Thursday, May 04, 2006

Delicious Sambar Rice

We can call it the Chennai Version of Bisi bela huli anna , the famous rice-dish of Karnataka.
1.Cooked rice – (Cooked with 1 cup rice)
2.Cooked tur dal – 1 cup
3.Tamarind pulp – 1 cup (extracted with a lemon-sized tamarind ball and water)
4.Sambar powder – 3 tspns
5.Sambar onions – peeled – 15 to 20
6.Carrot, potato, beans, peas, cauliflower – chopped – 1 cup (Any vegetables suitable for sambar like radish, potatoes and drumsticks can also be added)
7.Tomato – 2
8.Mustards – 1 tspn
9.Oil – 1\2 cp
10. Salt

To roast and grind: (Roast 1 to 4 separately and 5 to 14 separately and mix it to a paste)
1.Krambu or cloves – 4 to 5
2.Elaichi – 2
3.Khus khus – 2tspns
4.Lavang or cinnamon sticks – 3 small pieces
5.Mehthi or vendayam – 1 tspn
6.Urad dhal – 1tspn
7.Dhaniya – 3 tspns
8.Channa dhal – 11\2 tspns
9.Black Pepper – 1 tspn
10.Jeera – 1 tspn
11.Mehthi or vendayam – 1 tspn
12.Urad dal – 2 tspns
13. Red Chillies – 3 to 4
14. Coconut scrapings – 1\2 cup

1. Splutter mustard, add urad dhal in a tspn of oil, and roast it to golden brown.
2. Fry the onions and tomatoes. Add the chopped vegetables.
3. Pour the tamarind pulp.
4. Add sambar powder. Add salt as required.
5. When the vegetables are well cooked, add the cooked tur dhal and make it to sambar consistency.
6. Add the roasted and ground paste to the sambar.
7. As the sambar keeps boiling, add the cooked tur dhal.
8. Stir well and then mix the cooked rice and stir again. Add oil.
9. Switch it off when it has the gravy consistency.
10. Garnish with curry leaves and chopped coriander leaves.

Options:
Add 2 to 3 tspns of gingely oil and mix and add melted ghee when serving.
Garnish with roasted cashew nuts.