Arachuvitta Sambar - Sambar with freshly ground spices

Arachuvitta Sambar is the variety of sambar made with freshly ground spices. It is more flavourful than the regular one made with sambar powder. It goes well with both rice and tiffin varieties. Even though we can use any vegetables which we use for the regular sambar, it tastes great with radish, drumstick, small onions/shallots or a combination of these vegetables. Here I have used radish and small onions to prepare this sambar. We usually make this type of sambar when we have guests at home or on sundays. It is usually paired with potato curry. Before marriage my mother and perimma make this combo at least twice a month on sundays. Since I love this combination I make it frequently too.

Arachuvitta Sambar Recipe

Serves  :  3 - 4 people

Ingredients

• Radish - 1 medium sized (Since we get big radish here, I used half of it)
• Small onions/shallots  -  10
• Tamarind  -  small lemon sized
• Toor dal  -  1/2 cup
• Turmeric powder  -  1 tsp
• Salt  -  as required
• Sambar powder  -  1 tsp
• Gingelly oil  -  1 tbsp
• Curry leaves  -  a sprig

To roast and grind

• Gingelly oil  -  1 tbsp
• Coriander seeds  -  2 tbsp
• Channa dal  -  1 tbsp
• Fenugreek seeds  -  1 tsp
• Red Chilly(long variety)  -  2
• Fresh or dessicated coconut  -  1/4 cup

To temper

• Gingelly oil  -  2 tsp
• Mustard  -  1/2 tbsp
• Asafoetida  -  2 generous pinches
• Red Chilly(long variety)  -  1

Method

1. Soak tamarind in water and extract the juice. I approximately used around 1 1/4 cups of extract.
2. Peel the skin of radish, wash well and chop into round sized pieces. Pressure cook with a pinch of salt and turmeric powder for 3 whistles.
3. Pressure cook dal by adding required water and a pinch of turmeric powder for 5 to 6 whistles. I usually cook it along with rice.
4. In a pan, add 1 tbsp of oil and roast all the items except coconut as given under "To roast and grind". Once the coriander seeds and channa dal turn golden brown, add the coconut and give a quick stir and switch off the stove. Do the roasting part only in low flame and ensure it is roasted only till golden brown. Else the color and taste of the sambar will completely change.
5. Allow the mixture to cool down and grind to a smooth paste by adding required water. Set aside.
6. In the same pan, add 1 tbsp oil and once heated add the small onions and fry till they turn transparent.
7. Now add the tamarind extract, salt, sambar powder, turmeric powder and mix well.  Add water if required.
8. Let the sambar boil in low to medium flame. It has to be cooked till the raw smell of the powders and tamarind leave.
9. Once the raw smell leaves, add the cooked radish and ground paste and mix well.
10. Once the sambar starts to boil, add the cooked dal, curry leaves and mix well. Allow to boil for 5 minutes and switch off the stove.
11. Transfer the sambar to the serving bowl.
12. In the same pan, add 2 tsp oil and once heated add mustard, asafoetida and red chilly. Once they crackle, add it to the sambar.
13. Serve with rice or any tiffin variety.
14. Since we are using coconut, store the left over sambar in fridge and heat it up before using again.  It is best to be consumed within a day.

Notes

• Use gingelly oil for best flavour. If unavailable, use regular cooking oil.
• I always use a tsp of home made sambar powder for added flavour. If you want you can skip it and include 1 or 2 additional red chillies in the roasting and grinding part. 
• Always do the tempering part at the end, for best flavour.
• If preparing as an accompaniment for rice, make the sambar slightly thick. If using as a side dish for tiffin items, make it slightly thin.