ARACHUVITTA SAMBAR | TAMIL BRAHMIN RECIPES
Ingredients
- Tamarind – Big gooseberry size
- ¼ tsp Turmeric powder
- Salt & water – as needed
- 1 Drumstick chopped length wise of pointer finger size
To pressure cook:
- ⅓ cup Toor dal
- ¼ tsp Turmeric powder
- Cooking Oil – a drop
- ¼ tsp Hing / Asafetida
- Water – As needed
To roast & grind:
- 2 tsp Cooking oil
- ⅛ tsp Fenugreek seeds
- 1 tbsp Dhania / coriander seeds
- ½ tbsp Chana dal
- ¼ tsp Pepper corns
- 1 tsp Urad dal
- 5 Red chillies adjust as per your taste.
- ¼ tsp Raw Rice
- ¼ tsp Hing / Asafetida
- 2 tbsp Grated coconut
To saute:
- 2 tbsp Cooking oil
- ½ cup Small onion / sambar onion / shallot 10 to 15
- 1 Tomato optional ( I din't use)
- Curry leaves – a few
- ½ tsp Sambar powder optional, its not used in Brahmin style
To temper:
- 1 tsp Ghee
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- ½ tsp Jeera / cumin seeds
- 2 Red chillies pinched into two
- Curry leaves few
To garnish:
- Coriander leaves – few chopped finely.
Instructions
- Pressure cook toor dal adding turmeric powder, hing and a drop of oil.
- In a kadai, add 2 tsp of oil and roast all the ingredients given under “ to roast and grind” in the same order. Make sure nothing gets burnt. Roast under medium flame till nice aroma rises.
- Add grated coconut at the end, mix well and switch off the flame. It will get roasted in that heat itself. Grind to a paste in a mixie. Set aside.
- In a wide mouthed kadai, heat oil, saute the small onions, curry leaves. Onions should be sauteed very well with a nice aroma. ( you can also add a tomato & saute with onion if you like)
- After it is sautéed, add the drumstick pieces, turmeric powder & salt. Add some raw curry leaves & a pinch of hing when it boils.
- Cover & cook till the drumstick is done. Add the tamarind extract and boil for few minutes till raw smell goes away.
- Now open the pressure cooked dal and mash it well. It should be well mashed. After adding the dal, add the freshly ground paste. Mix well without forming lumps. Let it boil for few minutes. Sambar thickens. So add more water if necessary. Check for salt.
- Switch off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves.
- Last but not the least, temper all the ingredients given under “ to temper” in ghee & add to sambar. Cover it with a lid to retain the aroma. Serve after 15 – 30 mins.
- Enjoy with rice, potato curry and papad !!
Notes
You can use vegetables like chow chow, radish, brinjal, potato, carrot, beans, turnip to make this sambar.
You can also make it with small onions alone which is known as Vengaya arachuvitta sambar.
Some people add 2 small onions while sauting the masala. But I din’t use it. Please check this link for Brahmin style potato curry recipe.
Some people add 2 small onions while sauting the masala. But I din’t use it. Please check this link for Brahmin style potato curry recipe.
- Chopped tomato can be used along with onions. Saute it till its mushy and then add tamarind extract.
- Instead of adding the spices along with dal, you can saute the ground spices before adding tamarind extract which gives additional flavour.
- Adjust the red chillies according to your taste.
- Dal should be mashed well.
- U can also use vegetables like carrots, potatoes, chow chow, brinjal along with drumstick.