Indian Chicken curry in Oven

Last week my friend Gita and myself were discussing about some healthy dishes. Here I should mention her creativity . She is very innovative at making many healthy and oil-less dishes. she asked me if I have any Indian version of chicken curries that can be made in a more healthy way. That was a brain storming question for me as my poor soul always craves for more grease:)
By the time something sparked me of my oven baked curry.
Actually I started making a curry like this whenever I get to make a batch of chicken for more people and if I run out of such a big wok and time:)
Moreover making a reddish curry in a wok may need a lot of oil and time. So I just told her about my version of making the Indian chicken curry in a conventional Oven and also admitted how kiddish is it to post it as a recipe.
But she encouraged me to post it.
So here is an Indian chicken curry made in oven .

Event:
Including this 'Indian chicken curry made in oven' to the event The potluck - chicken ' hosted by me.


Main Ingredient:
Chicken (with bones) - 2 lb

To temper:
olive oil - 2 tbsp
Onion - 1 (big)
curry leaf - 1 brig
cilantro , mint leaf - a handful
tomato - 2
fennel seeds - 1 tsp

To grind :
Paste 1.
fresh / dry Ginger - 2 inch
garlic - 4 pods

Paste 2.
curd - 1 cup
poppy seeds - 1 tsp
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
cinnamon - 1 inch
cardamom - 2
cloves - 4
fennel seeds - 1 tsp
black pepper - 1 tsp

others:
chilly powder - 1tsp
coriander powder - 2 tbsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp




Method:
Step 1:
Wash and clean the chicken. Chop it into big chunks.
Dry roast all the ingredients given in paste 2 except yogurt (curd) and grind them together with curd. (Other wise mix 2 tsp Shakthi garam masala powder with curd to get paste 2).
Add 1tbsp salt , turmeric powder,paste 2, chilly powder and coriander powder.
Keep refrigerated overnight, so that the pieces get well marinated.

Step 2:
Next day:
Remove the skin of ginger and garlic and grind them to a fine paste.
Chop the onion, tomato separately and keep aside.

Step 3:
Heat oil in a wok. Add fennel seeds. After it becomes red, add the chopped onion and fry well till it becomes golden brown.
Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook till it becomes mushy.
Now add the ginger garlic paste and fry well.
Then add the marinated chicken pieces .

Preheat the oven to 425 deg C.

Step 4:
Heat the wok for less than 5 minutes.
Now taste the masala and adjust the salt.

Step 5:
Now arrange the chicken pieces with masala on a baking foil / bake ware.
Cook it in 425 deg for 45 minutes. Stir it every 15 minutes.
After that keep the oven in broil mode and cook for 5 minutes.
Switch off and leave the chicken there for another 5 minutes.

Oven baked Indian chicken curry is ready!


Serving suggestions:
Serve hot with roti, chapathi or cooked rice.

Note:
This version doesn't require a big wok or more oil or care.
You can cook it side by side while making biryani or arranging the table.
All you need is just an hour. Enjoy!

Azhagar Kovil Dosai

About Alagar Temple / Azhagar kovil: Azhagar means charming person. Here it represents a beautiful God Krishna. Azhagar Kovil (Alagar temple),is a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu (aka., Lord Krishna) situated 21 km from the city of Madurai, which lies in the Tamil Nadu state of India.It is situated on a very beautiful hill with lush herbal forest. Specialities: Dosa: As Panchamirtham in Palani and Laddu in Tirupathi, in the Kallazhagar temple, Dosa is very famous. The grains donated to the temple are ground and made to dosas and offered to the visitors as prasadham (divine food) here. Noopura Ganga or Silambaru: This is a perennial river flowing from the feet of Rakkayee Amman from a cave in the temple. The theerthamn (holy water) from a spring inside the Temple is believed to run through so many rare herbs. So it is considered as a healing water for so many uncurable diseases. The lamp in the temple is kept burning for ever. Azhagar Kovil dosai: In the madapalli (the vegetarian kitchen to prepare offering for God), they prepare a crispy and unique dosa for offering to God and then distribute it to visitors. Actually they deep fry the dosai batter in ghee. But I have modified the preparation technique to suit our life style. I tasted this in my childhood while my chithappa (Gandhi chithi) worked there as temple EO.  Ingredients: Whole black gram (with skin) – 1 cup Raw rice (pacharisi/ unboiled rice) – 2 1/4 cups Fenugreek seeds – 1 tbsp Salt – 2 tsp whole Black pepper - 2 tbsp cumin seed - 1tsp curry leaf - 2 brig asafoetida - 1/8 tsp mixture of ghee 1 tsp + sesame oil 1 tbsp Batter preparation: Wash and soak rice separately for 8 hours or overnight. In another vessel wash and soak the urid dhal and fenugreek seeds together for about 8 hours. Grind dhal to coarse texture. Rice should be ground separately and finely. Don't add lot of water. The batter should be thick like softened butter. Add salt and mix the ground urad dhal with the rice mixture . Store this in a large vessel so that there is enough space for batter to rise. Grinding and storing of batter should be done the previous day, preferably in the night so that the batter would be ready the next day. The batter should be allowed to ferment for about 15 – 18 hours. I usually keep it inside the oven to get warmth. Home made Azhagar koil dosai: Grind the black pepper, cumin seed, curry leaf to a coarse powder.Just before we start preparing the dosa mix the asafoetida powder and the ground powder and mix well with the batter. Heat a dosa tawa (non stick or iron).Drizzle 2 drops of sesame oil+ghee over the pan. Using a clean cloth or wooden spatula rub the oil uniformly over the tawa. Take a ladle of batter and pour it gently over the tawa and do not spread it or press it.Reduce the flame to medium heat. Generously pour a 1/2 tsp oil+ghee around the dosa. You can add more ghee for kids:) Turn over the dosa when it starts getting mild red. cook both sides and take out the dosa . Again increase the flame, apply oil and repeat the above process to make more. Serving suggestions: This Azhagar koil dosai won't even need any side dish. But we can serve it with idly podi or butter or coconut chutney or idly sambar. Event: Sending these Azhagar kovil dosas to Divya Vikram's Show me your breakfast event. Note: Water should not be added the next day after it ferments. Dhal should be ground preferably in a grinder for at least 20 minutes and rice for 30 minutes. The batter can also be made using an "Indian Mixer". keep the remaining batter refrigerated.

Chicken Salna for Parotta

Other names: Chicken chalna / road side stall parotta kuruma.

If you stroll along the streets of Madras or any place in TamilNadu(India) like Madurai , Tuticorin ,Kovilpatti , Tirunelveli etc., in the night , you won't miss to hear the word parotta and salna. Parotta with Salna is a common street food in TamilNadu and kerala. It is called the staple food of the bachelors and Truck drivers there.
Chicken with some bones and skin is the flavor riser in a salna. It is made in a jiffy way to satisfy the taste buds of hard workers (but loved by all classes). We can make a vegetarian version with potato , cauliflower, beans also but the popular one is with chicken.
The chicken salna is much equivalent to a kuruma or soup except for its less addition of chicken and some different ingredients. Look at the simple ingredients like besan flour and groundnut.... don't add cashews or poppy seeds to get the original taste. You cannot relish the salna unless otherwise you make it along with parotta.
I am narrating a parotta stall version for the famous chicken salna (chalna).



Event:
Including this Chicken salna to the event The potluck - chicken ' hosted by me.


Ingredients:
Chicken (with bone) - 200 gm
Red Onion - 1
Tomato - 2
cilantro + mint leaf - a handful
Potato - 2
curry leaf - 2 brig
Bay leaf - 2
fennel seed - 1 tsp
cinnamon (pattai)- 2 inch
ghee / vanaspathy - 3 tbsp

Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 3 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste

To grind :
Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
Green chilli - 4
cardamom - 4
cumin - 1 tsp
(roasted)groundnut or puffed channa dal - 2 tbsp

Ginger - 2 inch
Garlic - 3 pods

besan flour - 1 tbsp
Sour Curd - 2 tbsp

Method:
Chop the chicken pieces along with some skin and bone (approximately 150 - 200 gms).
Wash and clean the chicken . Apply Turmeric, 1 tbsp curd and keep aside.

Chop onion, Tomato separately and keep aside.

Grind ginger + garlic together.
Grind the other items given to grind and keep aside.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok.
Add the fennel seeds, cinnamon, bay leaf and let the fennel get red.

Then add the chopped onion , curry leaf, cilantro, mint and saute till the onion becomes golden.
Then add the ginger garlic paste and saute well.
Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook till oil oozes out.

Then add the chopped chicken, chilli powder, coriander powder ,salt, potatoes and stir well.
Add a cup of water and cook the chicken for 15 minutes or till the meat is cooked completely.

Then add the ground masala with 3 cups of water.
Let it come to a boil.

Beat the 1 tbsp curd with besan flour and add 1 cup water .
Pour this mixture into the boiling salna.
Cook for another 30 minutes in medium heat.
The consistency of the salna should be thin.

switch off flame.
Sprinkle a few slit green chillies, crushed cardamom (2) and close the lid.

Chicken salna is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve hot with parotta , Idly, Idiyappam .
Makes 1 liter of Chicken salna.
Parotta with salna:

Click here to see How to make parotta at home.

The very thought of the hot parotta loosened and mixed with the chalna packed in a banana leaf makes me nostalgic. Oh , yeah . That's how they pack in India before the arrival of plastic sheets:) The flavor of the banana leaf and the parotta chalna can definitely lit up a lot of smile in our faces:) Hope you all fall in love with this combination forever.
Happy cooking friends!

Kollu rasam

There is an old saying in tamil, "illaithavanukku ellu kozhuthavanukku kollu" which means , "feed the thin person with sesame and stout person with horse gram".
That is a fantastic proverb on diet for various body structures:)
Horsegram (kollu in Tamil), is a much neglected gram / lentil with a lot of medicinal value. The rich fiber content and the body heat generating property of horse gram helps in reducing the body fat in a fast mode.
Here comes a rasam / Indian soup with Horse gram.

Kollu rasam:




Ingredients:
Horsegram - 4 tbsp
Tomato - 1 (big and juicy)
garlic - 3 pearls
Tamarind - a strawberry size
Black pepper - 1 tbsp
coriander seed - 2 tsp
cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
garlic - 3 pearls.
oil - 1 tbsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
fenugreek - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Asafoetida - a pinch
salt - to taste

Method:
First carefully examine the horsegram and remove any stones present.
(Actually wherever you buy , few stones with the kollu is unavoidable because of its similarity with pebbles).
Dry roast the horse gram till you hear a popping sound with a nice aroma and powder it.

Extract juice from tamarind.

Dry roast pepper, coriander, cumin and powder them together with fresh garlic. This is the fresh home made rasam powder.

Heat oil in a wok. Add mustard, fenugreek and asafoetida. After the mustard crackles , add the curry leaf and chopped tomato and fry till oil oozes out.

Pour two cups of water and add the powdered horse gram, turmeric powder and let it come to a boil.

Now add the tamarind extract and once again boil it.

Then add the prepared rasam powder.

As soon as the rasam starts to boil, immediately switch off and add salt. Garnish with finely choppoed cilantro.

Kollu rasam is ready!


Serving suggestions:
Serve hot over plain cooked rice.
Goes well with a simple thovaiyal (thick chutney) and appalam.

Note:
Some people pressure cook the horsegram to make dhal. While doing so , we can save the left over water from the cooked horse gram and use it to make rasam instead of powdering it.

Ok guys! Have You started shopping for Horse gram:)

Athirasam (with store bought rice flour)

Athirasam can be classified as an Indian version of doughnut but made with rice flour and jaggery.

Please see my traditional athirasam recipe too. It will give best results always, if we can make the flour using our mixie.

Tradition:
Athirasam is a common sweet made in TamilNadu. I have seen people frying these doughnuts for all the festivals they celebrate. In India, the traditional marriages are very expensive, that too a lot from the bride's side. It is a custom to give a lot of sweets and snacks like ladoo , athirasam , halwa, mixture, murukku, fruits etc to the bridegroom's house along with the jewels, money and ofcourse the bride too:).The snacks and sweets (that the bride brought) would be distributed by the mother inlaw to her friends and neighbors as 'maruveettu palagaram' that means snacks from bride's side. The sweets are prepared in certain numbers like 100 or 500 or more depending on the inlaws' request. Our athirasams also find a solid place among the gifts. Even now in villages, athirasam is a must to accompany a bride while entering the groom's house as one of the various gifts she bring.
Hope now you understand the importance of this humble sweet:)

My version:
The original athirasam recipe, calls for powdering the soaked rice in a rice-mill.
I can't find a mill here. So I altered the original recipe to suit the availability.
This athirasam recipe is my very own creation and I tried my best to get a typical Indian athirasam.
Actually if you can powder the wet rice or searching for an authentic athirasam then click here to see how Kribha has done it.

Athirasam


Ingredients:
white Rice flour(very fine) (store bought) - 2 cups
Jaggery (crushed) - 2 cups
sugar - 1/4 cup
poppy seed (kasa kasa) - 2 tsp
sesame seed - 1 tbsp
cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
dry ginger powder - 1/2 tsp
milk - as required (say 1/4 cup)

Method:
Measure and put the flour into a wide mixing bowl.
Mix cardamom powder, sesame, poppy seed, dry ginger powder and keep adide.
Now we are going to fake our store bought flour to get that home made wet flour.
So sprinkle very little cold water (1/2 cup exactly) to moisten the flour.
Let it rest for an hour.

The athirasam flour (moistened to get the real texture).


Measure and put the jaggery + sugar on a vessel along with 1/4cup water and heat it in medium flame.
Check the consistency of the syrup to get a one string consistency.
(One string consistency: While stirring the syrup with a spoon, take the spoon above the vessel and let the syrup flow down to the vessel. If it forms one string like flow, then it is called one string consistency and if it forms two distinct strings then it is called two string consistency, which is of course a thick syrup).

Don't go for uruttu patham (update 2014): if it became soft ball or uruttu patham, then add 1/4 cup water and heat and bring back. {Soft ball consistency. (Soft ball consistency - uruttu patham : If we drop 1/2 a tsp of jaggery solution in cold water, it should not dissolve. We should be able to roll that into a soft ball). (or do this step using a candy thermometer - candy stage temp).}


Take care not to burn the syrup. Because making the perfect syrup is the only secret behind good athirasam.
Then pour the hot syrup over the flour and mix well so that the flour gets cooked a bit in that heat.
It should come to a sticky dough.
Add 3 tbsp milk to this and knead again. This gives soft athirasam. (updated 2014)
Now we can place the dough in a cling wrap and protect it airtight for a day  or upto 3 days .
Next day heat 300 ml vegetable oil in a wok.
Make adhirasams like very flat vadais (They will swell while frying) and deep fry in medium heat.
(I pierced a small hole in the center to facilitate the perfect cooking. But some people won't pierce it. Both are correct. In Southern Tamil nadu , we make a hole , whereas in Chennai they won't)
Take out when it becomes deep red in color.
Drain oil in a paper towel and let them cool.
Store them in airtight containers for a week.

Makes 25 - 30 athirasams depending upon the size.
The athirasam will become perfectly soft after 2- 3 hours.

Note :
Original recipe - rice jaggery proportion:
If we take 1 kg rice then use 3/4 kg jaggery + 3 tbsp white sugar.
syrup consistency : 2 string , but if dropped in a cup of water , then we should be able to roll it into soft balls.

Featured in Foodista:

Adhirasam

TamilNadu Muslim's wedding special Biriyani

North Indian biryani and Hyderabadi Biryani are entirely different from the TamilNadu Muslim's version.

In TN , the rice is cooked in the gravy along with meat (known as the Arabian method). While in the other versions, they cook the rice and meat separately and mix afterward in the dhum process (slow cooking).
Click to see my youtube video  on

Chicken Dum biriyani and on 'Tips to make tasty biriyani'

I am sure any one out there who have tasted the biryani in a TN Muslim marriage (or the one prepared by a chef trained to do so) will always seek for that stunning taste. Some years ago , while working in India I met an interesting Accountant, whose hobby is to cook for wedding parties. Beyond the regular office job and despite of his wealthy background he had a crew to join him for this extra job, which he liked very much. One of my colleague told me about this famous chef who happened to sit in the midst of many files.
On my request, without any hesitation he shared me the secrets beyond this famous biryani and some interesting facts too.
From then whenever I prepare a biryani, I remember the way he passionately explained me:)

Noting his version below to appreciate and enjoy.
1.They use only halal meat.The meat should be marinated with curd, salt for few hours to overnight.

Weight of meat should be equal to that of rice.Use red meat only or use a whole chicken along with bones.
2.They pray to God before making biryani, as they consider it as food for the God.
(I always appreciate the dedication and love).
3.They consider inviting all the people they know for the feast.
(oh yeah , how can we feast a tasty food without any social consciousness).
4. They start cooking as early as 2 AM to serve for a feast in the lunch. The secret is the long hours of dham in low heat. (That 10 hrs of cooking makes it yummy!).
5. Don't use chilli powder, coriander powder,  poppy seed, Turmeric powder , garam masal powder. This briyani should not be spicy, but we should get the green chilly flavor only.
6. Use good quality milk, saffron , rose essence , ghee.
7. They serve the food in a very large plate (called thambalam) and the close family members eat together in the same plate, whereas guests are served separately.
(Most of the Muslim marriages serve Mutton biryani, but I have used chicken and simplified the procedure enough to make it in small batches at home. If you are using mutton,then don't cook it in a pressure cooker. Instead cook mutton in direct heat, but add a pinch of meat tenderizer powder or a piece of raw papaya to reduce the cooking time or lamb)

Briyani with carrot raitha

carrot raita and tomato sweet are served with briyani in Muslim festivals in my neighborhood

Ingredients:
Basmathi rice or jeeraga samba or kali jeera rice - 1/2 kg (approximately 3 cups)
Chicken - 1/2 kg
(with bone / leg piece is good. Don't use breast piece / white meat for this recipe)
salt - To taste
Green chilly - 6
Red onion - 100 gms (2)
Tomato - 100 gms (4)
Lemon - 1/4
ghee - 1/2 cup
oil - 1/4 cup
Rose water - 2 tbsp
(or a drop of rose essence)
Milk - 1/4 cup
curd - 1 cup (optional but tastes good)
saffron - a pinch

Paste 1:
cilantro - 10 plants (leaves only)
mint leaf - 10 sticks (leaves only)
green chilly - 4

Paste 2:
Ginger - 2 inch
garlic - 10 pearls

To dry roast and powder:
Fennel seed - 1 tbsp
cinnamon - 1 inch
cardamom - 4
cloves - 6
Black pepper - 1 tbsp

For tempering:
cinnamon - 3 inch , 1 star aniseed, cashews - 10 ,1 tsp Sea weed (kalpaasi), a small chip of Nutmeg (jathikkai), 1/4 of a mace, raisin - 10, bay leaf - 2 , cardamom - 5, cloves - 6.

Preparation:
Clean the chicken and cut it in to big pieces. Wash and Keep aside.
Rub a tsp of salt + juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 cup curd and leave it for an hour.
(overnight marination inside fridge yields very tasty juicy chicken pieces in biryani).

Chop the onion in lengthwise.
Chop Tomato into small cubes.
Keep the green chillies as full, don't cut it.
Dry roast and powder the items given.
Grind ginger and garlic together to a fine paste.
Grind cilantro, mint, green chilli to a very fine paste.

While we start tempering,  rinse and clean the rice. Soak it in water for 10 minutes , drain water and let it remain for 1/2 an hour (while we saute and cook the meat). Don't soak for more time. The rice may break by over-soaking.


Method:
Heat oil + ghee in a  broad bottom vessel meant for biriyani.
Soak the rice in room temp water for only 10  minutes.
Toss in a small bark of cinnamon, 1 star aniseed, cashews , 2 rose bud, 1 tsp Sea weed (kalpaasi), a small chip of jathikkai(nutmeg),  raisin.
Immediately add the chopped onion + little salt and fry till it becomes golden brown.
Add the ginger garlic paste and stir well till the raw smell vanishes.
Now add the finely chopped tomato and cilantro paste (paste 1). Saute till the tomato gets mashed and oil starts showing off.  USE GHEE GENEROUSLY.
Now put the chicken pieces along with some more salt, a cup of water , powdered masala and cook it covered.
Cook till all the water gets absorbed by the chicken and the chicken is almost cooked .
Put the soaked rice.. and saute it gently without breaking the rice grains.
Now add water just enough to immerse the rice and meat completely.  Start heating and let the rice gets cooked 50 %. Ensure that some water is standing above the rice. If not add boiling water so that water stands 1/2 inch above that rice.
(No need to measure the water. Literally it is not possible to measure the amount water if biryani is prepared in large quantities. ).

Put some freshly chopped mint, cilantro leaves and uncut green chillies.
As soon as the water starts boiling, we can see some holes start appearing on rice. close the vessel with a tight lid and let the rice absorb all the water. Now the rice will be 70 % cooked. Switch off the flame.

Dhum process:
Actually while cooking for large parties the chef used to cook the biryani in large stoves burning with fire wood. And at this point they put off fire and make the biryani sit over hot charcoal. Moreover they close the edges of the lid with wet chapathi / roti dough to prevent steam to escape and cook the food in low heat.They put lot of hot charcoal also above the lid. After 5 hours they will get a perfect biryani, with that long grain rice becoming soft, firm and some what short:)
I simplified the above process with a home adopted dhum process.

Home adopted dhum process:
Start heating a thick dosa tawa . (Dont't use your regular dosa tawa. Because you may spoil the dosa tawa while doing so. So I use my chapathi tawa)
Place the biryani vessel over the hot tawa.

Now mix the milk , rose water and saffron and sprinkle it all over the rice. (This generates enough steam to slow cook the rice).
Spread the raisins all over the rice.
Sprinkle some more ghee (2 tbsp) over the rice.

Reduce the heat to minimum. Close the vessel tightly using a flat lid / plate.
Using a wet chapathi dough, cover the lid's edge to seal completely.

Before hand bring 2 liters of water to boil in a vessel. close it with lid.
Place it above the biryani vessel and lid.
Reduce flame to minimum.
Let the setup remain for nearly 2 hours. (2 hours is enough for a smaller batch , less than 2 kg rice).

After that we need not stir the biryani.

After 2 hours we can get a good biryani smell filling the house.
Take it out and enjoy.

TamilNadu Muslim style Biryani is ready !

Serving suggestions:
Mostly in TamilNadu Muslim marriages they Serve it hot with Thakkali thithippu (a kind of Tomato jam) , onion - carrot raitha , any spicy non veg curry , of course a semiya javvarisi payasam and a special dish called dhalsa (a thick dhal curry made with some mutton).
The above said quantity would be enough to serve 4 adults.

Note:
Rice calculation - for 1 adult use 3/4 cup of rice.
Jeeraga samba rice (Jeera rice) will give more flavorful Tamilnadu biryani than the basmati.

Hope I tempted you enough by describing a TamilNadu Muslim marriage feast:)
Enjoy!

Including this TamilNadu Muslim's Wedding special Biryani to the event The potluck - chicken ' hosted by me.


For mutton briyani:
Just proceed like the same method, but don't add tomato, salt or lemon without cooking the mutton. It will delay the cooking of mutton. So after the ginger garlic paste (without vinegar), add the mutton and cook in direct heat or pressure cook (medium flame in 10 minutes after 1 whistle). Then add tomato, salt and prepare the briyani just like chicken briyani. If you have lesser time to prepare the goat (mutton) briyani, then just pressure cook the meat (though it is not traditional).

-------------------------------------------------
update: 2014

Onion getting fried in ghee + oil

Marinated chicken. Adding curd is optional , but tastes good.

Onion, ginger garlic paste, tomato, cilanto mint , green chilly masala paste cooked

after adding chicken and oil separates

Cook the chicken masala till it tastes perfect and oil separates.

See  little water standing above semi cooked rice. Briyani is ready for dhum.

Dum in oven . Cover tightly with aluminum foil and heat 350 deg c for 30 minutes and reduce to 250 for 1.30 hours

(OR) Keeping dum in stove. Top vessel has very hot water. Heat every 15 minutes and keep the water above the briyani vessel and stove in minimum heat.

Briyani after dum cooking

Chicken briyani in  SouthTamilnadu Muslim style. It won't be very grainy like North Indian briyani But well cooked and not mushy.

Pachai payaru Sambar

Green gram sambar became my favorite after tasting it in a friend's house . It was yummy to the core with those soft thick dosas and from then I longed to test run it in my kitchen. However did not get a chance to make a sambar with whole green gram and end up with just a chutney. Finally one day I tried this and it came out very well. Actually I made it with venn pongal.
Pardon me for my poor picture:( My camera didn't do any justice.
Hope everyone loves a sambar loaded with tons of fiber!



Ingredients:
Whole green gram (with skin) - 3/4 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tamarind- an amla size
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 2 tsp
asafoetida - a pinch
salt - to taste
Brinjal - 2
Tomato - 1
curry leaf - 1 brig
oil - 1 tsp
mustard seed - 1 tsp
cumin seed - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Soak the green gram for whole night or let it germinate.
Pressure cook it along with 2 cups of water , asafoetida , Turmeric powder, chopped onion for 5 whistles or till the green gram becomes tender.
Once the pressure gets released, mash the cooked dhal with cumin seeds gently using a ladle .keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok. Splutter the mustard seeds.
Add few curry leaves and fry the chopped vegetables for some time.
Then add the tamarind extract, chilli powder, coriander powder and bring it to a boil.Add salt to taste. Let the vegetables get cooked.
Add 2 cups of water.

Then add the mashed green gram and switch off once the sambar comes to a boil.

Green gram sambar is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish with Venn pongal , Idly , dosai.