Moong Dal/ Payatham Paruppu/ Green Gram Sambar

          When I make idlis or dosas, the standard side dish that I make with it, is either some kind of a chutney or sambar. The sambar that we make for tiffins is slightly different from the ones that we make for rice, we add very little or no tamarind at all. I make two varieties of sambar, the one using tuvar dal/ split pigeon peas is here and the other one is, using moong dal/ husked, split green gram, which is today's post. Both are equally delicious and when had with idlis and dosas make a complete meal. I don't add any sambar powder to this sambar, it gets its taste and flavor only from the fresh green chillies, coriander leaves and curry leaves, it has a fresh taste and very easy to make too..

Need To Have

• Moong Dal/ Husked Split Green Gram - 1/2 cup
• Small Onions/ Shallots - 1/2 cup, peeled
• Tomatoes - 3 medium, chopped
• Carrot - 1/4 cup, chopped
• Fresh Green Beans - 1/2 cup, chopped
• Small Eggplants - 2 diced
• Green Chillies - 8
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/ Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 15
• Chopped Coriander Leaves - 1/2 cup

Method

          Cook the moong dal with the turmeric powder till well cooked but not mushy. Heat some oil, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds. When it starts spluttering, add the onions, green chillies and asafoetida and saute for 2 minutes. Then add the beans, carrots, eggplants and saute for another 2 minutes.

          Then add the chopped tomatoes and mix for another minute. Then add the salt and 1 cup of water, cover and cook till the vegetables are done. Now add the cooked dal and another 1/2 cup water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Finally add the curry leaves and coriander leaves, mix and remove. Serve it hot with idlis and dosas.

Note
Use sour tomatoes.
Chop the shallots into two, if they are too big.
You can do the sambar with only the onions, leaving out the vegetables.
You can cook the moong dal in the pressure cooker along with some salt and turmeric powder, so that it doesn't turn mushy.

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Mushroom And Baby Corn Kuzhambu ( Curry )

          Till now, whenever I got mushrooms and baby corns, I had either prepared curries separately with each of them, or used them in fried rice or noodles, but never had I tried a kuzhambu with it. I tasted this at a restaurant, prepared in the Chettinad style, along with garlic, black pepper and coconut. I loved this curry and wanted to try it at home, the next time I had mushrooms and baby corn. This kuzhambu/ curry goes very well with rice, rotis, idlis and dosas, very easy to prepare and very flavorful, if you like garlic and pepper flavors, then you'll love this..

Need To Have

• Baby Bella Mushrooms - 16 oz
• Baby Corns - 8, diced into1" pieces
• Onion - 1 medium, chopped
• Garlic - 5 cloves, grated
• Grated Ginger - 1 teaspoon
• Tomatoes - 2 medium, pureed
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 2 teaspoons
• Black Pepper Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Fennel Seeds - 1 teaspoon, crushed
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Salt - to taste

To Grind

• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon, packed
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Method

          Heat some oil, add the crushed fennel seeds, when it starts sizzling, add the onions, grated ginger and garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, till the raw smell of garlic goes away.

          Then add the tomato puree, red chilly, turmeric and coriander powders, 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper powder and salt and saute fro another 2 minutes. Now add the baby corn and mushrooms, mix for 2 more minutes, add 1/4 cup water, cover and cook for 5 minutes.

          In the meantime, grind the coconut and fenugreek seeds into a smooth paste. Add this paste to the cooked baby corn and mushroom, along with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of pepper powder. Mix, simmer it on reduced heat for 5 minutes. Garnish with the curry leaves and serve warm with rice or rotis.

Note
If the mushrooms are small, keep it whole, otherwise dice into big pieces.
If it's difficult to grind the fenugreek seeds, you can add fenugreek powder to the coconut and grind.
Can reduce or increase the pepper powder depending on your spice level.

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Sundakkai Kuzhambu/ Turkey Berry Gravy

          Sundakkai/ Turkey Berry is widely used in South Indian cuisine, especially in the Tamil kitchen, we use both, the fresh berries and the preserved dried ones known as Sundaikkai Vathal. While googling I also read that it's used in Thai cooking too. While growing up in India, I wouldn't even think of eating this vegetable, but after marriage and moving to the US, I started missing it, we hardly found them on the East Coast, I could have only the dried ones that I got from India. It's available on the West coast in some farmers markets. Now that I am back in India, I get plenty of these fresh berries, there are a few dishes that we make with it, today's is the Sundakkai Kuzhambu. The tamarind extract and the jaggery used balances the slight bitter taste of these berries, it tastes awesome when served with some hot white rice..

Need To Have

• Sundakkai/ Turkey Berries - 1 cup
• Onion - 1 medium, chopped
• Tomato - 1 medium, chopped
• Tamarind - lemon sized ball
• Sambar Powder - 3 teaspoons
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Salt - to taste

To Grind

• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon
• White Poppy Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Shallots - 2
• Jaggery - 1 teaspoon

Method

          Grind together all the ingredients given under ' to grind '. Soak the tamarind in 1 cup hot water, when the water is cold enough to handle, squeeze the tamarind well and strain. Repeat with another cup of water (room temperature).

          The berries come with a small stalk at one end, remove that and slice it halfway into two, as shown in the picture and keep it soaked in water.

          Heat some oil, add the mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the fenugreek seeds, followed by the curry leaves, asafoetida and the chopped onions. Saute for a minute, then add the sundaakkai and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.

          Then add the chopped tomatoes and saute for 2 more minutes, till the tomatoes turn mushy. Add the turmeric, sambar powder and salt and mix well. Then add the tamarind extract, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and cook on medium for about 10 minutes.

          Now add the ground paste, mix well, if too thick, add a little water, when it starts boiling, reduce the heat and cook uncovered for about 5 to 10 minutes, till oil starts to float on the top. Garnish with more curry leaves, switch off and serve.

Note
Soak the poppy seeds in a little warm water, then grind to get a smooth paste.
You can replace sambar powder with 1 teaspoon chilli powder and 2 teaspoons coriander powder.
You can do the same kuzhambu, replacing the turkey berries with eggplant, cooked chickpeas, bitter gourd or even with potatoes.

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Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu/ Lentil Balls In Tomato Coconut Gravy

          The last few days have proved to me, how much I am attached to my blog, I had lost my internet connection last Saturday and got it back just an hour back, I felt so lost without it. Though I have taken breaks from blogging, this is the first time I was forced to do it because of this internet problem, made me so sulky and irritated. Coming to today's dish, Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu, basically it's deep fried lentil balls in a tomato-coconut gravy. There are a couple of versions of this, I follow my mother's recipe, the lentil balls soaked in the gravy tastes so delicious, simply love it with some plain rice or even as a side dish for idlis, dosas or rotis, a must try dish..

Need To Have
For the Urundais/ Lentil Balls

• Chana Dal/ Bengal Gram - 1 cup
• Dried Red Chillies - 3
• Fennel Seeds - 2 teaspoons
• Onion - 1 medium, chopped
• Chopped Coriander Leaves - 1/4 cup
• Curry Leaves - 10, roughly torn into small pieces
• Salt - to taste

For The Gravy

• Onion - 1 medium chopped
• Tomatoes - 2 big chopped
• Garlic - 5 cloves
• Grated Ginger - 1 tablespoon
• Green Chillies - 2
• Tamarind - a small marble size
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Red Chilli Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 3 teaspoons
• Cinnamon  - 1" stick
• Cloves - 2, coarsely crushed
• Fennel Seeds - Coarsely Pounded , 2 teaspoons
• Chopped Coriander Leaves - 2 tablespoons
• Curry Leaves - 10

To Grind

• Grated Coconut - 3 tablespoons
• Cashews - 5

Method
To Prepare The Urundais

          Soak the chana dal/ bengal gram for 2 hours and grind it with the red chillies and fennel seeds without adding any water ( using the pulse button in the blender).

          To this, add the chopped onions, coriander, curry leaves and salt and mix it. Make lemon sized balls with it.

          Heat some oil for deep frying. Add the lentil balls, five or more at a time (depending on the amount of oil you are using for deep frying) and deep fry them. Don't wait for it to turn brown, remove it when you see it changing into a light golden color. Drain and keep them.

To Prepare The Gravy
          Grind the grated coconut and cashews and keep. Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup hot water, extract the juice and keep.

          Heat some oil, add the crushed fennel seeds, cinnamon and cloves. When it starts sizzling, add the chopped onions, green chilli, garlic and ginger, saute for 2 minutes till the onion turns pink in color.

          Now add the tomatoes and saute till it turns mushy. Then add the turmeric, chilli and coriander powders and mix for a minute. Add the tamarind extract and about 2 cups of water, salt, bring it to a boil and simmer it for 5 minutes.

          Now add the ground coconut-cashew paste and boil it for a couple of minutes. At this stage, add the deep fried lentil balls/ urundais and simmer for another 2 or 3 minutes. Add the chopped coriander and curry leaves and switch off. Leave it for 5 to 10 minutes for the balls to soak in the gravy, then serve it.

Note
If you fry the lentil balls too much, they will not soak up the gravy.
When you add the fried balls at the end, the gravy should be slightly thin, otherwise, once the urundais soak the gravy, it'll be really thick and without any gravy left.
Though I used 1 cup chana dal, I made only 15 balls and used in the gravy, the remaining I saved up for making vadais.
If you make more urundais, increase the gravy.
Can leave out the tamarind and use only tomatoes for this gravy, add one more small tomato or a tablespoon of crushed tomatoes instead of the tamarind.
Can double the amount of coconut for a much more richer gravy.

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Vendakkai Moru Kuzhambu/ Okra Stew With Buttermilk

          Moru Kuzhambu or Buttermilk Stew is a very popular dish in Southern India, of course next to the 'sambar'. I do two different versions, one is this and the other one is the already posted Kerala Style More Kuzhambu which tastes completely different. Coming to today's one, it's usually prepared using lady's finger/okra or ash gourd or even with vadas/lentil fritters. The buttermilk used is slightly sour, replacing the tomatoes or tamarind which are usually used as the souring agents, but I don't like the buttermilk to be too sour. You can even use the store-bought one, it tastes really good..

Need To Have

• Okra/Lady's Finger - 15, diced into 1" pieces
• Yogurt - 11/2 cup
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Dried Red Chilly - 1
• Curry Leaves - 10

To Grind

• Tuvar Dal/ Split Pigeon Peas - 11/2 teaspoon
• Coriander Seeds - 11/2 tablespoon
• Cumin Seeds - 11/2 teaspoon
• Chopped Ginger - 1 tablespoon
• Green Chillies - 4 or 5 depending on spice level
• Cashews - 4
• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon

Method

          Soak the tuvar dal for an hour and grind it with all the ingredients given under 'to grind'. Heat some oil, add the okra pieces, saute on medium heat, till it looses the sliminess and is cooked, add a little salt towards to the end. Mix the ground paste,yogurt and keep.

         Once again heat some oil, add the mustard seeds, once it starts spluttering, add the fenugreek seeds, red chilly and asafoetida, mix and then add the curry leaves. Saute for a few seconds, add the already sauteed okra and mix.

          Add the yoghurt mixture, salt and 1/2 cup of water, once it starts bubbling and getting ready to boil, switch off. Serve it warm with rice.

Note
I prefer sauteing the okra separately, you can add it after the curry leaves, saute it, add a little water and cook.
If using buttermilk, then reduce the amount of water added or do not add water, yogurt is more thicker, so I have added around 1/2 cup.
Also, do not let it to boil, then the yogurt would start to curdle, so switch off immediately, when you see it bubbling.
Also you can increase the amount of coconut to 2 or 3 tablespoons.

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Manathakkali Keerai Kuzhambu/ Black Nightshade Greens Gravy

          Manathakkali Keerai, also known as Black Nightshade is a variety of greens, widely used in South Indian cuisine. Like most of the greens, it has many medicinal benefits and known for treating mouth ulcers and asthma. Both the leaves and seeds are used for cooking, especially the seeds, they are preserved and known as 'manathakkali vathal', which has a good shelf-life. The green leaves when cooked has a slight bitter taste, so usually it's cooked with coconut to balance it. I tried out this gravy with coconut and tamarind, it tasted very good when mixed with rice, try it out if you can find this greens, or otherwise you can do the same gravy with regular spinach or other greens available in your region..

Need To Have

• Manathakkali Keerai - cleaned and chopped, 2 cups
• Tamarind - small lemon size
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Roast And Grind

• Dried Red Chillies - 5
• Chana Dal/Bengal Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Coriander Seeds - 1 tablespoon
• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Method

          Roast all the ingredients given under 'roast and grind' except coconut, switch off and add the coconut and mix, cool and grind this to a fine paste. Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of hot water, when it cold enough to handle, squeeze out the pulp and strain it, then add another cup of water and squeeze out the juice, strain and keep, you'll have about 2 cups of tamarind extract. Heat some oil, add the urad dal and the mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the asafoetida followed by the chopped greens.

          Add the turmeric powder, salt and the tamarind extract, bring it to a boil, cover and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes, till the greens is cooked. Now add the ground paste, mix and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove and serve it with rice.

Note
Just remove the leaves and seeds and discard the stem.
If you're doing the gravy with regular spinach, reduce the tamarind to half the amount, because regular spinach does not have the slight bitter taste of manathakkali.
I found the 1 tablespoon grated coconut enough, but if you need a thicker gravy, can increase the amount of coconut.
You can do the same gravy with any greens or vegetable that has a slight bitter taste, the final gravy tastes very good without the bitter taste.

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Idli Sambar/ Tiffin Sambar/ Vegetable Lentil Stew

          Sambar is basically a stew like preparation made with lentils and vegetables. In South India, we make many varieties of this sambar, most of the times, flavored with home made sambar powder, and the different vegetables added to the sambar giving it a unique flavor. Then we make sambars with freshly ground paste along with coconut and then this idli or tiffin sambar. The main difference between the sambars that we mix with rice and the sambars that we have with our tiffins like idlis, dosas and vadas is the former is more tangier than the latter. I make this sambar with sambar powder, but I add ground fresh spices at the end for the extra flavor, this also goes well with the Ulundu Vadais/ Black Gram Fritters that I had posted earlier..

Need to Have

• Tuvar Dal/ Split Pigeon Peas - 1/2 cup
• Onion - 1 medium chopped
• Carrot - 1 medium, chopped
• Eggplant/ Brinjal - 1 small, chopped
• Fresh Or Frozen Green Peas - 1/4 cup
• Tomatoes - 3 medium, chopped
• Turmeric Powder - a little more than 1/4 teaspoon
• Sambar Powder - 3 teaspoons
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10 - 15
• Coriander Leaves - 1/4 cup, chopped
• Salt - to taste

Roast And Powder

• Black Peppercorns - 3/4 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander Seeds - 1 tablespoon

Method

          Roast the ingredients given under 'roast and grind', till slightly golden and powder it. Pressure cook the tuvar dal with the turmeric powder, mash it slightly and keep. Heat some oil, add the mustard and cumin seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the asafoetida, followed by the onions.

          Saute it till it turns pink, then add the carrot, eggplant and the peas. Saute for a minute, then add the tomatoes, keep mixing for 2 minutes. Now add 2 cups of water, the sambar powder and salt, cover and cook on medium heat, till the vegetables get cooked.

          Then add the cooked dal, mix, add a little water if it's too thick, also add the ground spice powder, mix and bring everything to a boil. Simmer it for a couple of minutes, then add the chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves and switch off. Serve it hot with idli, dosas or vadas.

Note
You can cook the tuvar dal in a regular pot, the cooking time is longer, soak it for some time to speed up the cooking.
If you don't have sambar powder, then you can replace it with a teaspoon of red chilly powder, a teaspoon of coriander powder, ready made sambar powder is available in Indian grocery stores.
You can also add other vegetables like green capsicum, cauliflower to this sambar.

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Cucumber Peas Kuzhambu/Gravy

          I was cleaning my refrigerator, I had some odd vegetables, I wanted to make a Kuzhambu or gravy to go with rice and I had this cucumber which needed to be finished off that day. I have made kootus (dal and vegetable) with it, but never tried a kuzhambu with it. I tried out this gravy, adding some freshly ground masala ,and  also some fresh peas for color, the final result was really good. This curry tasted good not only with rice but would have tasted great with rotis too..

Need To Have

• Diced Cucumber - 1 1/2 cups
• Fresh Peas - 1/2 cup
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Tomatoes - 2 medium
• Curry Leaves - 10

To Grind

• Dried Red Chillies - 5
• Coriander Seeds - 1 tablespoon
• Black Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon

Method

          Microwave or cook the green peas and blend the tomatoes and keep. Also grind all the ingredients given under to grind into a fine paste.

          Heat some oil, add the mustard, cumin seeds, once it starts spluttering add the fenugreek seeds and the asafoetida followed by the cucumber pieces and saute it for about 2 minutes.

          Then add the tomato puree and saute till it thickens. Then add the ground pasted along with salt and turmeric powder and mix.

          Add about 1 and a half a cup of water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 7 or 8 minutes. Finally add the green peas and the curry leaves, cook for 2 more minutes. Serve it warm with rice or rotis.

Note
You can add more coconut and make the dish still more richer, I found this enough for us.
I have peeled the cucumber, you can add it with the skin.
Also can replace green peas with some cooked chickpeas.
If the final curry is too thick, add some water and cook.
I cooked the green peas separately to retain the green color, you can cook it along with the cucumber.

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Kathrikkai Kuzhambu/Eggplant Gravy

          Kuzhambus are a nice variation to the regular sambars and when grouped with rice and some kootu (dal/lentil and vegetable prepration) they make a very tasty and complete meal. I make them at least once a week, and one of the best vegetables to be used in it is the brinjal/eggplant/aubergine which is also a house favorite. This Eggplant Gravy also goes well with idlis and dosas and you can also have it with rotis and last but not the least (in fact the best) with some thayir saadam (curd rice). I've also added some boiled peanuts, which gives an extra taste to this dish..

Need To Have

• Brinjals/Eggplants - 12 small ones
• Shallots/Small Onions - 1/4 cup
• Tomato - 1 medium chopped
• Tamarind - small lemon size
• Boiled Peanuts - 1/2 cup
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 15

To Grind

• Dried Red Chilly - 1
• Black Pepper Corns - 1 teaspoon
• Coriander Seeds - 1 tablespoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon

Method
          Remove the tough stem part from the back of the eggplant and slit it twice (like the '+' sign), the slits just going to the other end but not fully, the eggplants should remain whole. Soak the tamarind in hot water (about 1/2 cup), squeeze out the juice, add another cup and repeat, so you have about a cup of tamarind extract.

          Roast all the ingredients given under 'to grind' with a drop of oil, switch off and mix in the coconut, cool and grind it to a smooth paste.

          Heat some oil, add the urad dal, mustard seeds, when the mustard seeds start spluttering add the fenugreek seeds and asfoetida powder, followed immediately by the shallots. Saute till it turns pink, then add the eggplants and saute for another 2 or 3 minutes.

          Now add the tomatoes and keep mixing till it turns mushy. Then add the tamarind extract, salt and turmeric powder, once it starts boiling reduce the heat, cover and cook for about 5 minutes till the eggplants are almost done. Now add the ground paste, cook for another 2 minutes.

Finally add the curry leaves and the boiled peanuts and cook for a minute more and serve it warm with some rice and pappads.

Note 
Raw peanuts are readily available, just pressure cook them with water and salt, cooking time is about 8 or 9 minutes.
If small eggplants are not available, you can still do this with the big ones or with any variety that's available, just dice them into big pieces.

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