Kadhamba sambar

Kadhambam is usually a garland of flowers made by combining different kinds of flowers. Kadhamba sambar is usually made with different kinds of vegetables. Usually a way of using up leftover veggies when the cooks of olden days had no privy to a the luxury of a refrigerator. My kadhamba sambar is different that it not only uses a mixture of different veggies, but also a combination of different dals. I made this once when I had only a small amount of toor dal, and loved the taste. Its made with a combination of toor dal, split moong dal and masoor dal.

Ingredients:

1 onion, sliced

2 medium tomatoes

1 small ridgegourd

handful of chopped greeen beans(I used frozen)

1 carrot, chopped

4 small Indian eggplants, quartered

1/4 cup toor dal

1/4 cup split moong dal

1/4 cup masoor dal

1/4 cup tamarind extract(made from a small golf ball sized tamarind)

2 tsp oil

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp mustard

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp sambar powder

curry leaves

salt to taste

Method:

Pressure cook all the dals with the two tomatoes, a pinch of turmeric and a half tsp of cumin seeds. Set aside.

In a pan over medium high heat, add 1 tsp oil and saute the onions with a little bit of salt and the remaining turmeric powder. Add the veggies and saute until they sweat. Add a cup of water and the sambar powder. Let the water come to a boil. Cover and cook until the veggies are cooked and tender. Add the cooked/mashed dal to this mixture. Add the tamarind water and let it all come to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Check for seasoning.

In a small pan or thalippu karandk(a big spoon used for tadka), heat the remaining oil. When hot, splutter the mustard seeds and remaining 1/2 tsp cumin, curry leaves and the asafoetida. Add this to the sambar just before serving.

Verdict: The mixture of veggies and the dhals gives a creamy texture and makes it very wholesome. We enjoyed it with steaming white rice and a dollop of ghee, with a side of kathari urulai poriyal(roasted eggplant and potatoes). Awesome weekend lunch!

Sending this to this month’s edition of ‘My Legume Love Affair’ hosted at MharoRajasthanRecipes, event by Susan of the Well Seasoned Cook.