Thursday, November 12, 2009

Arachi vitta sambar

'Arachi vitta sambar' means a sambar made by adding fresh masala in liquid form prepared at home by a mortar.

This is the traditional sambar of India. No need to buy a sambar powder. So the taste won't vary by the brand of powder we purchase.
Mom used to have a hand mortar called 'ammi' to make the masala paste and for me those sambars have tasted heavenly. Here is my attempt to bring back that aroma:)

Homely sambar / arachi vitta sambar / sambar without sambar powder:




Ingredients:

Toor dhal - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tamarind - strawberry size
asafoetida - 2 pinches
Tomato - 1
carrot / radish /unripe mango/ beans / brinjal or any mixed vegetable- 1 cup

Roast and grind:
coriander seed - 2 tbsp
dry red chilly - 6
channa dhal - 1 tbsp
Toor dhal - 1 tsp
fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
Shredded coconut - 3 tbsp

To temper:
Mustard seed - 1 tsp
cumin - a few
shallot onion - 5 to 10
curry leaves - 1 sprig
oil / ghee - 1 tbsp

Method:
Soak the tamarind in 1 cup water for 20 minutes. Squeeze it and get the extract.

Wash and clean the Toor dal .Pressure cook it along with turmeric powder ,asafoetida and a cup of water for a whistle , reduce flame and cook for 10 minutes.
(If you do not have pressure cooker then boil 2 cups of water and add the dal, water,turmeric powder ,asafoetida and oil.Close it and cook till the dhal becomes soft.)
Then mash it coarsely. Keep aside.

Cook the vegetables in tamarind extract with salt.

Heat a tsp of oil and fry all the items given (except coconut) to roast and grind to a fine paste.
Add this paste to the cooked vegetables and let it boil.
Immediately add the mashed dhal and check for salt.

Heat oil / ghee in a wok and let the mustard splutter. Then add the shallot (skinned but whole), curry leaf ,cumin . Saute till the onion becomes golden brown.

Pour it over the kulambu and let it come to a boil.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Serving suggestions:
Serve with rice or idly /dosa.

25 comments:

Shanthi Krishnakumar said...

It always has its own flavour

Sailaja Damodaran said...

i love to have with idly....

Sarah Naveen said...

I m yet to try this version of sambar..
sounds wonderful and looks so yummy!!!

Saraswathy Balakrishnan said...

Village style sambar with the help of 'ammi' to grind the paste..excellent Viki..now I'm imaging the taste of the curry...delicious :)

Rina said...

Thanks for this sambar made with home ground sambar masala paste..sure will taste gr8..a must try..

Anu said...

Yummy.. Never tried this sambar will try someday.. Thanks for sharing the recipe..

Vidhya said...

I can smell the aroma of arachuvitta sambar Viki.. its my all time favorite...

Unknown said...

one of my posts in drafts..araichu vitaley taste super thaan...looks very very yummy viki

Ruchika said...

lovely sambar,perfect with idlis

Priya Suresh said...

My all time favourite, looks delicious!!

Unknown said...

Looks yummy and loved ur version..sounds gr8..next time will try this.Thanks for sharing

Suparna said...

I love the sambar varities, my neighbour aunty shares this one when she makes it, I love the soothing flavour and taste, thanks for the recipe viki

prasu said...

yummy sambar dear........lovely recipe.

Ann said...

I love the flavour.. so fresh and authentic.

gtyuk said...

the flavour of roasted spices freshly ground, hummm, manamey manam dhan, right?

if only I could bring the ammi kallu here, hummm, there is something special in the taste when ground in ammi kallu;

I know someone who still uses only a ammi kallu for chutneys and some puli kozhambus...

need some idlis to go with it :)

Anupama said...

Classic sambar that tastes heavenly with fried papad :-)

Pavithra Elangovan said...

I love this so much ... great with idly, rice and dosa.

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

Awesome sambar! Fresh masala too - wow!

Ann said...

The ingredients tell it all viks..we make varutharacha sambar almost the same way..looks authentic and yummo..hey,we can't live without sambar..can we ?

Tina said...

Soo yummy and fresh sambar...

Shama Nagarajan said...

lovely sambar...our favourite one

Nandinis food said...

It is a hit in the 'top 10' in the sambar category in the house! Anyway, it looks really fabulous and fantastic!

Saju Sharfu said...

hi vicky, new here,,very authentic blog..love ur sambar i would love tohave this with daosa... following u..plz drop by my blog when u get the time!
Thanks

Malar Gandhi said...

Sounds good,must be great with idlies.

Vikis Kitchen said...

Thanks friends:)
Ann: Yes dear, we too call it as varutharacha sambar...and there is a varutharaha puli curry too:) But other than my home town , many call it as arachi vitta sambar. Thanks for telling me my home style name. Btw, I liked your version in your blog also very much.

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