A Delicious and Easy Sambhar

I am waiting for the day when the Internet has a smell option.   If it were possible for you to smell the vadaa sambhar pictured above, I could probably get rich offering to sell you the recipe.  The day I made this sambhar,  my whole house had a warm, spicy smell that made my nose tingle and my stomach rumble!

A local bookstore is, unfortunately, going out of business and all their books are currently 50% off.  I picked up a cookbook titled 660 Curries  by Raghavan Iyer.  The same day I purchased the book, I came home, randomly opened it up and made the first two recipes that caught my eye.  This sambhar was one of them.  (Yes, my sister will ridicule me, but I had all the needed ingredients in my superbly stocked kitchen and didn't have to run out for anything!)

I will admit that Indian cooking can be a bit intimidating for the uninitiated.  They do such creative things with their food!  Especially the vegetarian cuisines.   But if you take the time to read the recipe through and understand the steps, you will see that it really isn't as hard as it would seem at first glance.  Some procedures are time consuming; such as making your own cheese or yogurt or making dumplings out of lentils.  But again, these procedures are lengthy, but EASY since most of the time required is sitting time where the cook is not active; such as soaking or fermenting.

If you want to try a delicious recipe that is almost as simple as boiling water, follow this link to my Examiner article on the Taj Mahal Grocery and Gift store and try the recipe for stewed potatoes with yellow split peas.  It is amazingly simple and amazingly delicious!  If you are feeling just a bit more adventurous, try this recipe for vadaa sambhar (lentil dumplings in a vegetable stew.) 

For the Dumplings

ingredients:

1 cup skinned split black lentils (urad dal)

1 1/2 t sea salt

Canola oil for deep frying

method:

1.  Place the dal in a medium-sized bowl.  Rinse in several changes of water until water is no longer cloudy.  Cover the dal by several inches with clean, fresh water and let soak from 1 to 4 hours.

2.  Drain the dal.  Place 1/2 cup water in a blender.  Add dal and puree, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until a paste is formed.  Dump paste back into medium-sized bowl.  Add 1/4 c water to blender and swirl around.  Add this water to the paste and stir it in.

3.  Pour about three inches of oil into a wok or medium-sized pan.  Heat until a drop of water dances across the surface (350 degrees on a thermometer.)  Drop the batter into the oil by large tablespoons and fry, turning occasionally, until they are golden brown all over.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Do this in several batches being careful not to crowd the pan. 

4.  When all the batter has been fried, set the dumplings aside and make the stew.

For the Stew

ingredients:

1/4 c. oily toor or toovar dal (skinned split yellow pigeon peas)

1 T tamarind paste or concentrate

1 T sambhar masala

1 1/2 t coarse kosher or sea salt

1/2 t asafetida

1 medium-size red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 small red onion, cut into 1-inch chunks

20 fresh curry leaves

1 T canola oil

1 t black mustard seeds

2 T finely chopped cilantro

method:

1.  Place the dal in a small saucepan and rinse in several changes of water until the water is no longer cloudy.  Drain.  Add 3 cups fresh water to the pan.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.

2.  Meanwhile, whisk the tamarind paste with 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan.  Add the masala, salt, asafetida, bell pepper, onion and curry leaves.  Stir and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer until vegetables are fork-tender (about 15 minutes.)

3.  When the dal is done cooking, pour it into a blender and blend well.  Pour this thin broth into the stew pan with the vegetables.

4.  Heat a small skillet over high heat.  Add the oil and sprinkle in the mustard seeds.  They will pop, much like popcorn (you might want to cover the pan during this process.)  When the popping stops, scrape the seeds into the stew along with the cilantro.

To Serve

Place a couple of dumplings in a bowl and ladle some of the hot stew over.  Eat and enjoy!