Cooking experiments

Am not a great cook, in fact just about nine-months-old....picked up cooking because i had no choice but now i like it.....here are a few recipes that i tried and they turned out pretty decent.....my friend Sabina suggested posting them so here i go....

Drumstick sambar



Ingredients
Drumsticks (vegetable and not chicken)
1 cup tuvar dal
1 cup fresh shredded coconut
1 tsp turmeric powder
4 red chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp methi seeds
A pinch of ajwain
2 to 3 pieces of garlic
2 to 3 green chillies
1 and half cup of thick tamarind pulp
salt to taste
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsps sambar powder

For the seasoning:
A pinch of hing/ asafoetida
A sprig of curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds

Method

Fry red chilies, coriander seeds, mustard seeds,turmeric powder, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds. Grind all these with the shredded coconut into a thick paste. if you want the sambar to be brownish then you can roast the coconut along with the ingredients used in step 1. i avoided roasting the coconut so my sambar is yellowish in colour. Peel and cut the drumsticks into 5 cm pieces and boil them in water with a little salt and turmeric powder. In case you are using frozen drumsticks, just thaw them, wash them and boil it. The drumstick should be tender but not too soft that they break off. Soak the dal in water for one hour. Wash it and pressure cook it with salt, garlic pieces and green chillies. When the dal is cooked, stir it nicely and mix the ground paste with the cooked dal. Add the cooked drumsticks to this. Let it boil and then add the chilli powder and sambar masala to it Add tamarind pulp to the mixture and bring to boil. Heat oil and fry mustard seeds, ajwain, asafoetida and curry leaves. Pour on the sambar. Add salt to taste. Cook till well blended. COMING NEXT.....Beetroot Poriyal/ Betroot Sabzi