Friday, April 17, 2009

Varutharacha Sambhar ~ Sambhar with roasted Coconut & Spices

Wishing all of you a very belated Vishu and Chithirai Thirunal.I really don't know how time flies and try as I may,I'm struggling to devote some time to the blog.Vishu was great,with my parents around and together,we made a simple sadya.They left soon after that.Day after,I had a dinner party at home for hubby's Boss & Co and both of us wanted to make sure that we leave no stone unturned.Back breaking work,I should say;)!!

We made the famous Varutharacha Sambhar for Vishu and all of us loved it.I usually make Sambhar using Eastern Sambhar Masala[the best I've used so far].I saw this recipe for Varutharacha Sambhar,where the spices are roasted along with coconut and then ground to a paste and added to the cooked dal-vegetables.No prizes for guessing,I got this recipe from my recently acquired prized possession-my collection of recipes from Vanitha magazine.


Verdict-I might sound clichéd,but I don’t know how else to describe it.One of the best Sambhar I’ve ever prepared.The delicate taste of the roasted coconut + spices gives it the extra punch.Hubby gave his thumbs up and asked me why don’t I follow this recipe everytime I make Sambhar;-).


Varutharacha Sambhar ~ Sambhar with roasted coconut and spices!

Ingredients

Parippu/Toor Dal – ¾ cup
Mixed vegetables – 2 cups[I used drumsticks,carrot,potato,beans&tomato]
Tamarind – 1 small lemon size

To roast and grind
Channa dal – 2 tsp
Coriander – 4 tsp
Methi – ½ tsp
Red chillies – 10
Small onions/Shallots* – 2
Hing – 1 tsp
Grated coconut – ½ to ¾ cup

For Seasoning

Coconut oil – 2 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Salt to taste

For garnish
Coriander leaves – 2-3 tbsp,chopped

Method

Cook the dal till soft.
Dry roast the ingredients given for the masala till golden brown and grind to a smooth paste.
Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract as much as 2 cups of ‘puli vellam’-tamarind water from it.
Cook the vegetables in this tamarind water till done.
Add the ground masala and dal to the cooked vegetables and let it boil-till everything gets mixed.
Prepare seasoning in a pan with coconut oil and splutter mustard seeds and add curry leaves.
Add the seasoning to the sambhar and garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

*Small onions can be skipped.Though I got this recipe from a sadya special,I don’t think onions-garlic are added to dishes while making a sadya.It tastes great without the addition of onions too!!
Here's my Vishukkani and the Vishu Sadya!!

23 comments :

  1. Good to see you girl, make time for us too! ;D

    Wonderful looking Sambhar, masala with shallots sounds great. I will try. Weather is getting warmer here, so don't feel like cooking much except the daily stuff. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  2. Wish you and your family a very Happy Vishu. Sambar looks and sounds delicious. I like sambar masala with coconut, as it makes it a little sweet. Have a great weekend.

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  3. Yummy sambhar Divya..Using fresh spices would have given sambar a rice aroma and divine taste..

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  4. Sambar looks Perfect! Love drumsticks...

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  5. nice pic of sambar, it's difficult to get good clicks of gravies.

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  6. Hope u had a great day, all look delicious :)

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  7. happy vishu to you too. The sadya looks fab and love the smell of varutharacha sambar!! yummy..making me hungry, eventhough im still hogging on vishu leftovers :)

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  8. sambar looks great Divya! What a delicious sadya you had! Hope you had a great vishu!

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  9. sambar looks so delicious divya and that vishu sadya looks so inviting belated vishu wishes to you and your family i hope you had anice time

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  10. DIvya, wishing u too though belated, season's greetings! The snaps look great..now wt ur testimonial..surely this is on my agenda..the roasted coconut n spices aroma already creating waves in my imagination! Me too a Eastern Sambhar podi patron!:D (Got busy wt Sadya n stuff..had guests over,..cd manage overall 12 items, by dinner time! Was happy for the compliments abt good food, sambhar especially!)
    Have a great weekend..shall b back here for posting feedback.My family sambhar fan! :)So gotto make this!

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  11. Very tempting sambar. Lovely presentation. Traditional & nice click too.

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  12. good pone..vishu sadya looks wonderful..I made a simple one for vishu..

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  13. Great Post Divya :) Looks delicious :)

    I nominate you for 'I love your blog' award. You may check this out here:
    http://myexperiencewithcooking.blogspot.com/2009/04/grilled-fish.html

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  14. Delicious sadhya...! Wishes for you.! Have posted new one at my world food blog. Do check out!

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  15. Happy Vishu!! Nice pictures and sambhar looks Yum!!

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  16. MMMMMMMmmmmm..looking delicious..aroma comes here. tooo tempting

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  17. The sambar looks great. I never added both tamarind and tomato to sambar because I thought it would make the sambar sour. I will try this the next time I make sambar.

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  18. Me too make sambar with Eastern Sambar podi Divya....never tried varutharacha sambar....will try it:)

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  19. Divu, donno I thought i posted feedback here. Made it last month itself.It was loved by all the 4 of us! :) Tks so much for sharing! (Here frm Orkut, pls do post the cake! Of course, after ur journey-exhaustion is completely over..wd wait :) ;))

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  20. i just wanted to know when you said coriander, does it mean seeds or powder? thanks

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A blog is not complete without the readers feedback.Please let me know how you liked my post.Thank you so much for visiting my blog.

Love,
Divya.

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