Last Friday was Vishu, one of my favorite Indian festivals. As a kid, it meant getting a lot of money from elders. It also meant yummy mom-made food - payasam, aviyal, jackfruit jam (chakka varati) and such.
This year, I decided to cook my own sadhya. The menu included Sambhar, Rasam, Aviyal, Kathrikai (egg plant) fry, mango pickle, thaamarai varuval (lotus stem fry), and paalada pradhaman (a sweet dish made from flattened rice). Oh! What a meal it was. It took me about 4 hours to make the whole spread since I was the only one washing, cleaning, skinning, cutting, marinating and cooking and there was just a single burner stove at disposal. But, it was totally worth all that effort.
Here's the recipe for the vendakai sambhar.
You will need:
5 vendakais (ladies finger) - washed and cut into long pieces. (About half your finger size)
A little more than half a cup of thoor dal.
A small lump of tamarind - soaked in 1 cup of water.
8 red chillies - broken in half
1/2 tsp - Fenugreek seeds
Salt
1/2 tsp - Mustard Seeds
3 tsps - Gingelly oil
2 Green chillies - Slit
1 pinch of hing
Fresh curry and coriander leaves - Washed
1 pinch of turmeric powder
Soak the tamarind in a cup of water and keep aside. Cook the dal in about 4 cups of water in a pressure cooker with a pinch of turmeric powder and a pinch of salt. Once done, remove the excess dal water (can be used to make rasam), mash the dal and keep aside.
Heat the vessel, pour in a few drops of oil and saute the lady's finger slightly. This will ensure that it doesn't get sticky in the sambhar. It also enhances the flavor. Keep it aside. Pour in about 3 tsps of gingelly oil in the emptied vessel. Wait till the oil is hot enough. Throw in the halved red chillies, mustard, fenugreek seeds, hing and saute till the chillies turn a dark brown (don't wait till it turns black). Throw in the green chillies.
Add few curry leaves and saute.
Add the sauteed vendakaai.
After about 30 seconds, add the tamarind water and extract one more cup of tamarind water and add that as well. Add a pinch of salt.
Take the dal, mash it really well and add to the above mixture. Leave it on for about 5 minutes, allowing it to boil or till it is thick enough for your taste. You can add a pinch of rice flour to thicken it further, but this is optional.
Add salt according to your taste and stir well.
Remove from fire, and garnish with fresh curry leaves and coriander leaves.
Tastes best with fresh cooked rice. Can also be had with fresh dosas and idlis.
Enjoy!
This year, I decided to cook my own sadhya. The menu included Sambhar, Rasam, Aviyal, Kathrikai (egg plant) fry, mango pickle, thaamarai varuval (lotus stem fry), and paalada pradhaman (a sweet dish made from flattened rice). Oh! What a meal it was. It took me about 4 hours to make the whole spread since I was the only one washing, cleaning, skinning, cutting, marinating and cooking and there was just a single burner stove at disposal. But, it was totally worth all that effort.
Here's the recipe for the vendakai sambhar.
You will need:
5 vendakais (ladies finger) - washed and cut into long pieces. (About half your finger size)
A little more than half a cup of thoor dal.
A small lump of tamarind - soaked in 1 cup of water.
8 red chillies - broken in half
1/2 tsp - Fenugreek seeds
Salt
1/2 tsp - Mustard Seeds
3 tsps - Gingelly oil
2 Green chillies - Slit
1 pinch of hing
Fresh curry and coriander leaves - Washed
1 pinch of turmeric powder
Soak the tamarind in a cup of water and keep aside. Cook the dal in about 4 cups of water in a pressure cooker with a pinch of turmeric powder and a pinch of salt. Once done, remove the excess dal water (can be used to make rasam), mash the dal and keep aside.
Heat the vessel, pour in a few drops of oil and saute the lady's finger slightly. This will ensure that it doesn't get sticky in the sambhar. It also enhances the flavor. Keep it aside. Pour in about 3 tsps of gingelly oil in the emptied vessel. Wait till the oil is hot enough. Throw in the halved red chillies, mustard, fenugreek seeds, hing and saute till the chillies turn a dark brown (don't wait till it turns black). Throw in the green chillies.
Add few curry leaves and saute.
Add the sauteed vendakaai.
After about 30 seconds, add the tamarind water and extract one more cup of tamarind water and add that as well. Add a pinch of salt.
Take the dal, mash it really well and add to the above mixture. Leave it on for about 5 minutes, allowing it to boil or till it is thick enough for your taste. You can add a pinch of rice flour to thicken it further, but this is optional.
Add salt according to your taste and stir well.
Remove from fire, and garnish with fresh curry leaves and coriander leaves.
Tastes best with fresh cooked rice. Can also be had with fresh dosas and idlis.
Enjoy!
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