Batata Poha - timeless Maratha favorite

   
My association with Poha is almost as old as my relationship with Cincinnati. A room-mate of mine used to make it so often that it often made me wonder about the charm that it beheld to its loyal followers. I tasted it often, but my unforgiving southern tongue failed to register anything below a five-figure Scoville index, until I decided to take matters into my own hands. A dash of chili powder and a few extra green chilies were all that it took to turn my heart around, completely. Today, Poha has a permanent place on my very cluttered kitchen shelf, fighting for its rightful place among tall jars of dals, rava, countless masala powders and rice. I use it ever so often, not only for preparing its famous namesake, but also for a variety of kheers, sweets and laddus (yes, laddus!). 

  

Poha is a favorite breakfast item in traditional Gujarathi and Marathi households and needless to say, some of the best versions of Poha that I had come across came from tiny kitchens and roadside restaurants in Shirdi and Pune. They are a delight with each mouthful, filling and still manage to score high on the health index (or so continue to I believe). My own Poha recipes keep changing with my mood. Sometimes I add fresh vegetables like peas and carrots, while often, when I am running short of time, it is just the plain old version with zero additional frills. The spices I use keep changing, as do the ways in which the veggies are cooked. However, the spirit remains the same as also the does the feeling of eating something so simple yet elegant. The recipe below is what came out of my mind on a lazy Sunday afternoon, when my room-mate had just strolled into the kitchen, hair tousled and eyes partially open, with hopes of piping hot food.

BATATA POHA (Serves 2-3)
Set-up Time : 15 minutes

Experiment Run-Time : 15 Minutes

The Shopping List

          Set 1: Soak-Together
          Thick Poha/Aval (Flattened Rice) : 2 cups

          Water : 3 cups

          Set 2: Chop-Chop

          Onion :1 medium, cut lengthwise- medium thick strands 

          Green Chilies : 5, cut into rounds

          Potato : 1 big or 2 small, cut into half-inch cubes

          

          Set 3: The Flavorings
          Mustard Seeds : 1 tsp
          Cumin Seeds : 1 tsp

          Red Chilies : 2, broken

          Curry Leaves : a strand or two
          Turmeric Powder : 1 tsp
          Red Chili Powder : 1/2 tsp
          Coriander Powder : 1 tsp
          Lemon Juice : 2 Tbsp
          Roasted Peanuts : a fistful or as much as you like

          Vegetable Oil : 2 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp

          Salt : Adjust according to taste 

Methodology

1. Soak together the ingredients in Set 1 for 15 minutes or until the Poha has absorbed most of the water. Drain and keep aside.

2. In a shallow pan, pour 2 Tbsp of oil and once it is heated, carefully add the potato cubes. Sprinkle with salt, red chili powder and coriander powder. and sauté the potatoes until they are evenly coated with the powders. Continue to cook them on the pan, turning the pieces occasionally, until all of them achieve a uniform roasted-brown shade. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate and keep aside.

3. In a deeper pan, pour in the remaining oil. When it reaches its smoking point, throw in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chilies and curry leaves and allow them to start popping. At this stage, add the chopped onions, green chilies and slat and cook on until the onions achieve a transparent appearance.

4. Its now about time to give the fried potatoes a good pat with paper towels, to remove excess oil, and transfer them to the cooking pan.

5. Very carefully, add the soaked Poha, a little at a time, interspersed with quick strokes from your wooden spatula to mix them together. Try not to break the Poha as you stir the mixture together. Any residual water in the Poha will evaporate in the first few minutes. So, make sure to turn the heat off when all the water evaporates, else the Poha may burn.

6. Just before transferring to a serving dish, sprinkle the Poha with lemon juice and peanuts. Give a quick toss or two to distribute the added ingredients and serve immediately.

     
Hot Poha is real good, but so is the one that I eat at school during lunch, after it has remained in my box for a couple of hours. I love to pair it up with some crunchy snacks like chips, kurkure and the likes. I have also tried it with raitha, chutney and pickle and it has never let me down. Looks like the possible combinations are limitless in number, and I am going to try them all, even if it takes me to the end of eternity.

Cauliflower Pepper Roast - for those wintry afternoons!

   
Winter is a terrible, terrible time for those who are not used to it. There are periods of sleep, followed by long periods of depression, winter-morning blues, sneezes, cough, cold and headaches. Yearning for hot, home-cooked meals, loaded with chilies, pepper and turmeric, increases exponentially with the onset of December. Your's truly is no exception to this, except that I gather up that last ounce of strength and determination to drag myself from under that incredibly comfortable plush throw to put together a meal that is delightful enough to drive away all the problems at hand and creates wonderful hallucinations of crowded Chennai streets, a sweaty mid-day sun, and hot pakodas on a warm rainy day! 

One such expedition to the kitchen on a lazy winter Saturday afternoon, resulted in the creation of this piece de resistance, Cauliflower Pepper Roast. What started off as a quest to make chicken chukka roast and hot spicy Rasam, gave way to this even better Vegetarian version of the chukka and some flavorful quick dal, just because my freezer was devoid of chicken! One of my friends, had a lick of the cauliflower and asked, "Do you have some rum or whiskey? Semma sidedish!", and was greeted with my version of a raised eyebrow (essentially a frown!). And it took all of 30 minutes for the dal and the roast, together. Beat that!

CAULIFLOWER PEPPER ROAST (Serves 3)

Set-up Time : 5 minutes

Experiment Run-Time : 15 Minutes

The Shopping List

          Set 1: Spice-Mix
          Whole Black Pepper : 1.5 Tbsp

          Cumin Seeds : 1 Tbsp

          Set 2: Chop-Chop

          Onion :1 medium, cut lengthwise -  medium thick strands 

          Green/Red/Yellow Peppers : 1, cut into squares

          Cauliflower : 1 small, florets separated (or frozen ones)

          

          Set 3: The Flavorings

          Red Chilies : 2, broken

          Curry Leaves : a strand or two

          Vegetable Oil : Sufficient to roast the veggies

          Salt : Adjust according to taste 

Methodology

1. Place the cauliflower florets in a microwave-safe bowl along with 3 Tbsp of water. Cover and microwave on high for 4-5 minutes until fairly cooked. If using the frozen version, follow the instructions on the packet. Allow it to cool and pat the florets dry with a paper-towel. Keep it aside.

2. Now, the peppercorns and cumin seeds have to be made into a coarse powder. You may use a spice-grinder or a blender, if you own one, and grind them together, but it is important to control the final size. To get a complete experience out of the dish, it is essential that the powder is sufficiently coarse. I prefer to use the mortar and pestle, grandma-style to patiently pound the spices until I achieve the desired powder texture.

3. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and throw in the red chilies and curry leaves once it is sufficiently hot. The onions go in next and are to be sautéd until they are halfway done. 

4. Add the pepper-cumin spice powder, that has been prepared, to the onions and after a quick sauté, tip in the cut green peppers. Continue to fry gently until they are almost cooked. 

5. It is now time to add the cauliflower into the pan. Make sure to stir thoroughly, so that the florets are evenly coated with the spices. You may end the preparation here, after an additional 2 minutes of frying, or you may continue to fry until the florets start to disintegrate. I am more inclined towards the latter, as it gives time for the masala to form a fine roast which goes along very well with my beloved Thacchu Mammam! 

     
It is necessary for the roast to be served hot, for otherwise it loses it's winter magic. Try pairing it with a simple dal and some steamed rice. My favorite accompaniment is a mild Rasam that does not dominate the peppery taste of the roast. Or as my friend suggested, you are welcome to open a bottle of your best liquor and have a go!

A peppery winter cure

Ksheerannam - Heaven in every spoonful!

    
So, as it happens in every grad's life, I hit the sack at 4 AM last night. A look at the cellphone through heavy eyelids, a few seconds later, showed the time to be 10:27 AM. Panic! It was Pongal and I had a class at 1:30, a meeting with my adviser at 3 (which requires a minimum two hours of self-pep talk) and I had to make Pongal and offer it to the Sun, before noon. But when I hot the shower, a minute later, my mind refused to think about the class, the assignments, my adviser or the related pep-talk. It was rather going over the various varieties of Pongals that one could make on such a short notice. "Sakkara Pongal (duh.. you made Akkaara Adisal three days ago), Ven Pongal (Add an extra 30 minutes for Sambhar!), Kalkandu Pongal (Now, where do I get sugar candy at this time?)... Paal Pongal (Ingredients : check, eligibility for pooja : check, Time : ?)

Nevertheless, 5 minutes later (yes, a bath can be THAT short!), I was pouring milk into the vessel, getting ready to make Paal Pongal, also called Ksheerannam (Rice with milk) or Paramaannam (Food of the Gods). What started out as an effort to make it to college on time, went on for 75 minutes, gave time for 30 minutes of self-pep talk, and ended with a terrific meeting with my adviser (Oh, I gave him some of the Ksheerannam too :D). But its taste just about made my day!

Ksheerannam is technically more popular in Andhra than Tamil Nadu, and is often made on festive days throughout the year. But it acquires special significance on Sankranthi. To many traditional farmers, this would be the first meal with the newly harvested rice, and their dutiful wives make sure to prepare it with a taste that lingers on their tongues all the way into the next year! Let's celebrate the spirits of these farmers, their farm animals and their aides, for providing us with the choicest of produce all year long. Happy Pongal, once again!

KSHEERANNAM (Serves 6)
Set-up Time : -

Experiment Run-Time : 75 Minutes

The Shopping List

           Raw Rice : 1/2 cup, washed and drained

           Saffron : 1 generous pinch

           Whole Milk : 6 cups

           Ghee : 1 Tbsp

           Cashews : 10, broken in half

           Condensed Milk : 3 Tbsp

           Sugar : 4 Tbsp

Methodology

1. You would need one vessel with a heavy-bottom to boil the milk without burning it. After much looking around the kitchen, I settled for a Prstige Pressure cooker. Rinse it well with soap and hot water, and place it on the stove. Once dry, pour the entire 6 cups of milk and add the saffron. Allow the milk to come to a boil.

2. When the milk starts to boil, add the rice to the boiling milk. The boiling will subside for a few minutes, until it begins again with a renewed zest.

3. Reduce the flame and star stirring the mixture in a gentle sweeping motion. You are going to be doing this for the next 45 minutes, continuously, without batting an eyelid. The milk will gradually start to thicken and the rice will take on a creamy appearance. Your are nearly done when the the mixture comes to a near-solid appearance. Switch off the stove.

4. When the mixture is still hot, add the sugar and the condensed milk and stir well. Transfer it to the offering-dish.

5. Top it off with the cashews that have been lightly fried in ghee. It's all yours now to dig in!

Naivedhya!

If desired, one may refrain from adding the saffron, cashews, sugar and condensed milk, and add salt instead. Also called Paal Pongal/ Uppu Pongal, this is what is made in many Tamil farmer households, further south, on Pongal day. They eat it with a spicy gravy called Kanu Koottu and the combination is known to be on par with the sweet version.    

Ksheerannam is equally delightful when served hot or cold. I offered it at pooja (No, I didn't go out in the -4 degree weather to offer it to Surya! I just asked Him to come inside and have some) and finished off my share in the blink of an eye (time was running), when it was still steaming hot. UN-BEL-IEVABLE!

Akkaara Adisal - நெய் பெய்து முழங்கை வழிவார!

    
Happy Pongal everyone! With hearty wishes for this year to be as bountiful and blessed as the last one, atleast on the food front, else, I might as well shut-down this blog!

First things first - for those of you who fail to get the title of the post, and I am sure that there is a sizeable population : worry not (or rather, worry more). Akkaara Adisal is a special dish akin to to the famous Sarkkarai Pongal, except that it is a lot richer, fattier and hence tastier than the latter. 'How much fattier?' is of course a very expected question, given the present state of dieting for some of us, but are you ready for the answer? If we were to pay heed to the words of Aandaal, the only lady Aazhwar (remember the Bhakthi movement?), I am confident that most of us would not even risk a glance at this delicacy. She says, in the 27th verse of her famed Thiruppaavai "பாற் சோறு மூட நெய் பெய்து முழங்கை வழிவார கூடி இருந்து குளிர்ந்தேலோர் எம்பாவாய்" (We will enjoy this delicacy, of rice cooked in milk and covered with sufficient ghee that when eating, it drips down along our hands right to the elbows.). And that is no translation error! This is the way it is supposed to be cooked. This is the way it is prepared, to this day, at the temple of Thirumaaliruncholai (Azhagar kovil), where Raamanujar is said to have offered a 100 pots of Akkaara Adisal and a 100 pots of butter on behalf of Aandaal. One mouthful of that Akkaara Adisal, and for a few seconds you might as well be in Vaikunda.

For the brave souls who are still interested, Akkaara Adisal literally translates to rice cooked to a near-mash consistency (Adisal) with sugar (Akkaarai). It is cooked with great care and devotion at Sri Vaishnava households on several festive occasions throughout the year, but it is especially prepared on Koodaaravalli, the 27th day of Margazhi, and offered to Aandaal and the Lord, as a mark of completion of the month long Paavai Nonbu (a vow undertaken by devotees). So when Koodaaravalli happened a few days ago, I decided to try my hand at preparing this delicacy. I did make some sacrifices from the time and calories perspective, but still, this is no mean feat. It requires patience, strength, determination to see the end of it, and an ability to focus unflinchingly on the gently boiling rice!

AKKAARA ADISAL (Serves 4)
Set-up Time : -

Experiment Run-Time : 45-60 Minutes 

The Shopping List

          Raw Rice : 3/4 cup
          Moong Dal : 1/4 cup
          Powdered Jaggery : 1.5 cups
          Saffron : 1 pinch
          Whole Milk : 6 cups
          Ghee : 1/2 cup and more if you are willing to!
          Nuts (Cashews, Almonds, Pistachios) : 1/4 cup
          Raising :1/4 cup (I didn't use, but recommended)
          Cardamom Powder : 1 tsp
          Edible Camphor : a pinch (again, I didn't have this)

Methodology

1. Take a clean, and I mean a CLEAN frying pan and heat it on a medium flame. Place the rice and moong dal into the pan and roast them slowly until the rice starts to white out and the moong dal is ever-so-lightly browned.

2. Transfer the rice and dal to a wide, deep vessel and pour in 4 cups of milk. Heat the vessel carefully and bring the milk to a boil. Your work starts now. Since milk burns quickly, you need to stir the contents continuously while the rice and dal continue to cook on a low flame.

3. Once the rice, and more importantly, the dal have been cooked thoroughly and have been reduced to a near mash (Go ahead, take out a grain of rice/dal and press it between your thumb and index finger- it should give no resistance whatsoever), stop heating it any further, add the saffron, and keep it aside.

4. In a pan, melt the jaggery with half a cup of water and filter the syrup to remove any sediments that maybe present.Heat the filtered syrup until it it begins to boil. Allow it to boil for like ten seconds and remove it from the heat.

5. Now place the cooked rice/dal mixture on the stove and heat it up once again. Pour in the jaggery syrup and start to stir with vigor (remember bicep curls?). As the mixture thickens, add milk, little at a time, until you have exhausted the remaining two cups. 

6. Just before removing the vessel from the stove, pour in the generous amount of ghee suggested and give a quick stir. You should right now be looking at a glistening mass of brown pudding.

7. Fry up the nuts and raisins in a tablespoon of ghee and add it to the Akkaara Adisal along with the edible camphor and cardamom powder. Once again, give a good stir to evenly distribute the nuts and raisins. The artery-choker is now ready for some action.

     
Traditionally, Akkaara Adisal is served hot on a banana leaf, after offering it to the Lord, and one is supposed to eat it off their hands. No dilly-dallying with spoons and napkins please. Once again, tradition demands that we keep our minds at peace while preparing any food, but the elders emphasize it all the more in the case of the Akkaara Adisal. Hence, no panicking, no shouting for help and no dancing around to dubstep, should be made the kitchen norms for the day. (The importance of one's mental state during food preparation is still researched upon by some nutritionists, psychologists and other related experts). With a final word of advice, I will allow you to go and try this out in your kitchens this Sankraanthi : Hit the treadmill!

Tutti-Frutti Kesari - A ten-minute wonder!

   
Kesari or Sojji, as we call it back home, was an indispensable part of any festival menu, from the grand ones like Janmashtami to the monthly Pournami-Amaavasai poojas. I think, once, we even planned to make various versions of Kesari through the nine days of Navarathri (Thankfully, it remained a plan). But even years and years of tasting the same orange, slightly gooey dessert, each time brimming with enough ghee to solve Chennai's energy crisis, will never make me say "No, Thank you" to the next person who offers it to me. There is some unknown magic that binds me to it and I am not very keen to discover that either.

Named so because of it's bright orange hue, similar to that of saffron (kesar), the Kesari has come far from its humble beginnings. Today, it is not rare to see a yellow-colored pineapple Kesari with juicy chunks of pineapple embedded in it, Semiya Kesari made with vermicelli, or a vibrantly pink strawberry Kesari. Once, I even had the fortune of sampling Kesari made with mango pulp, and for a whole hour, I was 5 feet off the ground! And so, as a humble offering to the divine-science of Kesari-ology, I devised up yet another simple-to-make version of this globe-trotting sweet - Tutti-Frutti Kesari. Of course there are dedications to make on this successful achievement : To Tootie, Frootie, and Shori, for reasons unknown!

Now, the recipe is so very simple that you can prepare it in a jiffy, even in the middle of the worst possible three-day long night-out, that one may undertake to submit the next draft to that prestigious journal. And don't forget to save some for your adviser when you meet him for corrections in the morning. It may end up being your only saving grace!

TUTTI-FRUTTI KESARI (Serves 6)
Set-up Time : -

Experiment Run-Time : 10 Minutes

The Shopping List

          Coarse Rava (Semolina) : 1 cup

          Sugar : 1 cup 

          Tutti-Frutti : 1/2 cup

          Nuts : A handful
          (Mixture of Walnuts, Cashews, Pistachios and Almond)

          Ghee : 2-3 Tbsp (Gasp!)

          Cardamom Powder : 1 tsp 
          (4 cardamoms blended with a little sugar in a blender)

          Water : 3 cups  

          

Methodology

1. Place the water in a deep pan, with a handle, and heat it on a low-medium flame in the back-burner. Forget about it for now. It will be ready when it is needed.

2. Take another frying pan and drop in a tablespoon of ghee. Once it has melted and heated up, tip in the Rava and roast it on a medium flame until the raw-smell is replaced with a rich ghee-laden aroma. The Rava should have browned ever so lightly by now. Quickly remove the Rava onto a plate and allow it to cool. A delay of even a few seconds may burn the Rava, so keep the plate ready-at-hand.

3. In the same frying pan, add the rest of the ghee (the more the better), and when it heats up, fry the nuts in it until they are golden brown.

4. Once again, empty the Rava into the frying pan and mix it well with the ghee and the nuts. Gradually blend in the sugar and keep stirring until the mixture starts sticking to the sides.

5. If your timing is perfect, and it is really important that it is indeed so, the water that we safely left on the back-burner would be boiling away. Take the pan by its handle (Ah, now you get it!) and carefully pour the hot water into the Rava. Keep stirring, else you may end up with nasty lumps of uncooked Rava.

6. The Rava will expand on cooking, and the mixture will begin to thicken. Continue pouring the water until the Rava is completely cooked*. (The water measurement given is usually sufficient for the other given ingredients, but sometimes, if the Rava is too fine, lesser water maybe sufficient).

7. When the mixture is still in a semi-solid state**, stir in the cardamom powder, the Tutti-Frutti and an additional tablespoon of ghee if desired. Continue heating until all the water has been absorbed and the Kesari takes on a shine from all the ghee that has been generously added. Ambrosia is served!

* One way to check if the Rava is cooked or not is to look for white specks in the Kesari. When a Rava is not cooked through, it's inside is more opaque than the cooked outer shell. The presence of white specks indicates that the Rava is still partially cooked and is a cue for you to keep adding water. 

** A word of warning here. When the Kesari is in its thick viscous state, it tends to boil and splatter around. Take utmost care when reaching out to stir the mixture lest you may end up with a scalding hot splat on your hand!

     
Kesari tastes best when it is served hot, right off the stove, but given the poojas and offering protocol, you rarely get to eat it this way on the festival days. Nevertheless, it tastes really good when cold too, and disappears equally fast. This Tutt-Frutti Kesari went along amazingly well with vanilla icecream and I just couldn't stop at one cup. So, ready to make your own desert for dinner tomorrow?

Onion Sambhar - a mundane delicacy!

   
Happy New year folks! Hope your holidays were as fun-filled as mine. Oh yeah, as usual, my friends and I enjoyed lots and lots of home-cooked and restaurant meals with some excellent drinks to wash it all down. And when the time came for resolutions, I made one (among others) that I was sure I could follow : I would not eat out more than twice a month! Which translates to more recipes on this blog, lets hope! Here's to a wonderful, healthy 2013 filled with the warmth and comfort of many home-cooked delicacies.

Step into any Tamil household at lunch-time and the probability is that 50% of the times you will be welcomed with the saliva-producing aroma of vegetables boiling in a delicately spiced and seasoned mix of lentils and tamarind pulp. The Maami of the household is bound to invite you to join in the family's lunch with a very audible threat, or so it sounds "எங்க ஆத்துக்கு வந்துட்டு என்னோடைய ஸ்பெஷல் ஐய்யங்கார் சாம்பார் ருசிக்காம போய்டுவேளா என்ன?" (Would you dare to leave our home without tasting my special Iyengar sambar?). I am sure that only a handful of such Maami's, Paati's and Amma's, who take a fierce pride in their brand of Sambhar-making realise that the dish owes it's origin to the erstwhile Maratha Rulers of Thanjavur. Long story short, when the tart kokum required for the preparation of the staple Marathi amti did not arrive on time for the mid-day meal, Sambhoji, who was the King as well as the chief chef, was told, by the severely shivering sous chef, to make the dish with tamarind acting as a replacement for the kokum. The adventurous cook that he was, Sambhoji went ahead with the idea and thus was born the Sambhar, named after it's apparent inventor (though learned sources say that this style of cooking was already prevalent in the south).

Despite it's West-Indian origins, the Sambhar is perhaps one of the best known examples of South Indian cooking to novices away from the four Dravidian states. History and statistics show that in the early nineties, Vada, Idli, Dosa and Sambhar were the sole flag-bearers of the glorious South-Indian cuisine outside it's indigenous region. Closer home, usually no complete mid-day meal is fit to be called so without one of the many varieties of our interest for the day. Besides, it makes frequent appearances at breakfast and dinner tables accompanying pongal, idli, dosa, upma, oothappam... You get it! And there are as many varieties of Sambhar as there are vegetables, dals and spices. Starting from the basic Onion sambhar weaving its way up more increasingly complex recipes of Drumstick Sambhar, Spinach Sambhar, Naattu-Karikaay Sambhar (prepared on Makara Sankranthi with a colourful medley of local produce), Arachu-Vitta Sambhar (with freshly ground aromatic masala paste) and so on. Like Rasam, the Sambhar also owes its distinct flavor to a unique mix of several spices that are roasted and ground into a powder. The Sambhar powder varies from house-to-house, region-to-region and state-to-state, with the Malayalis adding coconut, the Kannadigas with their jaggery, and the Telugus spicing it up with a typical extra helping of red-chillies, again giving rise to a limitless combination of flavors.

Being an ardent enemy of boiled vegetables, it was only recently that I got to start enjoying the unique flavor that each vegetable imparts to the Sambhar : the tomato with an extra kick of sourness, the spinach with it's fresh green taste, the coconut with it's creamy texture and even the slight sweetness due to the jaggery, accentuated by the otherwise spicy mix. Nevertheless, my favorite was and will always remain the plain Onion Sambhar with just the right texture of the slightly caramelized onions, not too chewy, not too soggy. The preferences may change with some people lunging at a cauldron of Sambhar where the onion is barely cooked to others craving for the version where there are no clear lines of distinction between the dal, the liquid and the onions. The recipe below will cater to all the tastes, provided you cook the onions to the desired degree on the raw-to-soggy scale. I have used a home-made mix of Sambhar Powder that my friend Deepu specially procured from a veteran Iyengar Maami , but since not everyone has access to the same, feel free to use one of the many brands available commercially - Sakthi Masala or Aachi's Masala would be my recommendation.

ONION SAMBHAR (Serves 6)

Set-up Time : 20 minutes
Experiment Run-Time : 30 Minutes

The Shopping List

          Set 1: Liquid Base

          Tamarind : 1 Tbsp paste mixed well with a cup of water

          Toor Dal (Red Gram/Split Pigeon Peas) : 1.5 Cups
          (Pressure cooked with 4 cups of water, a pinch of turmeric
          powder and salt for 5 whistles)

          Tomato : 1 large, pressure cooked, whole, with the Toor Dal

          Set 2: Chop-Chop
          Onions :2 medium, cut lengthwise - medium thick strands 
          Green Chilies : 4-6, slit lengthwise  

          Set 3: The Flavorings
          Sambhar Powder of your choice : 2-3 Tbsp
          Asafoetida : 1/4 tsp
          Mustard seeds : 1 tsp
          Red Chilies : 3, broken
          Curry Leaves : a strand or two
          Fenugreek seeds : 1/8 tsp           
          Vadagam* : 2 marble-sized pieces
          Vegetable Oil : Sufficient to sauté the above
          Coriander Leaves : one fistful
          Salt : Adjust according to taste

Seasonings : Red chilies, Curry leaves, Mustard seeds and the indispensable Vadagam (top right)

* Vadagams are handy, ready to use seasoning balls made from a sun-dried mix of fried onions and other condiments. In the days of yore, all the paatis, athais, maamis and ammas of the household used to make these and other sun-dried delicacies by the tons during the summer months. Vadagams sure as hell add a unique flavor to dishes like Sambhar, Spinach and other Tamil-gravy recipes. If you do not have them in your pantry, don't even plan to take a casual walk to the nearest Indian store and buy them unless you are in a region with an overwhelming majority of Tamil aunties. (This is one item that all my friends must bring back for me when they fly home to Chennai)

Methodology

1. Choose a wide enough kadai that would surely accommodate around two to three litres of Sambhar. If your dal and tomato are already cooked, you are just half an hour away from sitting down to a meal of piping hot Sambhar with rice or anything else you may choose to have it with.

2. Heat the oil in the kadai and add the asafoetida and mustard seeds followed by the fenugreek seeds, red chilies, crushed pieces of Vadagam and curry leaves. If this is your first time with Vadagam, beware, do not step into the magical clasps of it's aroma - you will be entrapped in a blissful trance that can possibly only end when a pungent odor arises from the burnt remains in the kadai.

3. Once the tempting aroma fills the kitchen, add the ingredients of set 2 and continue sautéing until you attain the desired degree of onion texture, as discussed previously. When the onions are nearing their perfect state, tip in the cooked tomato from Set 1 and mash it up as you sauté the mixture.

4. I am probably deviating from tradition in this step, but this is where I pour the the tamarind water into the sautéd onion mixture. I like it when the onions are further cooked in the boiling tamarind water. Traditionalists may add the cooked dal at this stage instead of the tamarind water but my experiments have yielded better results when I follow the unorthodox version.

5. When the tamarind water starts boiling, pour in the pressure cooked dal. Some people prefer to mash the dal before they add it to the Sambhar, but once again, I prefer to have them well-cooked but whole. Now wait patiently until the entire mixture boils up.

6. Finally, when you can see the dal dancing up and down in the simmering liquid, sprinkle the Sambhar powder evenly over the entire surface, and stir it into the rest of the mixture. Let it simmer for some more time before you add the salt and mix that in too. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with a bunch of freshly chopped coriander leaves.

This Sambhar goes very well with rice, pongal, dosas, oothappam and the kind. For idlies, my mother  makes a different version, with globules of ghee floating around a much thinner, clearer liquid. Will post that some  time down the year. A simple but satisfying meal for a cold winter day would be some steaming white rice, onion Sambhar and a couple of roaster or fried appalam/pappad. Unlike Rasam, Sambhar tends to aquire an "unsambhar'ish" flavor if refrigerated, or so I feel. Hence, I prefer to make it in small quantities so that there are no leftovers. But if you feel that the flavor enhances the taste of the dish, by all means, go ahead and make it by the gallon, so that you may enjoy it throughout the week.