Coimbatore’s Hotel Annapoorna’s Sambhar

I have this friend who loves her sambhar rice and could gorge on it daily. I would keep cribbing that ‘how can u eat the same thing nearly every day’. But she would grin with satisfaction and I knew she was in foodie bliss

One day she sent me a video of this sambhar and I literally rolled my eyes up. I mean usually my friends tag me on exotic dishes asking me to make it. But here I was sent a sambhar recipe video of all the things.

Now the sambhar my mom taught me is simply superb and I don’t mess with a good thing. Just to humour her I decided to make this recipe. It’s from a blog called Kannamma cooks and it’s a completely diff process than anything I have read.

 

Trust me this variant is super yumm and perfect with a bowl of rice and some papad. Though wouldn’t discount my moms Sambhar recipe just as yet, that still is the best. The sambhar masala here is made from scratch and gives a really nice flavour. Do give it a try.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Toor Dal

2 Drumsticks

1 chopped big onion

1 chopped Tomato

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoon oil

2 teaspoon coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

5 black pepper corn

5 fenugreek seeds

2 tablespoon chana dal

1 tablespoon urad dal

1 sprig curry leaves

3 dry red chillies

1/4 teaspoon Asafoetida (hing)

3 tablespoon fresh coconut

1 1/2 teaspoon jaggery

Marble size tamarind

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 stalks coriander leaves, chopped

1 tablespoon ghee

1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds

2 sprigs curry leaves

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

1 tbsp minced garlic

 

 

  1. Wash and soak 1/2 a cup of toor dal in 2 cups of water for 20 minutes. Pressure cook the dal with the water for 1 whistle and keep on slow gas for 5 mins.
  2. In another cooker add  the drumsticks, onion and tomatoes. Add one cup of water, a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of turmeric. Cook for 4 whistles.
  3. Heat oil in a pan and add in the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, pepper, fenugreek seeds, chana dal, urad dal. Fry for a minute.
  4. Once the chana dal is brown, add in the curry leaves, dry red chillies, asafoetida, coconut, jaggery and the tamarind. Fry for 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
  5. Grind the mixture with half a cup of water to a paste. Let the paste be very slightly coarse. Set aside.
  6. Take a heavy bottomed pan and add in the ground masala and one cup of water. Let it come to a boil on medium flame.
  7. Once its boiling, add in the cooked vegetables along with the water used for cooking. Add in the salt. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes on medium flame.
  8. Add in the cooked dal and let it continue to boil for 2-3 minutes.
  9. Heat oil in a kadai and add in the mustard seeds when the oil is hot. Add in the curry leaves and garlic, fry for a minute and switch off the flame.
  10. Add in 1/2 teaspoon of red chilli powder and immediately pour it on the sambar. The red chilli powder might burn if kept in the oil for too long. So have an eye on the kadai.
  11. Add in the coriander leaves and a tablespoon of ghee. Switch off the flame.