A trip to Little India is always much looked forward to, especially because of the fresh and cheap 'Indian' vegetables that are available in every nook and corner of the place. A typical trip to Little India will comprise of a 1-hour long elbowing through the grocery section of Mustafa, a good Indian dinner at Murugan Idli Kadai, Anjappar or one of those super-crowded Indian restaurants in Little India.
The last time we went, I saw some freshly dug up radishes in the Indian vegetable store (this pic was taken 3 days after the shopping day so the shoots have wilted) and I had to buy them. I was thinking mooli paratha when I bought some, but the moment TH saw them, he said "ahh, we can have some nice mullangi sambar tomorrow!"
So mullangi sambar it was! Check out the lovely patterns on the radish pieces, they are so pretty!
Sambar is a very popular South Indian dish that is primarily toor dal and tamarind pulp and sambar powder (a blend of spices, sambar powder recipe here). Depending on what vegetable(s) you add to it, the flavour changes. In Kerala, there is only one kind of sambar because we believe in using mixed vegetables in it and this joins the other curries and theeyals that we keep rotating through the week.
In Tamil Nadu, the story is entirely different since sambar is often made on a daily basis and the vegetables rotated for some variation. Arachuvitta sambar is one of those variations that also has coconut added for a kick.
This is the first time I am making and tasting mullangi sambar and let's just say the radish added a lovely flavour to the versatile sambar!Mullangi Sambar / Radish Sambar RecipePreparation time: 30-40 minsServes: 4What I Used:1 cup toor dal2 white radishes, cut into 1" thick discs8-10 shallots / pearl onions (or 1 red onion cut into chunks)1 lime-sized ball of tamarind1 tbsp sambar powder1 generous pinch of hing / asafoetida / perungaayam1 pinch of turmeric powder1/4 tsp sugar or 1/2 tsp grated jaggeryFor tempering:1 tbsp oil or gheeA few curry leaves2 shallots/pearl onions cut into long slivers1/2 tsp mustard seeds1/2 tsp jeera / jeerakam / cumin seedsHow I Made It:1. Pressure cook the toor dal with 2 cups water, the radish pieces and pearl onions for 3 whistles. Make sure that you regulate the cooking time depending on your cooker because otherwise the radish will get mushy and mix with the dal. Mine's an ooold cooker so no risk of that ;)2. Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup warm water for 10 mins and extract the juice, discarding the pulp.3. Once the pressure leaves the cooker, open and add the tamarind juice, turmeric, hing and sambar powder. Bring to boil on a medium flame, stirring gently just to mix the ingredients. If the sambar seems too thick at this point, add some water.4. Let the sambar boil for about 7 - 10 mins until it all comes together and switch off fire.5. Heat the oil/ghee for tempering and add all other ingredients. Once the mustard pops and the shallots turn a light brown, remove from fire and add to the sambar. Mix well.6. Optionally, you can garnish with chopped fresh coriander leaves. This changes the flavour of the sambar and takes it in a different direction :)
Serve hot with steamed rice and appalam/vadaam.




























32 Comments:
Though radish is not on my fav veggie list, I like raddish sambar,it tastes so gud!
you have murugan idli kadai there?? can i relocate pls..
Pretty!
looks delicious.. hearty and yummy.
I had made this yesterday..even I have in to-post list...looks yummy..I love the flavor of radish in this..
Yes radish sambar is one of the flavorful sambars,though i used to hate in my childhoods,I just love them now!!
I love this flavourful sambar very much..Looks too yummy Nags!
Murukku and mulangi sambhar go v well together.
Looks Yummy Yummyyy...
looks yummy... last night I made pappu chaaru, telugu version of sambar, wihtour sambar powder.... I use raddish sometimes but yesterday it was bottle gourd & pearl onions.
I also bought a raddish from wet market this week just to make mulangi sambar..looks delicious..
I make it in a slightly different way, but hey, any sambar with mullangi will go for me... great click!
lovely click nags...sambar looks delicious with radish...have tried it once long back ...
I love mullangi sambhar and the pictures are so warm and tempting. Yummy one nags!
We love raddish and I have tried this sambar before. Great comfort food :)
I love mullangi sambar - next only to drumstick sambar!! :)
I love radish, but never had them with sambhar. The pics looks so tempting, have to try this one.
Sure, it looks beautiful! :) love radish..
Lovely radish sambar. My dad loves the flavor of radish in dal, so when he visits, I often make my regular Marathi style amti with radish.
Yummy sambhar....i can smell it:)
We usually cook the radish in tamarind water and then add cooked dal to it. Also try adding some fenugreek seeds while the tamarind is cooking, it imparts a very good flavor to the sambar, especially radish and lady's finger sambar.
Madhu, that's a great tip. There are fenugreek seeds added to my sambar powder recipe but am sure adding them to the tamarind or while tempering would increase the flavour greatly.
Dear Naagu,
Tried your Paneer butter masala recipe and posted it today.
Here's the link-
http://aathidhyam.blogspot.com/2009/11/paneer-butter-masala.html
Thank you very much.We all enjoyed it a lot!!!
I love Mullangi sambar but the hubby shuns it, so I don't make it. As of now I'm content looking at yours :D
aaah you bring back so many memories...i love little india!
Flavorful sambhar,Loves it
aaah you bring back so many memories...i love little india!
Flavorful sambhar,Loves it
lovely click nags...sambar looks delicious with radish...have tried it once long back ...
I love this flavourful sambar very much..Looks too yummy Nags!
Pretty!
you have murugan idli kadai there?? can i relocate pls..
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