Radish sambar - Mullangi sambar

Ingredients:

Radish - Vellai mullangi - 1/4 kgRed gram dal/Pigeon pea - Thuvaram paruppu - 1 cup
Onion - Vengayam - 1 no. (Small)
Pearl onion - Sambar vengayam - 1/4 kg
Tomatoes - Thakkali - 2 nos.
Tamarind - Puli - lemon size
Green chillies - Pachai milagai - 2 nos.
Red chillies - Kaintha milagai - 2 nos.
Capsicum - Kudai milagai - 1/2
Red chilli powder - Kaintha milagai thul - 1 table spoon
Coriander powder - Dhania thul - 2 table spoons
Sambar powder - Sambar podi - 1 table spoons
Mustard - Kadugu - 1 tea spoon
Cumin seeds - Jeeragam - 1 tea spoon
Black gram dal - Ulutham paruppu - 1 tea spoon
Curry leaves - Karuvepilai - small quantity
Coriander leaves - Kothamali - small quantity
Grated/Shredded coconut - Thuriviya thengai - 1 table spoon
Garlic - Poondu - 2 flakes

Method:

1. Soak tamarind in hot water for about 10 minutes and extract paste from that after removing the dust particles.
2. Wash and keep red gram dal in pressure cooker after adding required water, a pinch of turmeric powder, asafoetida and a drop of oil.
3. Chopp onions, pearl onions, tomatoes and green chillies and keep other required ingredients ready. Grind grated coconut, 2 pearl onion, 2 flakes of garlic, little curry leaves to a paste. Wash and peel off the skin from radish and cut it into round shape and boil it for some 10 minutes and keep it aside.
4. Heat oil in a kadai, splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds, black gram dal, curry leaves, red chillies, green chillies, black gram dal, bengal gram and onions. Fry them for some time. Then add tamarind paste. Now add red chilly powder, coriander powder, little salt and mix them well, Boil it for some time. Now add cooked vegetable and smashed dal. Allow it to boil for some 10 minutes. Finally add the grinded coconut-onion paste. This adds to taste. Add a table spoon of ghee and garnish with coriander leaves.

Hot radish sambar is ready to be served. It can be had with white rice, idly dosa. It can be served for 4 people. it takes 30 minutes to cook.

Note: Parsnip is white in colour and radish is red in colour. There are many varieties in this vegetable. Sambar powder can be prepared at home, I have mentioned in podi varieties.

Optional: Ingredients can be added/removed.

It would be nice if the Food and Drug Administration stopped issuing warnings about toxic substances and just gave me the names of one or two things still safe to eat

Robert Fuoss