Wednesday 23 June 2010

Chinna vengaya sambhar / Shallots sambhar



This is one of my favourite sambhar. I actually forgot about this recipe until I saw Viki's post on this. I just can't wait to prepare it. It is one of the most tastiest and aromatic sambhar. This dish goes well with hot rice, idly or dosa.

The scietific name of shallots is Allium ascalonicum. It is a relative of onion but tastes a bit sweeter than the onions. Shallots are easily digestible and contains 6 times more phenolics than the lowest ranked onions. They also have the most antioxidant activity than any other members of onion family. If you wonder what are these phenolics and anti-oxidants, they are the substances which provide shallots and onions their anti-cancer property. So presence of more of these substances tells us that they are potent anti-carcinogenic agents. Shallots are low in saturated fats, cholesterol and sodium. They are high in Vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, manganese, folate and pottasium. (Source : Wikipedia and natural environment website)



Ingredients :

Small onions or shallots- 20 nos if small and 10 nos if they are big
Toor dhal- 1 cup
Tomato- 1 no
Green chillies- 4 nos
Tamarind- size of a small lemon
Curry leaves- a handful
MTR sambhar powder- 2 tbspns
OR
Coriander powder- 2 tbspns and chilli powder- 1 tspn
Fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tspn
Jeera and mustard seeds- 1/2 tspn each
Coconut scrappings- 1 tbspn
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tspn
Asafoetida- a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil- 3 tbspns

Method :

Peel the onions and cut them into 2 if they are very large (here the shallots are very big, no need to cut the small variety shallots you get in India). Cut the tomatoes. Longitudinally slit the green chillies. Cook toor dhal until soft and mash them using a wooden spatula or masher. Soak the tamarind and extract the juice. Now heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot add the fenugreek seeds. When they brown and emit a nice aroma add mustard and jeera. When they splutter add the onions, green chilli, curry leaves, turmeric and a pinch of asafoetida. Suate for about 1 minute. Now add the tomato pieces and saute for 30 seconds. Add sambhar powder or coriander and chilli powder to the mixture and saute for 30 seconds. At this stage add the tamarind juice and enough water. Allow the mixture to boil. Now add the cooked dhal and allow it to boil once again. Simmer the mixture for another 10 minutes or until the oil seperates out. A very aromatic sambhar will be ready to be served.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Read it here. The onions should not become too soft. It must stay in sambhar firm like a vegetable. So reduce the sauting time. Happy cooking !!!
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This recipe goes to Priya's Easy N TastyRecipes,  Healing Foods-Onion event. This event was started by Siri of Siri's corner. This is the link for her event announcement page. Great theme Siri and thanks Priya for hosting this event.

32 comments:

  1. Looks delicious..never tried it so far...

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  2. any kind of sambar is my favorite.. this is very simple and yummy one manju.. really delicious looking sambar id=s good combo for idli or sambar even for rice too

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  3. a favourite..made during holidays at my place to enjoy it in leisure..

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  4. சூப்பர்ர்..சூடான சாதம்+அப்பளம் உடன் சாப்பிட ஆஹா அருமை அருமை...

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  5. Yummy sambar..I too love to use shallots in sambar..great combo with dosa.

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  6. Yummy...my favou:-) haven't made this for sometime now..you have tempted me!

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  7. I love vengaya sambhar .. one sambhar my mom makes it pretty often ... Just reminds me of my good old school days da..

    Yours looking mouthwatery

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  8. Love it dear, I love small shallots sambhar. Will look for some in my grocery store and make :)

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  9. Yummy sambar with small onions..Like to have it with rice and ghee.

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  10. sambhar looks incredibly delicious..

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  11. simply love it with rice or as is as soup....yum yum

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  12. Hi dear!! you have a great blog & delicious recipes.. great collections..thxs for visiting site & ur lovely comment..

    Vengaya samabar parkavey nalla irukku...konjam parcel anupunga..

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  13. aahaa..arumaiyaa irukku sambaar!

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  14. Manju,

    I like this sambar very much. Amma used to say if you want sambar you have to help in peeling the skin of shallots. I will play with shallots finally amma will do all the job and get tasty sambar in the end.

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  15. Sambhar is always my family favorite. :) yummy :)

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  16. அருமையான சாம்பார்....சூப்பர்ப்...

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  17. Watelse i need, such a tempting and droolworthy sambar, yennaku romba pidichaa sambar, thanks for sending dear..

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  18. Lovely sambhar. Goes well with Idli. I like to dunk small idlis in the sambhar and eat it, saravana bhavan style.

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  19. Looks very aromatic and tasty.

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  20. My favorite. I can survive on sambar and rice for months literally.

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  21. Love to have this with idly/dosa..

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  22. sambhar looks absolutely delicious!!

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  23. Nice sambar Manju, looks so good, i always make the onion soft, thank you for your tip Manju.

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  24. vengaya sambar super! i dont know how i miss this recipe? anyway i came here...yummy

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  25. My favourite .I can smell it!!

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  26. I have to say same pinch to this recipe...its been 3 years...finally spotted pearl onions in the local market. Its so expensive here, but I picked them last week to make our quintessential sambar and puli kuzhambu. Love ur version:)

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  27. Sambar looks so attractive and nice recipe dear. Thanks for mentioning me too. You made my day Manju:)

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  28. Beautiful site, and good presentation, nice to be here.

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