Kongunadu Murungakkaai Sambar | Drumstick Sambar from Kongunaad Cuisine

It rained like crazy last evening.We were enjoying a piping hot bowl of Cream of Tomato Soup with a couple of toasts when the rain started.Then it continued steadily through the night. Winds were howling at high velocity and just as expected the power supply shut off. We were thankful that we had alternate backup. Things went on smoothly and we waited for the power supply to resume. But at 1am when the alternate power source gave up, we knew there was some major problem. Today morning when we opened the front door, the place looked like it was hit by a tornado. Leaves, twigs, branches and all sorts of rubbish lay scattered around.

The only consolation is that the temperature is much cooler now. The last few weeks were so hot that I thought I could just keep a pan of batter in the kitchen and it would get baked by itself!!!

The morning paper carried the news that almost the entire city was engulfed in darkness. Large number of trees had been uprooted and some of them fell over the power grids disrupting the power supply. After 20 hours, powder supply resumed and I am here presenting my post for the day....

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Here is  is a tasty recipe that my friend [who has lived all her life in Kongunad region]shared with me. This can be served as a side dish with any breakfast items or with steamed rice for lunch.This dish was a part of the meal that was served in the Kongunad breakfast thali

 

 You need:

Drumstick – 2 ,cut into 3” pieces

Toor dal – 1 cup

Tomato -1

Pearl onion- a handful, peeled

Tamarind extract- less than ¼ cup

Coriander powder- 1 teaspoon

Green chilli -2,split
Red chilli -1 

Mustard seeds-1 teaspoon

Curry leaves a few

Oil -1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Roast and powder for spice mix

Channa dal – 1 teaspoon

Urad dal – 1 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds -1/4 teaspoon

Red chillies - 2

1. Pressure cook toor dal and tomato together with enough water.
2. When the pressure releases and the dal is cool enough to handle, mash it.Do not drain the excess water from the dal.
3.  Remove the skin from the tomato and mash it roughly. Keep these two aside
4. Meanwhile cook the drumstick till almost done. You can do this separately in the pressure cooker or in the microwave. If it is cooked with dal, the drumstick will split. So it should be cooked separately for a short time.
5. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard,red chilli and curry leaves.
6. When the mustard splutters, put in pearl onion and green chillies.
7. Saute till onion is soft.
8. Add the tamarind extract and bring to a boil
9. Simmer and add the coriander powder. Add a little water if the mixture is too thick.
10. When it comes to a rolling boil, add the spice mix and mix well.
11. Put in the mashed dal ,tomato,drumstick and salt.Add water if the sambar is very thick.
12. Simmer and cook for 5 minutes.Remove from heat and it is ready to be served

Note :

The green chili that I used was a little ripe, hence the orange/red color in the click :)

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Bon Appetit...