Quick Sambar / Thideer Sambar

This is my go to sambar recipe when I am in a hurry or cooking for unexpected guests. If you have an instant pot, you can use the delay setting and the sambar will be ready even before you wake up.

Don’t be fooled by the quick cooking. It tastes just as delicious as regular sambar. Be extra generous with the ghee for seasoning. It takes the sambar to a whole new level.

Ingredients:

• Toor dal – 1 cup, washed
• Hing – 5 pinches
• Onion – 1/2 chopped
• Tomato – 1/2 chopped
• Mixed vegetables – 1 cup (carrot, beans, peas, bell pepper)
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
• Chili powder – 1 tsp, adjust according to taste
• Salt – to taste
• Water – 2+ 1/2 cups
• For seasoning:
  • Ghee – 2 tbsps (Do not skip)
  • Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
  • Dry red chili – 2
  • Curry leaves – 1 strand
  • Cilantro – for garnishing

Method:

• Add toor dal, hing, onion, tomato, mixed vegetables, turmeric, chili powder, salt and water to the instant pot insert.
• Pressure cook on high for 4 minutes or 4 whistles in a regular cooker.
• Let the pressure release naturally.
• Open the instant pot. Mix well.
• Prepare seasoning by heating ghee in a small pan.
• Add mustard seeds and let it splutter.
• Add curry leaves and dry red chilies. Turn off the heat.
• Add the seasoning to the sambar.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro and enjoy!

Paharkai Pitlai

Our pagarkkai vine produced abundantly  in 2019 summer. We are having an excellent harvest this year as well. Usually I fry the paharkai’s and serve them along with sambar, dal or rasam. Click here for paharkai fry recipe.

A friend introduced me to this new recipe last year and the very first attempt blew us away. My kids enjoy eating this dish. If kids eat paharkai, then the recipe is definitely a keeper.

Check out notes below.

Ingredients:

• Paharkai/ Bittergourd – 3 to 4( feel free to increase or decrease the number of paharkai’s depending on preference)
• White Channa Dal – 1 cup, soaked overnight or at least 7-8  hours
• Toor dal – 1 cup
• Tamarind – key lime size ball of tamarind soaked in hot water
• Tomato – 1, chopped
• Hing – 1/8 tsp
• Oil – for sauteing
• Mustard seeds – 1/4th tsp
• Curry leaves – 1 sprig
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
• Shredded coconut – 2 tbsps
• Channa dal – 2 tbsps
• Corriander seeds – 2 tbsps
• Dry red chili – 4 to 5
• Sambar powder – optional
• Salt – to taste
• Water – as required
• Ghee – 2 tbsps

Method:

• Pressure cook toor dal, soaked chickpeas, tomato and hing together in a pressure cooker with adequate water for 4 whistles.
• Cut paharkai into half. Discard the seeds and chop them into small pieces. Set them aside.
• Dry roast channa dal and corriander seeds in a pan on medium head and roast them until the dal turn golden brown. Transfer it to a bowl and let it cool down.
• Grind the roasted channa dal and corriander seeds along with coconut to a fine paste using water as required. Set it aside.
• Heat oil in a pan.
• Add mustard seeds and let it splutter.
• Add chopped paharkai’s and curryleaf.
• Add salt and turmeric powder. Cover and let it cook until the paharkai’s are tender and slightly golden brown. Turn off the heat.
• Mix the pressure cooked dals and mix it gently.
• Add the cooked paharkai’s, tamarind extract, ground coconut paste and salt to taste.
• Add sambar powder if required.
• Add water as needed and let the mixture boil on medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes.
• The pitlai will thicken as it cools.
• Keep stirring occasionally to prevent the pitlai from sticking to the bottom of the pressure cooker pan.
• Turn off the heat.
• Top off with 2 tbsps or more of ghee and enjoy with streaming hot rice.

Notes:

• I add a lot of paharkai’s to this dish. Feel free to increase or decrease the number of paharkai’s.
• If you need more spice, you can increase the number of dry red chilies or add sambar powder in the end and let the pitlai boil.
• I tried making paharkai pitlai using ghost pepper/ bhut jolokia instead of dry red chili. Ghost pepper has its own taste. It turned out delicious.

Carrot Broccoli Dal Gravy

Ingredients:

• Broccoli – 2- 3 bunches, cut into floret (I add a lot of broccoli)
• Carrots – 1 or 2, sliced
• Toor dal – 1/4 cup
• Moong dal – 1/2 cup
• Water – as required to dilute the gravy
• Hing – 3 pinches
• Turmeric powder – 1/8 tsp
• Salt – to taste

Grind the ingredients below to a fine paste using water:

• Shredded coconut – 1/4 cup
• Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
• Dry red chillis- 3 or 4

For seasoning :

• Oil
• Mustard seeds
• Curry leaves

Method:

• Steam cook the broccoli and carrots separately. Set them aside. Do not over cook the vegetables.
• Pressure cook moong dal and toor dal together with water for 4 whistles.
  Mash the dal.
• Heat oil in a pan.
• Add mustard seeds and wait till it splutters.
• Add curry leaves, broccoli and carrots.
• Mix well and add the cooked dals and coconut paste.
• Add water, hing, turmeric powder and salt to taste.
• Let it cook on medium heat until the gravy boils.
• Turn off the heat.
• Serve with white rice.

 

Spinach Dal

Ingredients:

• Spinach – 1 bunch, rinsed and drained
• Toor dal – 1/2 cup
• Tomato – half a tomato chopped
• Garlic – 2 big or 4 small cloves, minced
• Salt – to taste
• Hing/ Asafoetida – 8 pinches
• Cilantro – for garnishing
• For Seasoning:
  • Oil/ Ghee – for seasoning
  • Mustard seeds – 1/8 tsp
  • Curry leaves – 6 leaves
  • Serrano pepper – 1, slight lengthwise

Method:

• Pressure cook toor dal, tomato, garlic and spinach together with water, salt and hing for 4 whistles.

• Mash the spinach-dal mixture.

• Add water as required to dilute the dal. If you are going to add more water, let the spinach dal mixture boil for 2 minutes.
• Prepare the seasoning by heating ghee/oil in a small pan.
• Add mustard seeds and wait till it splutters.
• Add curry leaves and serrano pepper.
• Turn off the heat and add the seasoning to the dal.

• Garnish with cilatro and mix well.
• Enjoy with a steaming bowl of rice.

Keerai Masiyal

When I was a kid, I remember my mom making keerai masiyal in man chetti/ clay pot and she used to mash it with a wooden masher. I tried it and it turned out really well.  Keerai masiyal can be served with plain rice and roasted potatoes or any spicy side dish. It can be served as a side dish as well.

I did not measure the amount of water I added in the recipe. The water I used to cook the dal was enough and the spinach will give out water as it cooks. The masiyal consistency must be between thick and watery.

Keerai masiyal can be prepared using spinach, arai keeerai, paruppu keerai or manathakkali keerai. Manathakkali keerai is my favorite.

Ingredients:

• Moong dal – 1/3 cup
• Garlic – 4 big cloves
• Water – as required
• Salt – to taste
• Spinach – 1 bunch, chopped and cleaned
• For seasoning:
  • Oil – for seasoning
  • Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
  • Curry leaves – 8
  • Dry red chilli – 2
  • Hing – 2 big pinches
  • Ghee – 1 tsp

Method:

• Cook moong dal and garlic together using water on high heat in a man chetti/clay pot.

• Keep stirring at frequent intervals and make sure that the water does not evaporate before the dal is cooked.
• Add more water if required.
• When the dal crumbles, add the chopped spinach and mix well. Turn down the heat to low.

• Add salt to taste.
• When the spinach is cooked, turn off the heat.
• Carefully and slowly mash the keerai masiyal using a wooden masher.

• Add a tsp of ghee and hing to the masiyal and prepare the seasoning.
• Heat oil in a small pan.
• Add mustard seeds and wait till it splutters.
• Add curry leaves and dry red chilli. Turn off the heat when the red chilli puffs up.
• Add the seasoning to the keerai masiyal.

• Mix well and serve hot.