Buttermilk Sambar (moru Kuzhambu)

Recipe Ingredients

1 teaspoon	5ml	Red gram dal - (pigeon peas, toor dal), picked over & Rinsed
1 teaspoon	5ml	Bengal gram dal - (yellow split peas, picked over & Rinsed
		Chana dal)
1/2 cup	118ml	Water - (4 fl oz)
1		Fresh ginger - (1 cm / 1/2" long), finely shredded
2 teaspoons	10ml	Cumin seeds
1 tablespoon	15ml	Coriander seeds
6		Green chilles - (chili peppers)
3 tablespoons	45ml	Grated fresh coconut - (or)
4 tablespoons	60ml	Flaked coconut
		A little water
2 cups	474ml	Plain yogurt - (16 fl oz)
1/2 teaspoon	2.5ml	Ground turmeric
		Salt - to taste
1 cup	146g / 5.1oz	Chopped ash gourd
		For Tempering
2 teaspoons	10ml	Oil
1 teaspoon	5ml	Brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon	5ml	Fenugreek seeds
1		Red chilli - (chili pepper), halved
1/2 teaspoon	2.5ml	Asafoetida powder
		A few curry leaves

Recipe Instructions

Soak the red gram dal and the Bengal gram dal in 1/2 cup (4 fl oz) water for 1 hour. Drain off water.

Place the soaked dals, ginger, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, green chiles, and grated coconut in an electric blender or food processor. Add very little water and blend ingredients to a fine paste.

Place the yogurt in a bowl. Add the ground paste, salt to taste, and ground turmeric. Mix well and set aside. Chop the ash gourd into 1 cm (1/2 in) pieces. Set aside.

TEMPERING: Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a heavy saucepan. Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, halved red chile, asafoetida powder, and a few curry leaves.

When the mustard seeds splutter, add the chopped ash gourd to the pan. Pour in just enough water to cover the gourd. Cover pan, and simmer on a low heat until cooked. Now add the yogurt mixture and heat the sambar through gently. Take care to prevent curdling.

Serve hot with rice.

Author's note: You can make this sambar with any vegetable of your choice: e.g. okra (lady's fingers), eggplant (aubergine), sweet peppers (capsicum), or cooked diced potato. Lentil dumplings can also be used instead of vegetables.

For a slightly different flavor, use 1/4 - 1/2 cup (2 - 4 fl oz) coconut milk instead of grated or flaked coconut. Use 8 - 10 tablespoons coconut to make thick coconut milk. Blend or process the paste without the coconut and make the sambar the same way. Just before serving, add the coconut milk and stir to blend well.

"Dakshin, Vegetarian Cuisine from South India," by Chandra Padmanabhan, 1994

Source:
Dakshin by Chandra Padmanabhan

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