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Рецепт Arachuvitta Sambhar | South Indian Sambhar - A happy accident
by Nisha

"Anyone who has never made a mistake, has never tried anything new"

Sometimes, things have to go wrong before they go right. A very apt quote for those who pursue their culinary dreams. Accidents and mistakes may be unwelcome in most fields but in cooking it is embraced often. Why? Read ahead. Surprising stories about happy accidents, misadventures, luck and delicious discoveries are mentioned in this article. The ever loving cheese, Potato chips, delicious chocolate chip studded cookies, ice popsicles were all made by distracted and day dreaming cooks. The iconic dish of South India, the lip-smacking dip for idly, dosa, vada falls under this category. As mentioned in this post, Sambhar is the result of the trials and experiments of the Maratha King, Shauji. His love for Amti (A Maratha dish) was the turning point of in the invention of sambhar. Being a great cook himself, he tried to mix and match with the readily available local ingredients to create his favourite item. Fortunately the final dish, though it was not close to Amti, was praised by everyone and became a separate dish in itself. If not for his love for Amti, the whole world would have missed this delicacy.

Unlike in the west where rice comes as a side, in India it is the main meal. Just like creamy gravies accompany the exotic flat breads in the North, we have our own specialities. Rasam, sambhar and kootu are the most popular. We mix these with white rice and have it as rasam sadam (rice in tanil), samhar sadam etc.

Preparation of sambhar can be broken down into two main steps. First, the veggies are boiled in tamarind water. Once they are cooked and the raw smell goes off, you thicken it with the help of just dahl (the ordinary sambhar) or you add coconut paste along with it. Drumsticks, Radish and Onions are the veggies that impart the most flavour to the sambhar. You can also add white pumpkin, chayote, brinjal and even potatoes. The final dish should be a medley of flavours; the sourness from tamarind, a subtle aroma of the veggies along with the mild earthy tone of the dahl. The consistency of the sambhar is also very important. It should neither be too thick like kootu or very watery like rasam. As mentioned in the below notes, it can relate closely to a thick soup.

There are two main blockers that I have noticed while making sambhar. They happen sometimes. First one is the dahl. Generally rice and dahl are kept together in a presure cooker to save time. Sometimes the tuvar dahl might not get cooked easily. The water you use or the quality of the dahl may affect its cooking time. Soak the dal in water for half an hour and then cook. For a sambhar, the dahl must be really cooked and smashed. It should not be separate lentils. Second, the veggies take longer time to cook in tamarind water. So if that is the case, half cook the veggies in plain water after the tempering and then add the tamarind extract. This really helps for hard veggies like Drumsticks and Radish. Please refer to my notes below for complete tips and suggestions that might help you while making sambhar.

Arachuvitta Sambhar

A tamil brahmin recipe, that is made regularly at homes.

Please refer to the notes below for more suggestions.

Prep Time: 10 Mins | Cook Time: 30 Mins | Total Time: 40 Mins | Serves: 3

Ingredients

2-3 Red Chillies

Instructions

Pressure cook the dal with turmeric powder and keep aside. It should be soft and mushy. Add water enough to immerse the dahl. (4)

Soak the tamarind in 1/4 Cup water. Once it softens, add another 1/2 Cup water and extract the tamarind.

Heat oil in a Kadai | Pan over medium high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the curry leaves, red chillies, fenugreek seeds and fry for a second.

Then add all the veggies that you are adding and stir them for a minute. (5)

Then add the tamarind extract and about a cup of water. Add salt, sambhar powder and allow it to boil for about 12-15 minutes. Keep the heat on medium. (6)

Meanwhile grind the coconut and curry powder into a smooth paste.

After about 15 minutes, the liquid would have reduced and the raw smell of the tamarind would have gone. If you feel the raw smell is there, boil it for some more time.

Now add the mashed dahl, coconut paste and some 1/2 Cup water.

Bring it to a full boil and turn off the stove. It will slightly thicken upon cooling. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

Notes

Veggies like Okra, drumsticks, onions, white radish, white pumpkin, yellow pumpkin, brinjal, carrots, flat beans can be added. Chop them in chunks. It has to hold its shape while cooking.

Do not overdo the fenugreek seeds. It will be bitter to bite. So just a little goes a long way.

Please refer to this post to see how tamarind quality affects the gravy. Refer to the notes section in that post.

Generally rice and dahl are kept together in a presure cooker to save time. Sometimes the tuvar dahl might not get cooked easily. The water you use or the quality of the dahl may affect its cooking time. Soak the dal in water for half an hour and then cook. For a sambhar, the dahl must be really cooked and smashed. It should not be separate lentils.

Sambhar should be thick but in a pourable consistency. So do not add more water and make it runny. The best I could come up with is, (for those who have not had it ) it is very close to a thick soup's consistency.

The veggies take longer time to cook in tamarind water. So if that is the case, half cook the veggies in plain water after the tempering and then add the tamarind extract. This really helps for hard veggies like Drumsticks and Radish.

Also keeping a thick tamarind extract, helps it in losing the raw flavour sooner. So do not add more water while the tamarind extract is boiling. You can add water at a later stage if the sambhar becomes very thick.

While serving if you feel the sambhar has become very thick, add little warm water to dilute it.

This post is for Blogging Marathon 41 under the theme "Picking all the way". This is from Tamil Nadu state. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 41 here.