South Indian Sambar

Sambar:

Ingredients:

Sambar Powder(store bought) or make at home,
Turmeric, imli, salt, asafoetida, veggies, toor dhal (if u dont have u can substitute with moong dhal too, but toor dhal tastes classic),

Method:

Cut vegetables like radish, carrot, capsicum, onion , etc, whatever you have in hand tastes good, cut into even round shapes, then fry the onion in a pan with lil oil,, till it is golden brown, then add the other veggies slowly, add turmeric pdr-1 spoon, salt - 1 to 1 and half spoon, then sambar pdr-2 spoons, then roast the veggies slowly for 5 to 7 mins till the sambar pdr smells really good, then soak 1 small lime sized ball of imli in hot water for 5 mins, now squeeze this imli water into the roasted veggies, pour enough water till the veggies are in the water, then cook on medium high for 10 to 20 mins till the veggies are cooked properly and then raw smell of imli goes... now cook 1 cup toor dhal in the pressure cooker with enough water for 4 to 5 whistles,, after the veggies are cooked, add the cooked dhal slowly and adjust the seasoning now, like add salt if needed , add lil water according to your choice of consistency,, sambar is ready,, it goes very well with idli, dosa, upma..

Enjoy..

Madras Mixture:

Time taken to make it: 45 mins,
Ingredients :
Gram flour-2 cups,Riceflour-2 tbsps, Rice flakes-1 to 1 1/2 cups,groundnuts-2 small handfuls, putana dhal(pottukadalai in tamil, dalia in hindi)-2 handfuls, curryleaves- 1 small bunch, cashews-1 handful, turmeric, asafoetida, salt, chillipdr- these are all according to taste..

Method:

Sieve the Gramflour , riceflour, lil turmeric and salt, then add lil water and make a paste like dosa batter.. Batter shud not be too watery, it shud be thick like a cake batter.. Then heat oil in a pan, take the sieve which is used to make the boondi. the sieve is specially made for boondi, with big wholes,,, take the batter, then press it with the cup on the sieve, shown it on the hot oil,, you will see small balls of batter falling in the oil,, cook it for a couple of mins till it turns crispy, drain it in a paper towel.. Now when you are done making the whole batch of boondi, transfer the boondi to a big newspaper, so that it absorbs excess oil.. Next fry the cashews till brown, then drain it in the same way, mix with boondi.. next deepfry the riceflakes.. ofcourse it absorbs more oil, but it turns crispy faster, so be careful not to burn it, then drain it and mix with the boondi,, now deepfry putana dhal, curry leaves one by one,, take extreme care when you add curryleaves since it has lil wetness, chances of oil getting splattered on your face are more.... then add the groundnuts, deepfry them too, and add this to the boondi mixture.. finally add turmeric pdr, to the mixture , add asafoetida-lots, salt, chillipdr, sugar-1 spoon to balance the flavor, and mix it with hand evenly so all the spices are evenly mixed.. Mixture is ready !!!!!

You can store it in an airtight container for upto 15 days to 3 weeks..Homemade mixture has a fresh smell, and it takes less oil too..Enjoy... Pls post your comments after trying this recipe