Mullangi sambar

Mullangi - Radish; Sambar - a dal based curry.

Radish is one of my favorite vegetables. Hubby loves this mullangi (radish) sambar very much. Though the red radish (that looks like potato) is common, this Indian white daikon radish is also easily available here. The daikon radish is more spicy and flavorful. So I buy this one for sambar. I use homemade sambar powder and canadian Toor dal (flat toor dal with sprouts, ilai paruppu) and that is the secret behind my flavorful sambar. We can use any Toor dal (red gram / pigeon pea lentil), but this ilai paruppu will give more flavor and thickness (according to my mom). Shakthi sambar powder also works fine, but nowadays I am making my own ingredients from scratch:)
I won't add onion in the radish sambar, but feel free to customize it for your taste buds:)
Here is my radish sambar recipe.

Sambar is an essential curry while serving South Indian rice meal.

Platter has Rice, chow chow dal, okra puli kulambu, avial, plain yogurt, sarkkarai pongal.

Picture of the day:)
Sometimes I try to prepare a simple platter of South Indian meal on weekends and sambar is an essential one for the main course. Typical South Indian meal should contain a bowl of rice, sambar, koottu (dal based side dish), aviyal (coconut based side dish), poriyal (stir fry) or varuval (deep fry), appalam, vadagam (chips), more milagai (fried yogurt dipped chilly), puli kulambu / vatral kulambu(tamarind based curry), more kulambu (curd based curry), rasam (soup like curry), payasam(dessert)and curd. One need not prepare a whole platter at a time, but it will be fun to make at least a few items in the list and it will definitely cheer up the house. These kind of spreads / platter brings me my mom's fond memories or festival touch :)

Ingredients:

To pressure cook:

Toor dhal/red gram lentil - 3/4 cup
water- 2 cups
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
asafoetida - 1 pinch
sesame oil- 1 drop
Wash and clean the lentil. Pressure cook the dhal with the above said ingredients for a whistle. Then reduce flame and cook for 10 minutes. Let it cool. Open the lid and add some fresh cumin seeds. Mash well using a spatula. Keep aside.
(we can cook the dhal in stove top also. But we may need to soak it first for 30 minutes or more and cook for 30 minutes. Overnight soaking can be done inside fridge too).

Other ingredients:

Radish - 1 (long)
Tamarind - amla (gooseberry / nellikkai) size ball
tomato - 1
coconut oil / ghee - 2 tbsp
(Try to use ghee, as it gives more taste to the sambar).
curry leaves- 1 sprig
cilantro/ coriander leaves (chopped)- 1 tbsp
jaggery (Indian brown sugar) - 1 tsp
mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
fenugreek -1/2 tsp
dry red chilly - 3
salt - to taste
homemade sambar powder  - 2 tsp
freshly shredded coconut - 1 tbsp

Method:

Soak the tamarind in 2 cups of hot water and extract the juice by squeezing.
Peel the skin of radish by rubbing it with a knife. Rinse and chop it into thin circles.
Put it in a separate vessel along with tamarind extract water, chopped tomato and cook till tender.

Add the sambar powder, cumin to the pressure cooked dal and mash. Pour it to the cooked radish.

In the same time heat oil or ghee in a separate wok. Add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and let the mustard splutter. Immediately add the curry leaves, chopped dry red chilly and saute for a few seconds. Pour this hot mixture over the dhal. Bring it to only one boil, add the chopped cilantro, shredded coconut, jaggery and switch off.
Mullangi sambar is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve hot over plain cooked rice.
The best side dish would be a spicy arbi fry.
Make some extra sambar, reserve for dinner and serve along with paper roast dosas.

Spicy Shrimp curry (Era thokku)

After publishing the Chettinadu chicken biriyani, I was getting many requests from friends for this Shrimp curry. Here I am narrating how I prepare this tongue tickling shrimp thokku. This recipe may seem more oily, but definitely lesser than a fried shrimp. I prepare this kind of spicy and oily non veg recipes along with ghee rice, coconut milk rice or curd rice. Changing the ingredients' proportion will not yield the authentic South Indian shrimp curry. So stick to the recipe.
My hubby is not a fan of any crustaceans like shrimp or crab. So I rarely prepare those items. I used to wait for friends and family who like these foods and prepare these for them and would enjoy the food along with them. Nowadays I too rarely prepare Xav's non-favorite foods , as it is not interesting for me and so I didn't have any recent photos for this dish:) Try this one and tell me how you love it:)

Shrimp spicy curry / Indian prawn poriyal / eral thokku:

Chettinadu chicken biryani served with era(Shrimp) thokku .

You may need:
A thick bottom kadai / wok
a tight lid
spatula

Ingredients: 
sea shrimp - 1 lb (1/2 kg)
sesame oil - 1/4 cup
shallot onion - 25 number (naattu vengayam)
curry leaf - 1 sprig
fennel seeds (sombu) - 1 tsp
mace (jathi pathiri) - tiny bit
fresh ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
tomato - 4
green chilly - 3
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
sea salt - as per need

To Fry and grind (masala powder):
coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
dry red chilly - 5
channa dal - 1 tbsp
black pepper - 1 tbsp
cumin - 1 tsp
cinnamon - 1 inch
cardamom - 3
cloves - 6
fennel - 1/2 tsp
nutmeg(jathikkai ) - 1 tiny shaving

Method: 
Buy fresh small or medium size shrimp. (Larger variety prawn / shrimp may taste bland - my opinion only). Remove the shell and intestines (green stuff seen at back of shrimp). Rinse well. Keep aside.

Bring to boil 1/2  cup water. Cook the tomato, peel(remove skin) and grind to a fine paste in that cooked water. Keep aside.

Heat the wok with 1 tsp oil, fry the items (chana dal, chilly, coriander - one by one separately and the others together) mentioned for grinding and grind it to a fine powder.

Heat 1/4 cup sesame oil / coconut oil in the wok. Add fennel, mace and let the fennel get red. Then add chopped shallot and fry till it gets golden brown. Put curry leaves, freshly made ginger garlic paste (1 inch ginger + 6 cloves of garlic). Fry for few seconds or till raw smell vanishes. Add the pureed tomato and cook till oil shows up. Then add the cleaned shrimp, salt, turmeric powder, green chillies and cook covered for 10 minutes (medium flame). Then add the prepared masala powder and cook covered in low flame till oil separates (5 minutes).
Garnish with finely chopped cilantro (optional). Switch off! Shrimp thokku is ready!

Serving suggestions: 
Serve as side dish with biriyani, curd rice, sambar rice, rasam rice, chapati.