Ingredients:
1 cup tur dal
3-4 cups of cubed bottlegourd
10-12 small sambar onions (or shallots)
2 medium tomatoes quartered
pinch of turmeric
1 large lemon sized tamarind (extract the juice in 1 cup water)
1 tbsp jaggery or sugar (optional)
1 1/2 tbsps
sambar powder
salt to taste
coriander leaves for garnish
For tempering/poppu/tadka:
1/2 tbsp oil/ghee
3/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida/hing/inguva or 3-4 crushed garlic flakes
2 dry red chilli (tear and de-seed)
10-12 fresh curry leaves
Method
1 Pressure cook dal with 2 cups of water
and a pinch of hing. Once pressure cooked, mash, add 2 cups of water,
shallots, bottle gourd pieces and turmeric pwd. Bring to a boil, reduce
flame and cook for 8-9 mts on low to medium flame.
2 Once vegetables are half cooked, add the
tamarind extract, salt and jaggery and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and
let it simmer for 12-14 mts, till the rawness of the tamarind
disappears.
3 Add the sambar pwd and combine well. Let it cook for another 6-7 mts.
4 Heat oil a separate pan, add the mustard
seeds and let them splutter. Add hing and red chillis and roast for a
few seconds. Don’t burn them. Lastly add curry leaves and immediately
add to sambar.
5 Turn off heat and place lid. Keep covered for at least an hour and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
6 Serve with tiffins or hot steamed rice and appadam (papad).
