Kerala Sambhar

I recently visited my husband's native place in Kerala. I fell in love all over again with the place (Kerala is so beautiful!) and with the cooking as well - yummm! Though it was fresh fish-galore at most meal times, sambhar also made an appearance at times. I really liked the sambhar - it was like a cross between the normal Tamil sambhar and arachuvitta sambhar and so asked for the recipe. Here it is, as gleaned by me through an interpreter (some of S's relatives only speak Malayalam).

Kerala Sambhar

Ingredients
(Try to use coconut oil wherever the recipe calls for oil if you like the taste. It really adds to the dish)

For the masala paste:
2 peppercorns
1 pinch methi seeds
1 pinch jeera seeds
10 curry leaves
2-3 shallots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic
1.5 tbsp grated coconut
A few pinches asafoetida

Roast all the above ingredients in a little oil and grind to a fine paste with a little water.

Extract 1 small lemon-sized ball of tamarind  in 2 cups water.

Add the masala paste to the tamarind extract and set aside.

For the sambhar:
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1 medium tomato, chopped fine
1.5 cups chopped sambhar veggies (okra, pumpkin, carrot etc - Kerala sambhar can include *any* vegetable including raw bananas)
1 slit green chili
3 heaped tsp coriander powder
1 heaped tsp chili powder
1/2 cup tur dal
1/4 tsp turmeric
Water
Oil
Salt

For tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch asafoetida
5 torn curry leaves
Oil

Method:
1. Pressure cook the tur dal with 1.5 cups water and the turmeric. When it cools down, mash completely and add 1 more cup water. Set aside.
2. In a wide bottomed pan, add a little oil and toss in the slit green chili and onions. Once the onions change color, add in the tomatoes and salt. Cook well till tomatoes are mashed.
3.  Add in the chopped sambhar veggies, coriander and chili powder and mix well. Cover and cook till the veggies are almost cooked.
4. Now add in the dal-water mixture to the cooked veggies.  Bring to boil and then reduce flame. Cover and cook for 7 minutes.
5. Add in the tamarind-masala mixture. Mix well, bring to a boil and then reduce flame. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
6. In a different small pan, add in oil and the mustard seeds. When they pop, toss in the hing and the curry leaves. Mix well and add to the boiling sambhar liquid.
7. Turn off heat and cover the sambhar dish with the lid. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes.
8. Adjust for salt and server hot with rice or idlis or dosa.

Like I said, yummy!

Pav Bhaji

S is usually not a fan of north Indian food (I am). However, pav bhaji (pav is the bread and bhaji refers to the veggie side dish) is an exception. Both of us enjoy it. I picked up a lovely recipe from here. The prep time is on the higher side since there is so much chopping to do. But the delicious end result and the high veggie quotient of the dish makes it worthwhile.

Here is my slightly adapted version of the recipe.

Pav Bhaji 

Pav Bhaji

Ingredients (enough for 5-6 people):
1 medium capsicum, minced
4 medium tomatoes, boiled, peel discarded, and pureed in a mixer
1 medium cauliflower, roughly chopped into florets
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes.
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into cubes
15 green beans, stringed and chpped into small pieces
1/2 cup green peas, (cooked for 5 mins if raw, or just defrost if frozen)
1.5 tbsp pav bhaji masala
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1.5 tbsp butter (add more if you are up to it - the end result will taste even better)
1 long green chili, slit and chopped into six pieces
Oil
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Pressure cook the cauliflower, potatoes, carrot and green beans with turmeric and just enough water to cover. Once the pressure comes down, mash the veggies using a dal masher (or the back of a wide serving spoon).
2. In a wide pan, add enough oil to coat. Add in the green chili pieces and the ginger garlic paste. Stir fry till the ginger-garlic paste starts losing its raw smell.
3. Add in the capsicum pieces, salt and continue to stir fry till the capsicum is cooked through. You can use a dal-masher to mash the pieces if you would like the bhaji's consistency to be very smooth smooth
4. Add the peas and mix well.
5. Add in the pav bhaji masala, red chili powder and garam masala and stir fry for a few seconds.
6. Add in the tomato puree and butter, mix well. Close the dish and let it cook for 5 minutes till the raw smell of tomatoes is gone.
7. Now add in the mashed veggies from step one and mix well. Add a little water if necessary (the bhaji should not be runny so take care)
8. Cover and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Adjust for salt and serve hot with toasted pav.

Notes:
1. Cauliflower,capsicums and potatoes are the only "must have" vegetables. You can omit the rest if you don't have them.
2. To toast pav, heat butter (or olive oil or butter substitute - basically, some kind of fat, else the pav bhaji Gods will curse you :-P) on a skillet, place the pav so that it is coated with butter and toast.
3. Before serving the bhaji, you can add chopped onions as a garnish. A lemon wedge can also be served on the side.
4. The bhaji reheats very well. So feel free to cook it beforehand. It also survives overnight in the fridge and tastes great the next day.
5. If you like the bhaji to be spicier increase the amount of pav bhaji masala you use.