Sunday, December 9, 2007

Sathya's Sambar

This is my dad's rendition of the scrumptious south Indian dish. All the spices can be found at your local Indian grocery - many can even be found at a local health food store as well. Enjoy!

What's in it:
  • organic canola oil
  • 3 medium organic onions
  • 2 large organic eggplants
  • 2 big organic green peppers
  • 1 cup cooked masur dhal
  • 1 pre-cooked potato
  • 10-15 washed and dried curry leaves
  • 1 to 1 1/2 mustard seeds
  • 1 tbsp Tamcon
  • 1 heaping tsp sambar powder
  • 7 - 10 tbsp coriander powder
  • 1-2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup water
  • salt to taste
How it's done:
  • Boil 1 cup of masur dhal in 2 cups of water, set aside
  • Steam 1 potato, set aside
  • Chop the onion into big cubes
  • Chop the eggplant and green pepper into big pieces
  • Put vegetable into a big pot
  • Mix the tamcon with approximately 1/2 cup of warm water and mix until dissolved
  • Add dissolved tamcon to veggies
  • Add sambar powder
  • Put the pot of veggies on the stove on high until boiling then turn down to med-low
  • Add the potato, cut into chunks
  • While the veggies cook down
    • roast the coriander and cinnamon in a small cast iron pan (if you have it, if not any pan will work) on a low heat
      • Make sure to keep the heat low, so you don't burn the spices
    • add the roasted coriander and cinnamon to the veggie
  • Add the cup of pre-cooked dhal.
  • Let mixture simmer
  • Clean your pan and heat 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
    • Add mustard seeds and let heat until they pop
    • Add curry leaves
  • Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves to the pot.
  • Add salt to taste.
  • Let simmer until all the veggies are soft.
  • You can use a masher to mash the veggies to your desired consistency.
Pour this tasty south India soup over hot, fresh idlies (see Idlies)

No comments: