Sambar | South Indian Style Sambar

Many of you have been requesting me for a sambar recipe, so today I'm going to show you a very tasty and simple drumstick brinjal sambar i.e. murungakka kathirika sambar south Indian style. Let's get started and check out the recipe. Take half cup of toor dal and wash it. Add enough water to pressure cook the dal. Add the dal. To this add quarter tsp of turmeric powder. Pressure cook the dal for about 4-5 whistles on medium flame. Keep the dal aside. Next for the sambar powder, heat a pan, add 1 tbsp of chana dal, 1 tbsp urad dal and roast them. Add 2 tbsp of coriander seeds, 1 tbsp of cumin seeds and roast them. Next add quarter tsp of fenugreek seeds, 1 tsp of peppercorns and roast them again along with 10 red chillies. Dry roast all the ingredients till they turn golden in color. Add quarter cup of desiccated coconut, you can also use freshly grated coconut. Roast it and keep it aside to cool. Transfer the ingredients to a mixer jar, grind it to a nice fine powder. The sambar powder is ready, keep it aside. Heat a kadai with some oil. Add 1 tsp of urad dal, 1 tsp chana dal, half tsp mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add 2 red chillies, quarter tsp of asafoetida powder and a few curry leaves. Add 20 shallots and saute them nicely. When the shallots have turned to a nice golden color, add 2 large tomatoes finely chopped. Saute them for about 5 minutes. Next add 6-7 brinjals cut into pieces, 1 large drumstick cut into pieces and mix all the vegetables together. Add 1 tsp of salt, quarter tsp of turmeric powder and mix well. After about 5 minutes, add 1 cup of diluted tamarind puree. Then add 1 cup of water and let it boil for about 10-15 minutes. Once the tamarind puree is thickening, add the cooked dal and add another 2 cups of water and mix it well. Now add 2 tbsp of sambar powder and bring it to a boil. If you need to add more sambar powder, you can add another extra tbsp. Let it boil for about 5 minutes. Finally add some chopped coriander leaves and turn off the stove and serve it nice and hot with some steamed rice. This is the first edition of the home cooking book on 21st century Indian cooking.