good enough. You could store it for at least 3- 4 days in the fridge.

Serve it with hot rice or idly or dosa.

Enjoy Cooking!

Easy More Kozhambu

It was a sunday and I was too lazy to cook. But I made up my mind to cook something for lunch. My husband likes to eat authentic south indian food in the weekends as he is busy during weekdays and does not get much time to relish the food. Then i decided to make More kozhambu (Gravy made with Yogurt). When I started the preparation, i found i dint have coconut, green chili which are the main ingredients for this dish. Thats when i got the idea to make this EASY MORE KOZHAMBU. It tasted really good. My husband liked it very much and i think it is the easiest MORE KOZHAMBU ever in very less time!!!!

Dish for 2

Ingredients

Channa Dal - 1 Table spoon

Fenugreek (Methi Seeds) - 1 Tea spoon

Red Chili - 2 ( Depends on individual's spice level)

Yogurt - 1 cup

Salt - To taste

Turmeric Powder - 2-3 pinches

Oil - 1 tablesppon

Mustard - 1 teaspoon

Urad Dal - 1 tea spoon

Hing - Jus a pinch to season.

Corriander Leaves - 7-8 leaves. ( Depending upon the needs)

First, dry roast channa dal, fenugreek, red chili until they are golden brown. Keep aside to cool and then grind it to a powder. The powder must be well ground. Take yogurt in a bowl, add turmeric, salt, ground powder and mix well. Take oil in a pan, heat it and when it is hot enough, add mustard, urad dal, corriander leaves, hing. When the urad dal turns golden brown, transfer the contents to the bowl of yogurt mix. Mix well.

One important thing is we do not heat the more kozhambu. So if you feel like having it warm, you may microwave it for about 30 - 35 seconds. Just to make it warm. If heated for a long time, it will dilute and the essence of the thick gravy is gone.

You can make the powder at home and store it for few days. It will be useful if unexpected guests come home for lunch or dinner. To make it more authentic, you can add sauteed okra (lady's finger) or sauteed Bell pepper. It gives good flavor to the gravy.

Thanks for reading this recipe and hope to meet you again soon with more!