Hotel Sambar Recipe | Tiffin Sambar

       Sambar a traditional south Indian dish served with idli,dosa,pongal,vadai for breakfast. Sambar is nothing but a soup prepared with pressure cooked and mashed dal, with or without vegetables along with onions,tomato and masala powder.This soup can vary in spice from freshly ground masala paste,specially ground masala powder, sambar powder or only with green chilies.This recipe is with fresh ground masala powder ,its thick and is tasty when you eat it along with idli,dosa and a drizzle of gingelly oil on top of them ..hmm

Pachmel Dal | Panchratna Dal

Pachmel Dal/Panchratna Dal-a unique north Indian style dal made with  five lentils.'Panch' in Hindi means five 'ratna' mean diamond/jewel.This dal is versatile in its name,lentils and method of preparation.

Murukku/Dal Chakli

     ."Murukku" in Tamil is twisted,No wonder its called murukku right. In tamilnadu "Manaparai murukku" is very famous which is named after a city called manaparai.
         "Murukku" also called  "chakali" in Kannada ,"chakri" in Gujarati ,"Murukulu" or "chakralu " in Telugu "chakri" or "chakkuli" in konkani  ."Rotan gulung Goren" is Malay name for murukku ,I got to know all of it from wikipedia .
        Whatever it is no Diwali is without murukku whether north or south(India).There are so many different versions of  Chakli .My mom makes this murukku along with Thenkulal murukku for Diwali .We just gobble them without knowing the ingredients .Just days before i asked my mom about it .
     People make murukku with urad dal ,moondal along with riceflour .But this murukku is very different with 3 Dal's. Dal  murukku is not only tasty but nutritious even though its deep fried . Make sure Dal's are roasted properly otherwise you get raw smell in murukku .Mommy grind them in  "Rice mills " ,but i can't do that here .So grinded with mixer .Sieve the flour properly .You can skip adding of chili powder .In that case murukku will be white .After your first few murukku taste it and see its salt and spice.

Check some other Deep fried savories

1. Kara sev
2. Thenkulal
3. Ribbon pakoda
4. Oma podi

Preparation time:20 min
Cooking time:40-50 min
Yields :500 grams (approximate)

MethiDhal/FenugreekLeavesDal/VendhayaKeerai

Spinach dhal,Simple dhal or whatever dhal it is ,its so yummy .I love andhra style dhal ,that too when its served in nandhini ,i can have the whole meal only with dhal as an accompaniment for rice.The amount of ghee they serve along with the dhal makes it even more yummier.I usually do dhal very often to include mung dhal in our diet .Because we south indians dont do much varieties with mung dhal except kootu that too with added kadala parupu .But andhra cooking has lots of dhal varieties this dhal .

This methi dhal  is very easy to make and it goes well with all the mains you make like idli,dosa,idiyappam ,roti,chapathi,rice etc . so i call this one as  all in one dhal

When you add some green to dhal kids dont see them much or cant throw the greens away .So this can be  better way to include greens to your kids diet .Do try it  and let me know how your family loved it .

Preparation time:10-20 min
Cooking time:15 min
Serves:2-3

All in one dal /Palak dal/Spinach dal

Palak is a very healthy green which has all the good for a healthy body .Mainly it is  iron rich and has more dietery fiber like other green leaves.It has more vitamin A good for eyesight and prevents oral and lung cavities cancers.It has more vitamin k which is good for bone strengthening activity .Fresh greens has good amount of vitamin B and Vitamin C .For more details about the health benefits of this green vegetable click here.

Whenever i buy palak i used to do this dal because my husband likes this much .This has all the nutrition you want for a day and its very tasty too .So dig in ...

Check for other sidedish recipes like Paneerbuttermasala,Mushroomgravy,Rajmamasala.

Preparation time:15 min(cooking the dal+clean the palak)
Cooking time:20 min
Serves:4 -5

Tangy Kofta Gravy (பருப்பு/கோலா உருண்டை குழம்பு )

This is an authentic and famous chettinad dish. This dish is usually prepared during festive occasions and as a special for guests. It takes a little work compared to normal kulambu but trust me this is worth the extra effort. Just taste this once and you will be hooked. You can eat this with rice and simple vegetable like cabbage curry,Pumpkin curry.

Preparation time:1 hour(soaking the dal)+10 min
Cooking time:30-40 min
Serves:3

Tangy Bhindi & Toor dal Curry (வெண்டைக்காய் பச்சடி )

Vendaikkai Pachaddi (வெண்டைக்காய் பச்சடி) is something you will find in every chettinad kitchen. This gravy is made along the lines of sambar, but with less water and toor dal remains whole instead of being mashed up. A similar curry can be made with sundaikai (சுண்டைக்காய் ) which is one of my absolute favourites. Chances of getting sundaikkai are almost impossible here, so I usually use baby okra.

You might be intrested in similar tangy curries like RawMango curry,TangyOkra curry

Preparation time:10 min

Cooking time:20 min

Serves:2-3

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound baby okra
• 1/4 cup toor dal.
• 1/2 tbsp tamarind paste.
• 1 green chili.
• 1 tbsp sambar powder.
• 1 small Onion.
• oil for tempering.
• salt as needed.

Method:

• Cut the okra in to 1/4 inch pieces.
• Cook the toor dal for 2 whistles (should not be mushy).

• Cut the onion in to small pieces.
• In a hotpan temper oil with  items "to  temper".
• Add onions and green chilies saute them until translucent.
• Add okra and saute them until the slime of the okra cooks out. The okra should not stick together.

• Add sambar powder and saute it for a min in low flame until the raw smell dissipates.
• Add required water and add tamarind paste and salt.

• Add the cooked toor dal.
• Boil the gravy until it becomes thick .
• Your bhendi -toor dal gravy is ready to eat .
• Serve it with rasam or curd rice . 

Note;

• Okra should not be sticky fry them until the stickiness leaves.
• Adjust the water content accordingly.If its too dry you can't eat this one.If its too watery this wont' taste good.

Linking it to Gayathris event and sahasra page

 Sapanas event

Idly Milagai Podi

This is my first post ever. I thought I would keep it simple and start off with a classic tamil condiment- Idly podi. Pretty much in every tamil kitchen you will find a variant of Idly Podi. This is especially true in our Chettinad kitchens. 

My 3 year old is crazy about podi. She loves podi with Dosa & Idly .Especially when she throws a tantrum about eating Idly I will lure her with podi and bingo she will finish the entire thing. My hubby always has to have podi with dosa. It doesn't matter even if there are other sides. It's my favourite too, podi is all you need if you have Idly or Dosa batter.

Preparation time:20 min

Yields:around 100 grams