Usually people ask me regarding recipe of sambar, which is served in Coastal Mangalore temples. In our coastal temples, prasadam is served in the form of afternoon lunch. It is a simple lunch, served on a plantain leaf. which usually includes palya, rice, Rasam, sambar, payasam and buttermilk. Speciality of this lunch is, taste of the Rasam or sambar will linger in your mouth even after some time.
Commonly used vegetable for this kind of sambar is Ash gourd, sweet pumpkin or Coloured cucumber. You can take any one of these above-mentioned veggies and make. Here freshly roasted and ground masala has been used and onion or garlic is a taboo ingredient in prasadam lunch.
Here I have used home grown Sweet pumpkin –
Ingredients:
Sweet pumpkin – ½ kg (you can use coloured cucumber or Ash gourd as well)
Salt
Jaggery – 1 to 2 tea spoons (adjust according to your taste)
Red chilli powder – ½ tea spoon
Coriander seeds – 1 table spoon
Cumin – 1 tea spoon
Methi – ¼ tea spoon
Hing – pea nut size (hard hing) or ½ tea spoon of powdered hing.
Urad dal – 1 tea spoon
Chana dal – 1 tea spoon
Red chillies – 3 to 4
Coconut – ½ cup
Curry leaves – 1 spring
Toor dal – ¼ cup
Turmeric – ½ tea spoon
Tamarind – ½ – 1 tea spoon
Seasoning:
Coconut oil – 1 table spoon
Mustard – 1 tea spoon
Red chilli – 1
Curry leaves – 1 spring
Method:
-Cook toor dal after washing and keep aside. (don’t use more dal)
-Remove central seed part. Chop veggies, as bigger chunks.
– Cook chopped veggie by adding sufficient water, salt, jaggery, red chilli powder.
-In the meantime, roast masala for grinding.
-Take one thick kadai, add 1 tea spoon of coconut oil, fry methi seeds until light brown.
-Add in coriander, cumin, Hing, Red chillies, urad and Chana dal and proceed frying until dal becomes light brown and red chillies puffs and roasts.
-Add in coconut, curry leaves and turmeric, proceed frying for 2 to 3 minutes or until you feel the aroma of coconut.
-Cool this mixture and grind into not so smooth paste by adding tamarind and sufficient water.
– Now mash cooked dal add dal and freshly ground masala to cooked veggie and boil.
-Check for salt, jaggery and adjust. When it boils add seasoning.
-Heat coconut oil, mustard, red chilli, when mustard splutters, and curry leaves and pour over the prepared(boiled) sambar.
-Serve with hot rice.