Ulli( small onion ) Saambaar(s) ~ 

Ulli( small onion ) Saambaar(s) ~

This Saambaar [ Sambar ] is regularly made in our house.  Many hotels make it too . I don’t eat onion so an alternate capsicum/ tomatoe samabar is made for me.  

Vegetables ~  

ulli {chinna vengayam} (saffola)  [small onions]    

This is a small-onion sambar . But  other possibilities include using small amounts of the following vegetables as a part of eternal experimentation  

beetroot

and/or

carrots ~

and / or

capsicum

and/ or 

vendakkaaya {vendakkai} ( bindi ) [ lady’s finger ]  

and/ or

kathirikkaaya {kathirakkai} ( baingan) [ brinjal ]  ~ 

 and/ or

muringakkaaya { muringakkai } (sangan phali) [ drumstick ]  ~ 

with the small onions!    

tovara-parippu { tuvara-parippu } ( tuvar-dal)[ arhar dal ]  [yellow split bean ] ~  200 gms roughly one normal(!) tumbler [ medium cup ]

puli { puli} (imli )  [ tamarind ]  One small lemon sized ball ( to be dissolved in water )

Manjal Podi { manja podi }  (haldi) [ turmeric powder] ~ !/2 teaspoon

perumkaayam { perungaayam} ( hing ) [ asofetida ] ~ 1/2 teaspoon powder or a smal pinch dissolved in water

kaduku  { kadugu } (sansoon) [ mustard seeds]  ~ two teaspoons

kariveppela { kariveppalai }   ( kardi patha ) [ currry leaves ] ~ A stalk or two of leaves           

kothamalli ila { kothamalli ilai } (dhaniya) [ fresh coriander leaves ] ~ a  few stalks !!

uppu { uppu } ( namak) [ salt ] ~ to taste roughly 11/2 to 2 teaspoons B)

B ~ The Ingredients to make the Sambar paste [ instead of the samabar powder ]  

kothamalli vera (kothamalli verai) ( kothmeer beeja )  [ seeds of coriander] ~ 3 Table Spoons 

uluva { mendhayam } (methi beeja) [ fenugreek seeds ] ~ 1 teaspoon   

kadala parippu { kadalai parpippu } (    )  [yellow~~~~[!]  beans ]  ~ 1 teaspoon

mulagu { milahaipazham }  ( mirchi ) [ dried red chillies]  ~ three or four

Perumkaayam { Perungaayam} ( hing ) [ Asofetida ] ~ a small pinch 

velichenna { thengai ennai } ( Nariyel ka tel ) [ coconut oil] or refined oil ~ [ three/four  tablespoon for frying  the ingredients ( Including the small onions) ]~ Nallennai gingely oil preferable for frying the onions)

Preparation

Peel the onion  skins and cut to a suitable size after chopping off the top-tips: If it is Muringakkai [ Drum-stick ] the skin must be scraped off before cutting.

Pour two spoons of oil in a frying pan and fry the peeled onion mildly ~( prefrerably gingely oil (nallennai) my sister Prema suggests) 

Mix the Tamarind with about a glass of water and filter it  residue free and keep the tamarind water  

Take A suitably large vessel and a medium Aappai (spoon )

Pour the tamarind-water into the vessel and boil for about ten minutes with sufficient water. The smell of tamarind must go. [ I must thank my periappa (father’s brother) Sathya-vaageeswara Iyer ] who was fond of cooking and who told me this major secret of sambar ] Then add the cut fried-onions(vegetables), turmeric powder, put half a teaspoon salt, add water and stir . Let the vegetables cook well. 

As it is boiling get the Sambar paste[ Sambaarukkarachathu ] ready.

First heat the oil[ B] well in a tava and put the ingredients of B to fry to crackling though not overfried and burnt. Now put all these into the mixie[grinder] add little water and make it into a good paste.

Now add the dal cooked well earlier in a pressure cooker (with the rice) !

Add another tea-spoon of salt. Add essential water to obtain the right consistency !  Let it boil for a miute or two.

Now put the Spice paste [ Sambarukkarachathu ] that which is ground into a paste into the concocting mixture and boil stirring well  for another five minutes.  

Just before taking the curry off the  flame add the asofetida and stir

Now in an iluppu chatti ( tava/fryingpan) heat two tablespoon coconut oil. as it is steaming add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Let it crackle let it not burn. Put it on the Sambar and Don’t stir .   

Add a few sprigs of coriander leaves.

Sambar is ready ! { Check salt add more if necessary } ~ A little jaggery or 1/2 a spoon of sugar may be added [ optional] and stirred before removing from the flame!

An alternate version [ The Palghat Thrissur version ]  

In this version you need two table-spoons of coconut also fried for the Sambar paste! The rest of the method is same.

Making Saambaar Exotic

The Saffron Nut Paste-Method  ~ 

50 to 150 Gms of Badam[ Almond ] Pista, Cashew and two pinches of saffron in various proprtions made into a fine paste and may be added to the sambar after it is taken off the flames, to make it exotic. Kismis [Dried grapes] and other nuts available may be used too ! But The purist of Sambar may be little amused or disturbed by the exotication process. These Exotic version may be named “Neo-Kashmiri-Pandit Sambar” !!

Vegetables not used for Sambar generally ~

Chena [ elephant yam ], kappa[ tapioca ] etc are not used !

But various vegetable combinations may be judiciously used to make various sambaars. raw plantain, melon, tomato, large onion, potatoe, small onion, carrot, beet root, capsicum, chempu(taro) all these can be carefully mixed to create innumerable type-s of saambars. The general method is this but for minor variations. We deal with some of them separately.

Special Caution !

Don’t put too much  salt

Let the smell of tamarind really go

Don’t put too much water.

let it be thick.

Dont put all the ingrediens and boil as some people do!

Keep the Perfect Method and grow in its subtleties !   

A good sambar is not a concocted accident. But a divine grace.