Pearl Onion Sambar

Thick and fiery, sambars are the first course in any South Indian meal. Serve them steaming hot with plain cooked rice, vegetable accompaniments and pappadams, either fried or roasted. A dollop of bubbling ghee adds a flavour of its own.


Ingreidents:
Pigeon Peas /Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Water - 2cups
Tamarind - Lemon sized
Hot water - 1 1/2 cup
Turmeric - 1/2tsp
Salt - to taste
Pearl Onions -250gms
Coriander leaves - 1/2cup finely chopped

Ingredients for Sambar Masala Paste:
Oil - 2tbsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chillies - 6
Hing - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1tsp
Coriander seeds - 3tbsp
channa dal - 1 1/2 tbsp
Poppyseeds - 2tsp
Freshly grated coconut - 4tbsp

For Tempering:
Oil- 2tbsp
Mustard seeds -1tsp
Cumin seeds - 1tsp
Fenugreek seeds -1/4tsp
Red chilli - 1
Curry leaves - A few

For Masala Paste:

1.Heat 2 teaspoons oil in  a heavy frying pan or skillet.
2.Add fenugreek seeds,6 red chillies, hing, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, channa dal and poppy seeds.
3.Saute for 2-3 minutes. Blend to a fine paste in a mixer  along with grated coconut adding very little water.



Pearl Onion Sambar

Method:

1.Rinse toor dal well.
2.In a pressure cooker add 2 cups of water, turmeric  and dal  cook it for 3 whistles.
3.Set the cooked dall aside.
4.Soak the tamarind in 11/2 cups of hot water for  15 min. Strain tamarind  water  into another bowl squeezing as much liquid as possible out od the
help. Set aside.
5.Heat 2 tbsp oil in a heavy saucepan. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, halved red chilli, and few curry leaves.
6.When the mustard seeds splutter, Add pearl onions. Saute over a low heat about 5 minutes.
7.Add tamarind Juice, ground turmeric and salt to taste.
8.Cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes until the raw smell of tamarind disappears.
9.Add cooked dal and masala paste. Cook for another 5 minutes until thoroughly blended.
10.If the sambar is too thick, adjust the water and bring to the boil.
11. Garnish with  Finely chopped coriander and serve with steamed rice ,pongal ,Idli or Dosa.


 

Roasted Brinjal And Raw Tamarind Stew - Vankaya Pachi Pulusu

Pachi Pulusu is again a famous and traditional Andhra delicacy, usually served cold with hot rice. The word pachi means, raw. It is prepared using tamarind pulp.Except the brinjals all the ingredients used in this is stew are raw.Brinjal is roasted in the flame gives smoky taste to the dish and is combined with the tamarind pulp.It is good to serve with the white rice and some pappads or vadagams(vadiyalu).

No wonder this tastes the best with little and simple ingredients. So give it a try.

Roasted Brinjal And Raw Tamarind Stew - Vankaya Pachi Pulusu

Ingredients:
Small Eggplants: 2 nos
Onions: 1 finely chopped
Green chilles: 2 finely chopped
Tamarind: lemon size / tamarind pulp - 1/2 cup
Jaggery: 2 tbsp.
Salt to taste
Curry leaves: a few
Coriander Leaves: 2tbsp
Water - 2cups

Method:
1.Roast the eggplants over low flame on the stove.
2. Remove from heat when its soft enough, remove the skin.
3. Remove the skin and mash the eggpalnts and add to a bowl.
4. Add finely chopped onions and green chilles to the bowl.
5. Add tamarind extract, jaggery and salt.
6. Combine well to form a thick paste. See that the jaggery is completely dissolved.
7. Add water to form a flowing consistency.
8. Add corainder seeds and curry leaves to the stew and mix well. Adjust the salt according to the taste.
9. Serve with hot rice and Vadiyalu.

Note: Tastes best without seasoning. If you want do the seasoning  for the stew add it just before serving .

Pumpkin Stew - Gummadikaya Pulusu

No matter where you go, you are sure to find a board saying 'Andhra meals' or 'Andhra cuisine' welcomes you. Most of the people think that Andhra food is way too spicy. They also have an impression that Andhra food is plain dal,some curry and podi/chutney. Andhra food is highly versatile. You will be awed at the variety of the dishes and the tastes.One of them is Gummadikaya Pulusu or Pumpkin Stew tangy and sweet vegetable stew is such a dish, which is savoured by everyone. 

Pumpkin Stew - Gummadikaya Pulusu

Gummadikaya,  pumpkin, is a squash usually orange in colour when ripe. There are also in greenish gray, white, bright yellow and sometime red in colour. Indian pumpkins are often greenish gray in colour. The pumpkin varies greatly in form, being sometimes nearly circular. The bright orange colour of pumpkin is a dead giveaway that pumpkin is loaded with an important antioxidant, beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is one of the plant carotenoids converted to vitamin A in the body. In the
conversion to vitamin A, beta carotene performs many important functions in overall health.

Ingredients:
Pumpkin / Butternut squash/Gummadikaya - diced around 2 cups
Onion - 1 sliced length wise
Green Chillies - 2-3 slit
Garlic - 4 pods Tamarind Pulp - 5tbsp
Jaggery -2 tbsp approx
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder - 1/2tsp
Water- 3 cups

For seasoning:
Red chilli -1broken in to two
Channa dal- 1tsp
Urad Dal - 1tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2tsp
Hing - A pinch
Turmeric - 1/4tsp
Oil - 2tbsp

Method:
1.Peel, clean, remove the seeds from gummadikaya/pumpkin and dice.

2.Heat the oil in a deep pan on medium heat and add channa dal, urad dal, red chilli and fry , add cumin and mustard seeds once the dals starts turning into golden brown and allow them to crackle, add hing and saute for 1-2 minutes.

3.Now add green chillies, garlic, ginger, turmeric and saute for couple of minutes.

4.Now add sliced onions and fry till translucent. Add the diced pumpkin salt, jaggery, tamarind and cook for 3-5 minutes.

5.Pour  2 cups of water  and reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 10-12 minutes the covered. Keep stirring in middle. At this point the veggies will be 3/4th cooked.

6.At this stage adjust the seasoning if needed and water if the stew is thick. Cook for another 5-8 minutes or till done and turn of the heat.

7.Serve with rice and dollop of ghee.

Fenugreek Flavoured Butter Milk - Menthi Majjiga

An unusual soothing drink for warm afternoons.

Ingredients:
Thick Yogurt - 3cups
Pepper Powder - 1/2tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2tsps
Salt - to taste.

For Tempering:
Mustard seeds - 1/4tsp
Carom seeds /Ajwain - 1tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4tsp
Asafoetida /hing - a pinch
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Green chillies - 3 slit
Curry leaves - 2 stems
Coriander leaves - 2tsps finely chopped

Method:
1.Blend the yogurt with 1 1/2 cups of water to make a thick butter milk.Add salt and the freshly ground pepper and cumin powders and set aside.
2.In a wok.heat the oil.Pop the mustard and add the carom seeds and fenugreek seeds.Lower the flame and with the browning of the fenugreek, add the cumin and asafoetida.
3.switch off the flame and add the remaining tempering ingredients.
4.Pour this tempering in to butter milk.
5.Serve chilled as any time drink.
6.Serve it with plain white rice..it tastes delicious.

Moong Dal Rasam - Pesarakattu

Moong Dal Rasam - Pesarakattu

Ingredients:
Moong dal / pesarapappu : 1 small glass
Green chillies : 2
Ginger : 1 inch piece
Garlic cloves : 4
Curry leaves : 10
Cumin seeds:1/4tsp
Mustard seeds:1/4tsp
Urad da : 1/4tsp
Hing:pinch
Oil : 1tbsp
Lemon : 1/2 a big lemon
Turmeric : 1/4 tspn
Coriander leaves : 5 strings
Water : 250ml / 1 tumbler
Salt - to taste
 
Method:
1.Wash moongdal and pour water and soak it for 10mins and boil it in cooker for 4 whistles.

2.Peel the skin of ginger and garlic. grind ginger or if u can eat pieces then chop ginger into small pieces. chop garlic cloves into small pieces.slit green chillies lengthwise into two.

3.Heat a pan add oil, urad dal, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, chopped ginger, chopped garlic, greenchillies, curry leaves.

4.Now add 1/2 tumbler water and then add boiled moongdal. now add remaining 1/2 tumbler water.

5.Add 1tsp salt,  turmeric, coriander leaves. boil it for 10-15 mins.

6.Switch off the  stove and after 5mins add 1/2 piece of squeezed lemon juice. ( dont add lemon juice while it is on stove it gives bitter taste).

7.Tasty pesarakattu is ready to serve with rice.

Tomato Rasam -Tomato Chaaru

Tomato Rasam is a poplular south Indian stew. It is also known as tomato chaaru in Andhra and cooked daily as a part of meal in all over South India. Being a South Indian and growing up in that environment this version was my favorite. Rasam goes great with the dal and rice. Its wonderful sour and spicy taste is liked by everyone.

Tomato Rasam -Tomato Chaaru

Ingredients :-

Ripe tomatoes - 3
Toor Dal -1/4cup
Whole pepper - 5
Jeera - 2 tsps
Garlic flakes - 3
Chopped Coriander leaves - 2 tsps
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsps
Curry leaves - 5
Rasam powder ( Chaaru Podi) - 1 1/2tsp
Jaggery – 1/2 tsp  (Optional)
Hing (Asofotedia) a pinch

Method :-

1. Blanch tomatoes in hot water, take out the skin and mash or grind the pulp.

2 .Pressure cook the dal mash it into a paste.

3. Add water to the pulp, salt, rasam powder and jaggery(optional) and mash well.

4. Powder Pepper,Jeera, garlic coarsely.

5. For tempering, heat oil, add mustard seeds, jeera ,curry leaves, once they crackle add powdered pepper, jeera, garlic and hing. Fry little and add it to the tomato rasam.

6. Boil well for 5-10 minutes, add coriander leaves.

7. Serve hot as a soup or with steaming hot plain rice and papads. A dash of ghee in the rasam before serving will enhance the taste.

Sambar

Sambar is a lentil stew popular in the cooking of south India. It is generally composed of yellow lentils (toor dal) simmered with tamarind-flavored water and a special blend of spices called sambar powder.

Sambar

Ingredients:

Toor dal- 1cup
Fenugreek Seeds-8 no
Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tsp
Sambar Onions-1/2 cup peeled
Bottle Gourd-1/2 cup diced
Drumstick-4pieces
Tomato - 1 cut into 8 pieces
Tamarind Pulp-2tbsp
sambar Powder-2 tbsp
Greenchillies-3no slit lenth wise
Corainder leaves- chopped roughly
Jaggery -1sp (optional)
Salt- to taste.

Tempering:

Oil- tbsp
Mustard seeds-1/2tsp
Fenugreek Seeds-1/2tsp
Curry leaves-10 leaves
Red chillies-2no
Hing-a pinch.

Method:

1.Pressure cook the toor dal in 3 cups of water with turmeric powderand fenugreek seeds to a soft consistency (approxmately for 3whistles).

2.In a thick bottomed vessel , heat the oil add mustard seeds,fenugreek seeds.Lower the flame add red chillies ,curry leaves and hing.

3.Add the onions,tomatoes,bottlegourd ,and drumsticks.Sprinke water and cover and simmer till done.

4.Add the tamarind pulp and cook for couple of minutes.Then add sambar powder,cooked toordal and continue to cook for some time

5.Add coriander leaves and switch fo the flame.

6.Serve hot with Rice accompanied bya roasted papad.