Sambar (Restaurant style)

In India each state has different tastes in their food. My Andhra friends do the same sambar for tiffins and rice but in Tamilnadu they do a separate sambar for tiffin varieties like idli, dosa.. The main difference is they don't add more tamarind water in idli sambar.It will not be as tangy as the sambar done for rice.

I get the nice red color for sambar by adding karnataka chilli or kashmir chilles. Even you can skip the grinding part but it really enhances the flavor and tastes like hotel sambar.

Ingredients:

• Toor dal (pigeon pea) - 1 cup
• Carrot - 1 (finely chopped)
• Brinjal, small (Finely chopped) - 1
• Tomato - 1
• Small onion - 5
• Jaggery or Brown sugar - 1 tsp (optional)
• Salt - as per taste

To temper :

• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard - 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves - 5

To grind:

• Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
• Red chilly - 5
• Coconut - 2 tbsp
• Small onion - 3
• Channa dal - 1 tbsp
• Water - 1/4 cup
• Oil - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Pressure cook the dal with 2 cups of water for 15 minutes.

In a small fry pan heat 1/2 tsp of oil in a medium flame. Add channa dal, fenugreek seeds and red chilly and fry for a minute or till the dal turns to golden brown. Switch it off. Add coriander seeds,coconut and small onions. After it cools down, grind with  water to a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Heat the sauce pan add the ingredients given to temper in the same order. After the mustard is cracked , add small onions and fry for a minute. Add a pinch of  salt to help the onion to cook faster.

Then add carrot, brinjal and tomatoes and fry for 2 minutes. Add salt and half cup of water and close with a lid.  Allow the vegetables to cook. Then add the cooked dal, when it is boiling add the ground paste and adjust water to sambar consistency. Add jaggery or brown sugar and let it boil for 2 minutes. Add cilantro. Serve with idli, dosa, vada or pongal.