Sambar Archives - I camp in my kitchen

Vendhaya Keerai Sambar | Fresh Greens Sambhar | Pressure Cooker Recipe

Priya_Srinivasan — Sun, 11 May 2025 09:28:30 +0000

Vendhya Keerai sambar, a quick and easy pressure cooker recipe made with fresh fenugreek or methi leaves and toor dal. Let's see How to make Keerai Sambar.

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Keerai | Fresh Greens Recipes

Keerai is the Tamil word for leafy greens. In English, we use one word: greens. However, in most Indian languages,it is called by its specific name.

Today's recipe is Vendhaya Keerai Sambar, Fresh methi/fenugreek leaves sambar. This keerai sambar can be substituted with other fresh greens too.

Usually Keerai kootu and Keerai curry are most often made dish in South-Indian Kitchen. At home, kootu and rasam is our favorite lunch combo. Check out that lunch thali combo .

Methi Leaves : Aroma Heaven

We get fresh methi all year around. The aroma of fresh methi leaves is something to be experienced. I love using fresh methi often like this Aloo methi dal and aloo methi cutlet.

Dried fenugreek or kasuri methi is widely used a final touch to most of the side dishes. Like this Paneer capsicum subzi, dubki wale aloo. I even add it to mixed rice recipes, it gives such an amazing aroma to the dishes.

We don't make fried food often. However, once in a while, we prepare this aromatic methi poori with hariyali aloo for breakfast. This happens especially on weekends when kids ask for poori.

This baked mathri is another versatile snack with a dose of dried fenugreek. Usually deep-fried, it can now be air-fried or baked and made healthy.

We make a delish morekuzhambu with fresh methi leaves, yogurt gravy with fresh fenugreek leaves. This delish gravy pairs so well with paruppusli, lentil crumble.

Vendhaya Keerai Sambar | Tamarind Gravy

Keerai can also be made in to sambar like any other vegetables. This delicious purslane leaves/paruppu keerai sambar is my personal favorite.

The only thing to note while making keerai sambar is the amount of liquid you add . Fresh keerai releases water. Be watchful with the liquid, or else you will end up with watery sambar.

Expert Tip : How to adjust Watery Sambar?

If your sambar turns watery, do not panic.

Case 1 : Sambar watery, No aroma, No spice.

Grind a teaspoon besan with ½ teaspoon of coriander seeds and 1-2 red chili to a fine paste. Add this to the sambar, Mix well.
Let it come to a boil in medium flame. Besan helps to thicken the sambar, coriander seeds add that missing aroma and chili balances the spice.
Finally add a tadka with hing/asafoetida, curry leaves. 1 red chili and ¼ teaspoon methi seeds.

Case 2 : Sambar watery, Spice & aroma perfect.

Whisk a teaspoon of besan into ¼ cup water until smooth. Slowly drizzle the mixture into the sambar, stirring continuously, and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Besan should be whisked smooth, or else you will end up with lumps in sambar. Use a electric stirrer if you have. Good old whisk helps too.
Finally add a tadka with hing/asafoetida, curry leaves. 1 red chili and ¼ teaspoon methi seeds.

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The Ingredients to make Keerai Sambar

Fresh Greens, I have used methi leaves/fenugreek leaves for the sambar. You can also use amaranth, paruppu keerai, ponanganni, etc.
Toor dal/split pigeon peas is mostly used to make sambar in south-indian household. You can also use masoor or moong dal.
Masala paste. I have used a fresh masala paste with coconut. It includes sambar powder, coriander seeds, and curry leaves to flavor the Keerai sambar today.
Tempering, regular tempering ingredients like mustard seeds, hing, and methi seeds is used in the recipe.

Step by Step instructions to make Vendhaya Keerai Sambar

Please check recipe card below for exact measurements of each ingredient used and also for the detailed instructions

I have used 3 bunches of fresh methi leaves for the recipe. Chop the root portion off, and roughly chop the rest of the methi leaves and wash it water well. Drain and keep it aside.
Wash and soak toor dal in water for 10 minutes.
In a spice grinder/small mixie jar, take fresh coconut, sambar powder, fresh coriander leaves, ginger, coriander seeds and tamarind. Grind this to a paste with enough water.

Heat a pressure cooker with oil, splutter mustard seeds, hing, methi seeds. Add chopped tomatoes, saute for a minute. Add chopped methi leaves.
Drain excess water from toor dal and add it to the cooker. Add the ground masala. Wash the blender with 1 cup of water and add it to the cooker.
Add required salt, turmeric powder and another 1 cup of water to this. Mix well. Close the cooker and pressure cook for 4 whistles.
Let the pressure fall on its own. Open the cooker, mix well and serve it warm with rice and curry.

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More Sambar/Tamarind base Gravies

Today's Lunch Thali

Enjoy this healthy, nutritious keerai sambar with rice/quinoa. I served this along with

Steaming hot Rice/quinoa, with ghee
Cauliflower curry
rasam

Keerai Sambar | Spinach Sambhar | Cooker Recipe

Keerai sambar, a quick and easy pressure cooker recipe made with fresh fenugreek/methi leaves and toor dal. I have used methi/fenugreek greens, this can be made with any fresh spinach available in hand.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian, South-Indian

Keyword How to make keerai sambar, Keerai sambar recipe, Paruppu keerai recipe, Pressure cooker recipe, Sambar recipe, spinach recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 141kcal

Equipment

Pressure cooker
Blender/Mixie for grinding the fresh masala

Ingredients

3 bunches Fresh methi leaves/Vendhaya keerai approximate 4-5 cups when chopped
½ cup tuvar dal/toor dal/split pigeon peas
1 no medium tomato chopped
1 teaspoon salt or to taste

To Grind Fresh Masala

¼ cup freshly grated coconut
1&½ teaspoon sambar powder homemade or store-bought
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
20 grams tamarind , a small marble of tamarind
a small piece of ginger
handful of fresh coriander leaves
few curry leaves

Tempering

1 teaspoon Peanut oil Any cooking oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds/kadugu
¼ teaspoon methi seeds /fenugreek seeds/venthayam

Instructions

Prepare the methi/vendhaya keerai the previous day to ease cooking. Chop off the roots, roughly chop the spinach, immerse in water for 10 minutes, drain and set aside until use.
While the spinach is resting, wash and soak toor dal in water for 10 minutes
In a spice grinder or small mixie jar, take ingredients given under "Fresh masala, to grind", add enough water and grind it to a smooth paste.
Heat a pressure cooker with oil for tempering, splutter mustard seeds, add hing and methi seeds to this.
Add chopped tomatoes to this and saute for a minute or until the tomatoes become soft.
Next tip in the drained spinach to this and saute for a minute.
Add the drained toor dal, ground masala to this. Add 1 cup of water to the blender jar, washa nd add the liquid to this cooker.
Add salt, turmeric powder and another cup of water, mix well. Close the pressure cooker and pressure cook for 4 whistles.
Let the pressure fall on its own. Open the cooker, mix well. Serve this hot with rice/quinoa.
Any leftover sambar can be refrigerated for a day. Try and use it the next day itself.

Nutrition

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Vegetable Sambar | Instant Pot | Pressure Cooker Recipe

Priya_Srinivasan — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 19:42:55 +0000

Instant pot sambar, a quick and easy mixed vegetable sambar made in Instant pot. The recipe can also be made in normal pressure cooker.

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What is Sambar?
What is so different about this sambar?
Ingredients to make Mixed Vegetable Sambar in Instant Pot
More Instant Pot Recipes
Step by Step Instructions to Make Instant Pot Sambar
Recipe Card for Instant Pot Mixed Vegetable Sambar
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What is Sambar?

Sambar is a south-indian style stew made of mixed vegetables cooked in tamarind broth and spices and thickened with lentil mash. Sambar is a regular at many south-indian households.

Usually made with tuvar dal/split pigeon peas, we also have tiffin sambar served with breakfast dishes, Keerai sambar made with spinach and lentils. The recipe might vary according the regions too. Like udupi region add little jaggery to the sambar, it will have a slight sweet taste .

What is so different about this sambar?

My version of Instant pot sambar is almost like instant sambar. You just need to grind a masala with coconut and tamarind and pressure cook it with vegetables.

No need to soak tamarind
No need to soak dal.
Can be made in pressure cooker or Instant pot
Can be made ahead, reheated before serving

This Instant pot or pressure cooker sambar is a regular at home and is popular among my friends, they make it often for a huge gathering. This can be easily scaled for a crowd of 12-15 people and even more.

Ingredients to make Mixed Vegetable Sambar in Instant Pot

Mixed Vegetables, I have used mixed vegetables, pumpkin, radish, carrots and brinjal. You can also use chayote, drumstick, potato etc.
Dal, I have used a mix of toor dal/pigeon peas and Moong dal/skinned yellow mung bean for this instant pot sambar.

For the masala : Fresh coconut, sambar powder, red chilies, coriander seeds, tamarind
Fresh herbs , I have used coriander and curry leaves along with some fresh ginger in this sambar recipe
Tempering, regular Indian tempering spices mustard seeds, hing/asafoetida, fenugreek seeds along with cooking oil is used in making this pressure cooker sambar recipe.

More Instant Pot Recipes

Step by Step Instructions to Make Instant Pot Sambar

Please check recipe card below for exact measurements of each ingredient used and also for the detailed instructions

Wash and chop the vegetables for the sambar. I prefer cutting them into chunks than smaller pieces. Since we are using pressure cooker, it is better to cut them chunky.
Let us make the masala for the sambar. I have used my magic bullet to grind this sambar masala. I prefer magic bullet for its compact size and capacity to grind Indian masalas.
In the magic bullet blender jar, add coconut, home made sambar powder, tamarind, fresh herbs, whole spices mentioned. Add enough water and blend it to a smooth paste.

Let us make the sambar : Plug the Instant pot, turn it to saute mode for 15 minutes. When it flashes hot, add oil, splutter mustard seeds, hing/asafoetida, methi seeds and curry leaves.
To this hot tempering, add the vegetables and saute for a minute. To this hot vegetables, add the ground masala and mix well. Now add washed dal to this mixture and top it up with enough water, around 3-4 cups of water.
Add salt and turmeric powder to this, mix well. Close the instant pot lid, seal the vent position. Press Rice menu on the panel. I also used trivet inside and placed a separator with rice to cook along.
After the preset time of cooking, let the Instant pot release pressure naturally for 10-12 minutes. I sometimes even leave it completely on NPR. If you want to open, quick pressure release after 12 minutes. Remove the rice separator carefully.
Mix the sambar well. Check the consistency, i felt it was a bit thick, so added ½ cup hot water from my kettle. Mix it well. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve it with steaming hot rice or with idly/dosa.

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Recipe Card for Instant Pot Mixed Vegetable Sambar

Vegetable Sambar | Instant Pot | Pressure Cooker

Instant pot sambar, a quick and easy mixed vegetable sambar made in Instant pot. The recipe can also be made in normal pressure cooker.

Course Main Course

Cuisine South-Indian

Keyword 10 minute ladoo, Araichutvita sambar, Easy sambar, How to make araichuvita sambar, How to make sambar, Instant pot recipe, Mixed vegetable sambar, Pressure cooker sambar, Quick sambar recipe in pressure cooker, Sambar in instant pot

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings People

Calories

Equipment

Magic bullet or equivalent blender for grinding the masala
Instant Pot or Pressure cooker
Trivet and separate pan if cooking rice along

Ingredients

400 grams Mixed vegetables I have used pumpkin, radish, brinjal and carrots
½ cup Tuvar dal/toor dal/Tuvaram paruppu split pigeon peas
3 tablespoon Moong dal/Pasi paruppu split green gram
4 cups water
2 teaspoon salt or to taste

For the sambar masala

¾ cup fresh coconut
20 grams tamarind a small goli gundu/marble sized
1¼ tablespoon homemade sambar powder
2 teaspoon coriander seeds/dhaniya
½ teaspoon black peppercorns/milagu
few coriander leaves with stalks and few curry leaves
½ inch piece of ginger optional

Tempering

2 tablespoon any neutral oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds/kadugu
¼ teaspoon hing/asafoetida
¼ teaspoon methi seeds /fenugreek seeds/venthayam
few curry leaves

Instructions

Wash and chop all the vegetables needed. I have used pumpkin, carrots, radish and brinjal. You can use potatoes, chayote squash, raw papaya, yam etc.

Let us make the sambar masala

In a blender jar, i used take fresh coconut, sambar powder, coriander seeds, peppercorns, coriander, curry leaves and tamarind.
Add 1 cup of water to this and grind it to a smooth paste. Keep aside until use.

Let us make the Sambar

Plug in the instant pot and turn on sauté mode, set timer for 15 minutes.
When it flashes hot, add oil, splutter mustard seeds, hing/asafoetida, and methi/fenugreek seeds.
Dump the washed and drained vegetable to this hot tempering and saute for a minute.
Add the ground masala to this and mix well. Add 2 cups of water to the blender jar wash well and add this to the instant pot. Mix well.
Take the dals togethers, wash and drain and add it to the instant pot. Mix well
Add turmeric powder and salt to this and mix well. Add another 1 cup of water to this.
At this point, I added a trivet and placed a pot with 2 cups of rice to cook along.
Close the instant pot. Check the vent into sealed position. Press the Autocook "Rice" option. You can also use Pressure cook for 7 minutes.
Let the cooking time complete and IP naturally release pressure 10 -12 minutes . Do a quick pressure release. Open the Instant pot carefully.
Take the rice pot out carefully, remove the trivet. Mix the sambar well with a ladle. Check the consistency. I added ½ cup hot water from my kettle to adjust the consistency.
Add some fresh coriander leaves to the sambar. Mix well. Serve it warm with rice or with idly/dosa.

Video

Notes

The same recipe can be made in pressure cooker also. If making in normal pressure cooker then cook it for 3-4 whistles.
I sometimes leave the IP to release pressure fully naturally. Incase you want to open and serve, then do a QPR after 10-12 minutes.
Leftover sambar can be refrigerated. While serving reheat the sambar and add little water to adjust the consistency.
The amount of servings mentioned in the recipe card is an approximation, this sambar might as well serve 8 -10 people depending on the serving each take and what it is served with.
If serving with rice, it will be comfortable for 6-8 people. If serving with idly/dosa it will be good for 8-10 people.

Serve this delicious sambhar made in instant pot with steaming hot rice and any dry subzi for a complete south-indian meal.

This sambar pairs pretty well with idly/dosa too. If serving with tiffen menu, then adjust the consistency a bit more with water and enjoy.

Any leftover sambar can be refrigerated for a day or two in an air-tight container. Refrigerated sambar tends to thicken, so add water, reheat and serve it warm.

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Thiruvathirai Kootu | 7-Kari Kootu in cooker

Priya_Srinivasan — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 11:50:00 +0000

Thiruvathirai kootu, 7-kari kootu, a tangy vegetable stew made of 7 different vegetables . It is traditionally served with sweet kali made on thiruvadirai, a festival celebrated in Tamilnadu and kerala.

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What is 7-Kari Kootu/Kuzhambu

Thiruvathirai kootu, a tamarind based mixed vegatable stew made especially for festive days. This traditonal kootu is made with a combination of 7 different vegetables, that is why the name 7-kari kuzhambu. This delicious kuzhambu, made during festive days like aarudra and pongal, denoting auspiciousness and abundance.

How to make 7-Kari Kootu

The vegetables used to make this kootu is mostly country vegetables, that gets harvested during that period. This also promotes local eating habit. One can use pumpkin, brinjal, sweet potatoes, potatoes, field beans, plantains, yam varieteis etc. Apart from the vegetables we can also use beans like chickpeas, black-eyed peas and fresh green peas.

Gather and chop the vegetables of the same size. Check the recipe card below for the ingredients list. Dry roast and grind the spice powder. In a pressure pan, add tempering, saute the vegetable, add the tamarind extract and spice powder. Pressure cook until done. Once done, let the pressure drop on its own. Open the cooker, check consistency and add tempering.

Serve this lip-smacking, tangy stew with kali, or you can serve it with rice and dry subzi too.

Thiruvathirai Kootu | 7-Kari kootu in cooker

Thiruvathirai kootu, 7-kari kootu, a tangy vegetable stew made of 7 different vegetables . It is traditionally served with sweet kali.

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Indian, South-Indian

Keyword 7-kari kootu recipe, festive kootu recipe, Kootu recipe, mixed vegetable stew, pongal kootu recipe, thalagam recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Servings

Calories

Equipment

Pressure cooker

Ingredients

1 no sweet potato peeled and chopped
1 no plantain peeled and chopped
4-5 nos brinjals/egg-plants chopped
1 no radish peeled and chopped
1 no carrot peeled and chopped
1 slice yellow pumpkin about 8-10 cubes
¼ cup dried green beans
¼ cp toor dal
a small lemon sized tamarind soaked in water
salt to taste

To Roast & Grind

2 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon chana dal/gram dal
2 teaspoon raw rice
5-6 nos red chilies
3-4 tablespoon grated coconut
a sprig of curry leaf

Tempering

2 teaspoon oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon methi seeds
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 nos red chilies
⅛ teaspoon hing/asafoetida

Instructions

Wash and chop all the veggies to cubes, and soak them in water until use. All the veggies should be of the same size to ease even cooking. x
Soak tamarind in warm water for 15 minutes and extract around 2 cups of tamarind extract.
If using dried beans, soak them overnight. I always have pre-soaked beans in my freezer all the time, so i used them while cooking. In case you are using fresh beans, you can use it straight, withoutsoaking
Roast all the ingredients given under Roast and grind one by one and grind it with ¼ cup water to a fine paste
In a Pressure pan, heat oil given under "Tempering", splutter mustard seeds, add methi/fenugreek seeds, add hing, turmeric, red chilies and saute for 2 minutes.
Drain the veggies and add it to the pan, saute well for 2-3 minutes. next add the tamarind extract, toor dal, ground paste and 1 cup water. add salt, mix well
When the mixture starts boiling, close the lid,put the whistle on, pressure cook in a medium flame, for 2-3 whistles. i cookedfor 3 whistles
Take it of the flame, let the pressure release on its own, remove the lid of the pressure pan, mix well with a laddle, check the consistency shouldn't be watery, if yes, then boil for some more time.
Finally add fresh coriander leaves. Serve it along with Thiruvadirai Kali.

Serve this delicious 7-kari kootu with kali or enjoy it with hot steaming rice.

If you have tried this recipe and like it, give it a star rating or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #icampinmmykitchen and tagging me @priyasrinivasan.
You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | twitter

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Paruppu Keerai Sambar|Keerai sambar Recipe

Priya_Srinivasan — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 03:34:00 +0000

Paruppu keerai sambar, a no tamarind sambar recipe with fresh green leaves and tuvar dal. A delicious combination with steaming hot rice and ghee.

Paruppu keerai known as purslane leaves in english. It is a weed and you can see it growing almost in any place. These leaves can be added to salads and consumed raw

I personally love purslane leaves and cook it almost twice or thrice in a month. This purslane leaves kootu is my favorite. A simple recipe in pressure cooker that gets ready in minutes. This paruppu keerai sambar, is yet another simple and easy recipe to enjoy this nutritious and abundantly available green.

Apart from fresh purslane leaves, we have some Indian shops, where we get all greens, like Chennai. Even as i type this post, i have 4-5 varieties of spinach, ready to cook in my freezer.

How to store/freeze fresh spinach

Cut the roots and remove any hard stem. Check the spinach for any wilt, weed etc. Remove them.
Some greens can be chopped with stem, for some we need to remove the leaves separately. But as a general rule, if the stem is tender, i include them.
Chop the spinach with the stem, dunk them into a bowl of water, fully covered. Let it sit undisturbed for 10 minutes for the dirt to settle down at the bottom.
Strain the chopped spinach, wash once again. Let the cleaned spinach sit in a colander and drain completely.
Divide the spinach according to portions you will need for one time, store them in ziploc pouches and freeze.

How i made this paruppu keerai sambar

To make paruppu keerai sambar, we need soft cooked tuvar dal. Wash and soak tuvar dal for 15 minutes. Drain and pressure cook it with a pinch of turmeric until soft, usually 4-5 whistles. This recipe uses no tamarind, instead tomatoes are used as an souring agent.

Chop and wash fresh purslane leaves and keep them ready. In a wide pan, heat oil splutter mustard seeds, methi seeds , curry leaves and hing. Add tomatoes, sambar powder and salt and cook until tomatoes are soft. Next dump the chopped spinach to this, with some water, cover and cook until the spinach is done.

Add the soft cooked tuvar dal to this and let it sit on the stove for another 10-15 minutes. check the consistency of the sambar and take it off the stove. Serve it hot with rice.

Paruppu Keerai Sambar|Keerai sambar Recipe(No Tamarind)

Paruppu Keerai sambar, a no tamarind sambar with fresh green leaves and tuvar dal. A delicious combination with steaming hot rice and ghee.

Course Main Course, Side Dish, Sides

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Keerai sambar, Keerai sambar recipe, Paruppu keerai recipe, Purslane leaves recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Calories

Equipment

Pressure cooker for cooking tuvar dal
Sauce pan for cooking sambar

Ingredients

2 nos medium bunches of paruppu keerai/purslane leaves approximately 3 cups when chopped
½ cup tuvar dal/toor dal/split pigeon peas
2 nos medium-sized tomatoes chopped or 3 tablespoon tomato puree
2 teaspoon sambar powder homemade/storebought
2 teaspoon fresh coconut
¾ teaspoon salt or to taste

Tempering

1 teaspoon oil any vegetable oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds/kadugu
¼ teaspoon methi seeds /fenugreek seeds
2 nos red chilies i used round variety, crushed
¼ teaspoon hing/asafoetida
a sprig of curry leaf

Instructions

Wash and soak tuvar dal for 15 minutes. Drain, add fresh water and pressure cook it with little turmeric for 3 whistles or until soft.
Wash, Clean and Chop Paruppu Keerai/Purslane Leaves.
Heat oil given under "Tempering" in a kadai/thick bottomed pan. Splutter mustard seeds, add hing, curry leaves, methi/fenugreek seeds, crushed red chilies and saute for a minute.
Add chopped tomatoes or tomato puree, add ½ cup of Water. Add sambhar powder and cook until tomatoes are soft and oil separates.
Add chopped paruppu keerai/purslane leaves and another ½ cup of water. Add salt and coconut, mix well.
Let this cook for 10 minutes. By this time, the spinach will be almost cooked, add the soft cooked tuvar dal to this and let it cook for another 10-15 minutes.
After the said time, the sambar would have reached a thick consistency, if not let it sit for another 5 minutes.
When thick gravy consistency is reached, switch off the flame. Serve hot with rice or roti's too, i prefer this delicious gravy with both.

Serve this delicious paruppu keerai sambar with steaming hot rice and ghee for a comforting meal. This keerai sambar also pairs well with soft roti.

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Mixed Vegetable Sambhar/Sambar - Udupi Hotel Style Sambhar/Sambar, Side dish for Idly/dosa

Priya_Srinivasan — Sat, 16 Apr 2016 14:11:00 +0000

This sambar was is my to-do list for a long time now. I make something similar to this but without vegetables and tamarind, just tomatoes and onion, will share that some other time. The flavor of this sambar is amazing, hubby loved it when he had nuchinunde, another delicious kannadiga special breakfast, that will be up tomorrow.
It has a balanced flavors, a medley of sweet, spicy and tanginess. As my elder one, prefers sambar more with his idly/dosa, he was elated when i served him menthe dosa/methi dosa along with his hotel style sambar. We even had it with rice for our lunch, but then decided to pair it only for idly/dosa. The taste of jaggery was little odd, when we had it with rice. Do try and let me know how you liked it.

Ingredients
½ cup Tuvar dal/split pigeon peas
1 no drumstick, chopped into 1 inch piece
2 nos brinjals, i used long ones, chopped
8-10 nos shallots, peeled
1 potato, peeled and chopped into cubes
lemon sized tamarind, soaked in 2 tablespoon of water
2 teaspoon grated jaggery
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon haldi
fresh coriander leaves for garnish

To roast and grind
2 teaspoon chana dal
2 teaspoon coriander seeds
5-6 nos red chilies
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
¼ cup freshly grated coconut
1 teaspoon rice

Tempering
2 teaspoon oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
2 strands of curry leaves
2 round red chilies (optional)

Method

Wash and pressure cook tuvar dal by adding 1.5 cups of water and with a pinch of haldi until done. I use pressure cook for 5 whistles. Let the pressure get down on its own.
In a small pan, add 1 teaspoon oil and roast all the ingredients, except coconut. Let it cool. Take the ingredients along with coconut and soaked tamarind. Add ¼ cup of water and grind it to a little coarse paste. Keep aside until use.
Wash and chop all the veggies, add a cup of water to drumstick, microwave cook for 5 minutes, with a pinch of haldi and ¼ teaspoon salt. Alternatively, it can also be cooked on stove top, just cook until it is soft. Once done, keep aside, until use.
Soak shallots in warm water for 10 minutes, peel the outer cover and keep aside. Chop the brinjals and potatoes into cubes and keep ready.
In a pan, add 1 teaspoon of oil, when it is hot, add the shallots, saute for a minute, next add chopped brinjals and potatoes, add ½ cup of water, add haldi and salt. Let it cook for 10 minutes. Once the veggies are half-cooked, add the pre-cooked drumstick, ground spice paste, and cooked dal to this. Add ½ cup of water to adjust the consistency. Mix well. Let this boil for 10 minutes. Once all the veggies are cooked well and rawness of the spices disappear, add jaggery and let sit for another 5 minutes.

Remove it from the stove, heat oil for tempering, splutter mustard seeds, chilies and curry leaves, pour the tadka over the sambhar. Serve it hot garnished with coriander leaves, along with idly/dosa.

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Carrot Sambhar/Sambar - Using Pressure Cooker

Priya_Srinivasan — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 09:08:00 +0000

Pressure cookers are blessings that come in various size and shapes, and is available in every Indian house-hold!!! I have 3 pressure cookers with me now, the smallest one is 3 litres, which comes super handy everyday morning to make dal/sambhar for kuttu. They cook like magic in 15 minutes!!! oh yes, i guarantee for that. So, when valli announced cooking with pressure cooker as a theme for Blogging Marathon#35, i immediately chose the theme, as i use these small wonders of the kitchen everyday!!!

Amma has 2 cute pressure cooker with her, the new prestige handi too!!! i just envy the sleek and cute shape of that handi!!! Amma always makes sambar/kootu in her pressure cooker only. iMany times,i have teased her, saying she almost forgot how to keep sambar otherwise, until i found myself in a situation where i need to make and pack sambhar everyday in 15 minutes straight, juggling with other kitchen work in-between. Yes,kuttu prefers sambhar with everything idly, dosa, upma, even poori!!!! This is a fail-proof recipe which i use to make him happy when he opens his dabba for breakfast!!!

Ingredients
1 Large Carrot
half a tomato
½ Cup toor dal/tuvar dal/yellow split pigeon peas
2-3 teaspoon homemade sambhar powder
1 tablespoon freshly grated coconut
a small lemon-sized tamarind, soaked in warm water
salt to taste

fresh coriander for garnishing

Tempering
1-2 teaspoon oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
¼ teaspoon hing
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 sprigs curry leaves

Method

Wash the carrots well, chop them into cubes. Cut the tomatoes into cubes. Extract tamarind juice, it should be about 3 cups.
Heat oil the pressure cooker, splutter mustard seeds, add fenugreek seeds, hing, turmeric and curry leaves, saute for a minute. Next add chopped carrots, tomatoes and saute until the tomatoes become mushy.
Add tamarind extract to this, followed by sambhar powder, tuvar dal and salt. Add grated coconut and another cup of water, Mix well. When the mixture starts to boil, close the cooker, put the whistle on.

Pressure cook in a medium flame for 5-6 whistles or until done. My Cooker needs 6 whistles in a medium flame for the dal to cook.
Once the pressure falls, open the cooker, Mix well and mash the dal well with the back of a laddle. Check the consistency of the sambhar. I usually add ½ Cup - ¾th Cup of Warm water to it. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve warm with Rice or as a Side to Idly/Dosa.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#35

The post Carrot Sambhar/Sambar - Using Pressure Cooker appeared first on I camp in my kitchen.

Bittergourd Pitlai/Pavaikai pitlai - Weekend Lunch Thali

Priya_Srinivasan — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 00:21:00 +0000

Pavaikai/Bitter Gourd Pitlai recipe is my Grand-mom's favorite recipe. Whenever appa gets Baby bitter-gourd/Mithi pavaikai, she insists mom to make this, coz they give amazing taste to this recipe. I don't get Baby bitter gourds here, so i try making them with the normal ones. Even Kuttu relishes this recipe.

Weekend Lunch Thali Menu : Kovaikai/Tindora Fry, Vendaikaai/Okra/Lady's finger Fry, Pavaikaai/bitter Gourd Pitlai, Rasam, Ashgourd/White Pumpkin Masoor Dal Kootu, Butter Milk, Store-bought Naarthangai/unripe Citron Fruit used as pickle and Vepillai katti, a mixture of Citron leaves, Neem leaves with other masala. a must condiment for Curd Rice, that too after a heavy meal. They help in easy Digestion.

Ashgourd/White Pumpkin Kootu with Masoor Dal, a similar recipe to Methi Kootu, instead of chana dal/Gram Dal i have used Masoor Dal.

Tindora/Ivy gourd Fry, a simple, easy to make, Delicious Fry, recipe coming up next week.

Ingredients for Pavaikai Pitlai/Bitter Gourd Pitlai

2 Medium Size Bitter-gourd/Pavaikai

Tamarind a small lemon-sized

½ Cup Toor Dal/Tuvar Dal/Pigeon peas

2 teaspoon Sambhar Powder (Store bought or Home-made)

½ Cup of Small onions/Shallots or 2 Medium-sized onions, Chopped

1 medium sized tomato, chopped

1 teaspoon of grated jaggery

Salt to taste

Tempering

1-2 teaspoon gingely oil

½ teaspoon mustard seeds/Kadugu

¼ teaspoon Methi seeds/Venthayam/Fenugreek seeds

2 springs of curry leaves

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

hing a pinch.

To Grind

1 tablespoon Coriander Seeds/Dhaniya

1 teaspoon Chana Dal/Bengal gram dal/Kadalai Paruppu

3-4 Small onions/shallots or 1 medium sized onion, chopped

3 nos Red Chilies

3 tablespoon Freshly grated Coconut

Method

Soak Tamarind in 2 cups of Warm Water and Extract the juice.
Pressure Cook Tuvar Dal/Toor Dal/Piegon peas in 1 cup of water for 3 -4 whistles. Churn with the back of a ladle and keep ready
Slit the Bittergourd lengthwise and remove the seeds and Chop them into small pieces. If you can Baby Bitter Gourd/Pinju Pavaikai, then try and use that variety for the Pitlai, the taste would be amazing.
If you are using Shallots/Small onions, then soak them in hot water for 10minutes This will ease the process of removing the skin. Peel and keep it ready.
Dry Roast the Coriander seeds/dhaniya and Chana Dal/Bengal Gram Dal given under To grind and grind it to a fine paste with rest of the ingredients with little water.
In a Kadai/Pan, Heat oil given for tempering, Splutter mustard seeds, add hing, turmeric, curry leaves and saute.
Add onions/shallots and saute until translucent. Add Tomatoes and saute till oil separates.
Add Chopped Bitter gourd/Pavaikai and saute for 4-5 minutes in a medium flame.
Add Tamarind Extract, Sambhar Powder and let this cook for 10-15 minutes or till the bittergourd is done.
Add Salt and tuvar dal and Mix well. let this boil for 3-5 minutes. Add the ground paste to this mix well. Let this cook in a simmer flame for 5-10 minutes. add grated jaggery to this and mix well. Take it off the stove and Serve with Rice.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#15

Sending this to Indian Thali Mela, happening @ Cooking 4 all Seasons, Event by Srivalli

The post Bittergourd Pitlai/Pavaikai pitlai - Weekend Lunch Thali appeared first on I camp in my kitchen.

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