 |
Podi Sambar for Tiffin |
Podi Sambar is cooked with fresh ground spices and good to be served with Tiffin varieties like idly, dosa, vada and upma. This is my mother's recipe and I just love this one. This can be made as a simple onion sambar or we can add vegetables.
| Ingredients: | Quantity |
| Toor Dal | 1 cup |
| Onions finely chopped | 2 nos |
| Tomatoes finely chopped | 2-3 nos |
| Tamarind paste | 2 tbsp |
| Turmeric Powder | 1 tsp |
| Salt | To taste |
| Oil | 1-2 tbsp |
| Spice Powder*: | |
| Red Chili | 6-8 nos |
| Coriander Seeds | 1/4 cup |
| Cumin Seeds | 1 tbsp |
| Black Pepper | 1 tbsp |
| Fenugreek Seeds | 1/2 tbsp |
| Asafoetida | 1/4 tsp |
| Oil | 1/2 tsp |
| Tempering: | |
| Mustard Seeds | 1 tsp |
| Cumin Seeds | 1 tsp |
| Urad Dal | 1 tsp |
| Curry Leaves | 1-2 strands |
| Dried Red Chili broken | 1-2 nos |
| Asafoetida | a pinch |
| Onion Vadagam (Optional) | 1 tsp |
| Oil | 1 tsp |
| Coriander Leaves | To Garnish |
Preparation:
1) Cook dal in a pressure cooker with 2 cups water, turmeric powder, salt and a pinch of asafoetida and cook upto 2-3 whistles.
2) Add oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions and let them caramelize.
3) Meanwhile dry roast all the ingredients except red chilies for spice powder. Add oil and roast the red chilies. Blend them into a coarse powder and set aside.
4) Once the onions caramelize, add salt and spice powder and sauté for 1-2 min's.
5) Add the tomatoes and sauté for a min and let it cook for 5-6 min's, then add the tamarind paste and little water, cover and let it cook for few more min's.
6) Add the cooked dal and let it cook for 3-4 min's.
7) Meanwhile in a small pan heat oil and add all the ingredients for tempering and once the mustard sputter add it to the cooked sambar and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with your favorite tiffin variety.
| Sambar can be made slightly thick or thin in consistency, depending on the main dish you serve with. You can add more water and adjust spices and salt in step-5. |
|
| Note:* You need not add the entire spice powder to the dish. You can preserve the remaining powder in an air tight container for upto a month. You can add vegetables like carrot, beans, potato at step-4, once the onions caramelize and let them cook until the vegetables are cooked and tender in step-5. |
