Sambar is a flavorful lentil based stew with assorted vegetables. Indian spices, tamarind and coconut gives a nice flavor to sambar. You can use homemade or store bought sambar powder for this recipe.

             You can use 2 or more vegetables in sambar as per your wish. Vegetables that can be used in sambar are potato, carrot, radish, drumstick, brinjal, arvi, pumpkin, cauliflower, shallot, okra, bottle gourd, etc... Today I have used carrot, radish and drumstick.

             The sambar recipe, I am about to share goes well with idli, dosa, rave dosa, pongal, chapati, etc... This Arachuvitta sambar is good with tiffin items than with rice.

Prep time: 20 mins         Cook time: 30 mins      Waiting time: 25 mins       Serves: 9-10

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Toor dal
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric
• 1/4 tsp Asafoetida
• A lemon size Tamarind
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Urad dal
• 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds
• 1 medium Onion (Slice thinly lengthwise)
• 1 large Tomato / 2 small Tomato (Chopped finely)
• 1 cup Assorted Vegetables
• Few Curry leaves
• 3-4 tsp Sambar powder
• 1 tbsp Oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp Chopped Coriander leaves

To sauté and grind

• 1 tsp Oil
• 3 Pearl Onions
• 2 tsp Coriander seeds 
• 1 tbsp Coconut

Procedure

1. Wash dal and soak them for 15 minutes. Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup warm water and extract tamarind water.

2. Take dal in a cooker, add 2 and 1/2 cup water, 1/4 tsp turmeric and asafoetida.

3. After a whistle, lower the flame for 5-7 minutes and switch off.

4. When pressure releases, open the cooker, add salt and mash the dal nicely.

5. Heat a pan with oil. Add mustard and when it sputters, add urad dal, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves and onion. Sauté 4-5 minutes.

6. Add tomato. Sauté for 3 minutes.

7. Add vegetables and sauté for a minute.

8. Add Salt, half of sambar powder and remaining turmeric powder. Sauté for a minute.

9. Add the sautéed vegetables to the dal. Add tamarind extract and remaining sambar powder to the dal. Allow it to boil. Add water if necessary.

10. Close the cooker. Switch off the flame after a whistle.

11. Heat oil in the pan. Add pearl onions, coriander seeds and coconut. Sauté until coconut turns light brown. Let it cool down

12. Grind it into a smooth paste.

13. Add the ground paste into the sambar. Add enough water and let it boil for 2 minutes.

14. Sambar is ready... Garnish with coriander leaves while serving...

                   Poorna Kozhukattai is offerd to Lord Ganesha on Vinayakar Chaturthi and even on monthly Chaturthi. There are many kozhukattai recipes but poorna kozhukattai made with coconut is the traditional kozhukattai. It's a tasty and yummy dish.

Prep time: 25 mins      Cook time: 25 mins      Yields: 20-22

Ingredients

• 1 cup Rice flour / Idiyappam flour
• 1 cup Shredded Coconut
• 1 cup Shredded Jaggery
• 2 Cardamom pods (Crushed)
• A pinch of Salt
• 2 & 1/2 cup Water

Procedure

1. In a medium heat dissolve jaggery in 1/2 cup water.

2. When jaggery is dissoved, strain it for impurities.

3. Boil the jaggery syrup for 2 minutes, and then add coconut and cardamom. Mix it well.

4. Cook for 5 minutes or until the poornam is thick.

5. Add salt to the flour. And boil 2 cup water in a pan.

6. Add boiling water to the flour. (As much as water your flour needs, I used 1 2/3 cup water)

7. Use spatula to mix the flour and then with your hand, form a soft dough.

8. Grease the idli plates and your hand.

9. Take a small portion of dough and flatten in your hand.

10. Keep a small portion of poornam in the dough.

11. Bring all the sides to top, close and form kozhakattai.

12. You can also close the kozhukattai from one side to the other side.

13. Repeat it with remaining dough and poornam.

14. Place the kozhukattai in greased idli plate.

15. Steam the kozhukattai for 10 minutes.

16. Kozhukattai is ready... Offer to Lord Ganesha and enjoy Vinayakar Chaturthi with kozhukattai.

Check more kozhukattai recipes here.

                  Another kozhukattai recipe.. This time its Inippu pidi Kozhukattai... It is a similar version of my previous Karupatti pidi kozhukattai. It is a sweet pidi kozhukattai with jaggery which is tasty and easy to prepare.

Prep time: 15 mins     Cook time: 10-15 mins     Yields: 12

Ingredients

• 1 cup Rice flour / Idiyappam flour
• 1 cup Shredded Jaggery
• 3/4 cup Water
• A pinch of Salt
• 1 Cardamom (Crushed)

Procedure

1. Soak Jaggery in water.

2. Fry the flour in a dry pan for 3 minutes.

3. Boil the jaggery. Add cardamom and let it boil for another minute.

4. Strain the jaggery for impurities.

5. Add salt to flour and then add jaggery syrup.

6. Syrup would be hot, so use a spatula to combine it.

7. With the hand, knead into a dough.

8. Let 2 cups water boil in cooker.

9. Grease your palm and idli plates. 

10. Take small portion of dough, press it as dumplings and place in greased idli plates.

11. Place the idli stand inside the cooker and close the cooker with the lid. Take the pressure regulator (cooker weight) from the lid before closing the cooker. Steam the kozhukattai for 6-7 minutes.

12. Inippu Pidi Kozhukattai is ready...

• If you are using store bought idiyappam flour, then you can use it directly in the recipe. 

• If you are using rice flour, then fry it in dry pan for three minutes before using in the recipe as shown above.

• You can make jaggery syrup in stove top or in microwave. (If making in microwave, check it every 30 seconds)

• Always have 1/2 cup boiling water in the side while forming the dough. If you feel dough needs more water, use boiling water. Do not use normal water to knead dough. 

• Dough should be soft and little sticky.

• You can add 1 tbsp of shredded coconut to the flour. You can also use palm jaggery instead of jaggery in this recipe. You can see Karupatti Pidi Kozhukattai recipe here . Check this link for other Kozhukattai recipe.

                        Yet another recipe for Vinayagar Chaturthi, Paal Kozhukattai...Yay.... Paal kozhukattai is a delicious recipe made with simple ingredients. It is an authentic South Indian recipe. Kozhukattai is cooked in coconut milk and jaggery/sugar with cardamom to give a nice flavor.

Prep time: 45-60 mins     Cook time: 15-20 mins       Serves: 8-10

Ingredients 

• 1 cup Rice flour/ Idiyappam flour 
• 1 1/2 - 2 cup Water
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 cup 1st batch Coconut milk 
• 1 1/2 cup 2nd batch Coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cup 3rd batch Coconut milk
• 1 cup Sugar 
• 2 Cardamom 

Procedure 

1. Filter the coconut milk with a tiny hole strainer .

2. Add salt to flour.

3. Boil the water. (I used 1 1/2 cup water)

4. Add the boiling water to the flour. Mix it with a spatula. Then use your hand to form a dough.

5. Grease your hand and roll the dough into small balls. (Pea size)

6. Boil the 3rd batch coconut milk.

7. Add the kozhukattai into the boiling milk. Do not overcrowd kozhukattai. You can cook them in batches, so that they don't stick to each other.

8. Let it boil for 3 minutes.

9. Take kozhukattai from the milk and keep it separately. 

10. Cook the next batch in boiling coconut milk for 3 minutes. (By this time coconut milk would be too thick)

11. When all kozhukattai are cooked, add sugar, 2nd batch coconut milk, cooked kozhukattai to the boiling milk. (As my pan was small, I changed to a larger pan)

12. Cook for 3-4 minutes.

13. Before it starts boiling, add 1st batch coconut milk and cardamom. Cook for 2 more minutes and switch off.

14. Paal kozhukattai is ready to serve...

• Coconut milk should be strained nicely, so that there are no solids present in it.

• If coconut milk contain solids, then your paal kozhukattai will be a mess.

• You should not boil the 1st or 2nd batch coconut milk.

• You can use shredded jaggery instead of sugar.

• To know the procedure for extracting coconut milk, check this link.

                 Coconut milk and coconut paste are easy to prepare at home. You can use shredded coconut or cut piece coconut. Coconut milk can be refrigerated for about 2 days. 

Ingredients

• Coconut
• Water

Procedure

~ To form Coconut paste, Grind 1 cup coconut with 2/3 cup water .

~ To collect Coconut Milk, Grind 1 cup coconut with 1 cup water and strain it. (1st batch milk)

~ Few recipes may require 2nd batch milk and 3rd batch milk . In that case, take the remains in the strainer into the blender and add 1 cup water to it. Grind it and strain again. You can notice the milk is not as thick as 1st batch milk.

~ Repeat the previous step for 3rd batch milk.

Only 1st batch milk is extracted and used mostly. Depending upon the recipe,  2nd batch milk and 3rd batch milk are extracted.