SAMBHAR RESTAURANT STYLE (HOTEL SAMBHAR)
(from Nandini’s recipe box)
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves 5 people
Categories: Side dish for Idli/Dosa, sambar/Curry/Huli
Ingredients
- Toor dhal - 1 cup
- Tamarind - a lemon sized ball
- Pearl onions - 1/2 cup
- Tomato - 1
- Salt - as per taste
- Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp.
- Sambhar powder - 1 tablespoon
- Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp.
- Hing
- Oil
- Curry leaves - few
- Coriander leaves - few
- To fry in oil & grind to a paste:
- Coriander seeds - 2 tablespoons
- Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp.
- Chenna dal( to be fried) or Pottukadalai( need not be fried) - 1 tsp.
- Poppy seeds - 1/4 tsp.
- Dry red chillies - 2
- The trick lies in grinding the pearl onions raw alongwith the given ingredients.
- Pearl onions - 6(raw)
- Scraped coconut - 2 tablespoons
Directions
-
Pressure toor dhal with turmeric powder, mash well and keep aside.
-
Soak tamarind in lukewarm water and extract juice.
-
In a kadai, heat a spoon of oil and fry the items given in “To fry in oil and grind to a paste” (except pearl onions and scraped coconut) till golden brown. Add scraped coconut and raw pearl onions to it and grind to a thick paste using little water.
-
In the same kadai, heat oil, add mustard seeds, when they splutter, add curry leaves and pearl onions alongwith a pinch of salt and hing. Saute till translucent. Now add the chopped tomatoes, sambhar powder, required amount of salt, and tamarind extract. Allow it to boil. Now, add the mashed toor dhal and ground paste. Let it boil till the raw smell is diffused and semi – thick. Transfer it to a bowl. Hotel sambhar is ready at home.