Saravana Sambar

Recipe Source   here

Saravana Bhavan Hotel Sambar Recipe

Ingredients Needed

To Grind as paste

Roasted gram / Fried Gram / Pottu kadalai - 2 tsp
Tomato - 1 big
Shredded coconut - 1 tbsp
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Hing / Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

For the Sambar

Toor Dal - 3/4 cup
Brinjal / Kathirikkai  - 3 -4 small
Drumstick  - 1
Sambar Onions / Shallots - 5
Tomatoes - 1
Green chili - 2
Coriander leaves - handful
Salt to taste
Tamarind /Puli - 1 lemon size or paste 2 tablespoon (tbsp.)

For Tempering

Mustard seed, Urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
Round Dry Chillis - 2 - 3
Curry leaves - 5
Sambar Onions / Shallots - 5

How to make the Sambar

Wash and pressure cook the toor dal to a soft consistency by adding enough water.

Wash and soak the tamarind, extract the pulp, keep it aside.

Chop the vegetables and keep it aside. Slit the green chili into two pieces.

Grind to paste roasted gram, 1 Tomato, coconut, sambar powder, asafoetida to a smooth paste by adding water.

Once the dal is well cooked, add 4 cups of water,  add the cut vegetables, Shallots, chopped tomato, green chili and cook.

Now add ground paste to the cooking dal.

Now add the tamarind (puli) water and cook until the vegetables are cooked. Then remove from heat.

In a pan heat oil, add mustard seed, cumin seed, urad dal stir until the mustard splatter. Now add Shallots, dry chili, curry leaves until curry leaves splatter.

Now pour this over the simmering sambar, add coriander leaves and cook until sambar comes to boil and remove from heat.

 Notes:

The more you cook the more thick the sambar will end up.
This can be made without the vegetables, with just the shallots as well.
The thickness and the difference in this recipe is because of the fried gram