Actually I have made a sambar with toor dal, mixed dal and moong ki dal. This one is made of masoor ki dal and it is just as yummy as the others. This can be eaten with basmati rice, vada, I am going to tackle some vada posts in the futre Inshallah. It is also enjoyed with dosa and idli. Idli, I am going to post a few idli recipes too for this blog also. I already did a couple of dosas. I am being totally honest here and I want you to really enjoy my recipes.
First of all you need a good sambar masala recipe. For those that are a little lazy and don’t feel like doing all of that grinding with a mortar and pestle then storebought is for you. Honestly I do not know what they put in the masalas and I want mine to be as fresh as can be which is for an excellent tasting sambar.
Make this sambar masala and have it to the side and soak 3 cups of masoor ki dal for 4 hours to overnight after you rinse it several times. It is best you grind masala just before cooking time though. In a pressure cooker add either 3 tbs of dalda ghee on high heat or 1/4 cup of canol oil, corn oil with 2 tbs of coconut oil, The heat must be set to high.
Add 4 curry leaves 1 pinch each of hing, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds that are whole, desiccated or grated coconut, turmeric, red chili powder, pink salt, 2 tbs of turbinado sugar, the contents from the mortar and pestle which is the sambar masala or add ready made, your choice.
Stir and add 1 shallot cut in to half moon slices, 1 tomato cut in to chunks, 2 cloves of garlic and 1 green chilli chopped. Add the soaked masoor ki dal. I threw everything in the pressure cooker so it is not a biggy. It is a one pot meal, Add your vegetables of choice, such as 1/4 bag of frozen mixed vegetables, 3 drumstick leaves, 4 red radishes whole, 1 handful of baby carrots, 4 baby eggplants cut in to half, 1 chayote squash, 1 opo suqash deseeded and peeeled, 1 bunch of fresh greens weather it is turnip, kale, mustard, spinach, collard or even chard that has been washed very well. Just use 1 drop of dish soap on the fresh greens and a lot of running cold water to get the grit off of it or use frozen you can also use any other Indian vegetable of choice.
It can be baby corn, tindora that is fresh or frozen, baby carrots washed and whole you can add a handful to the sambar, clustar beans green beans, lotus root, 4 celery stalks, 1 beet, 2 liters of water.
Stir and close the pressure cooker wait for the safety button to pop up and cook for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let pressure escape. Open to check on the contents inside if it is still a little hard then check water level if this is ok then you can safely iggy it. If it is a little low add 1 or 2 more cups of water turn back heat to high and repeat. Let pressure subside once more and enjoy. This time I had mine with hot basmati rice.
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