Pesarattu-With Love From Andhra Pradesh

We get to learn different things from different people.Some will be lessons and some others will be a blessing.There were many people who actually taught me how not to behave by being rude ,cold and indifferent.It does not mean that i didn't feel bad or was not offended by their behavior,i think i have outgrown the negative impacts or hurts of the incidents...
While on the other hand some people behave in such a sweet manner that you get convinced that being good is not that bad.They bring in a positive energy to your day and uplift the mood.Wonderful isn't it.Did i tell u about my friends from Andhra Pradesh?R and i were friends from a very young age and even though we have differences of opinion in a lot of matters it didn't matter much on the bonding front.All that mattered was respecting the differences.This particular recipe is a specialty of AP and it is usually served with a mound of upma. Because of my not so good relationship with Upma(That for another post)i prefer having this green beauty with chutney and Sambhar. My take of the combination for Pesarattu.

As am a bit busy these days with lot of deadlines to meet so was not able to post in my blog here.That said, it does not mean that i didn't cook,itz just that lazy is my last name and am tired out after all the hectic work and other stuff. Daivame kaatholane.

Ingredients

Source:Mummy and with slight adaptations from Mallika Bhadrinath's cook book

1. Green Moong dhal -2 cups
2. Raw rice -1/2 cup
3. Ginger-2 inch piece
4. Garlic -5 cloves
5. Green chilly -4
6. Oil-For making Dosa (As required)

Method:

1. Wash the dhal and the rice with several changes of water til the water runs clear
2. Soak the dhal and rice seperately for some 4 to 5 hours.
3. Grind them with the rest of the ingredients along with water and salt.
4. The consistency of the batter largely depends on personal preference and i personally prefer the batter to be coarse rather than resembling a neat pasty format.
5. check for salt.
6. Heat an iron skillet or tawa and drizzle some oil.
7. Pour a laddle of batter and spread as yould do it for making a dosa.
8. cover and cook till done.
9. Serve hot with Thenga Chammandhi and Sambhar.

Notes:

Because i love the garlic flavour i have added 5 cloves.It is person specific and the quantity can be adjusted according to your preference.

Am sending this to Runner Girl's and Pari's Only from cook books event.
Also sending this to JW's event. and to Priya Chechi's event, amrita and sara's event,apu's event and to vegan thursday's by Priya chechi.

Idli Sambhar/Tiffin Sambhar

Hi, How are you?Howz life treating you.Hope everything is going on smooth sailing.Okay,What does Authentic Recipe mean to you?Does it mean anything that is cooked by following the age old method to the dot or the taste that you grew up with?Anyhoo,for me authenticity of a recipe is just being able to relate to the taste i grew up with.

When i was in school,mummy used to make Sambhar especially for idlis(with Moong Dal) and the fussy eater me will suddenly start to behave in a sweet manner and finish up what was given on my plate.Those were the days my mom gave me so many incentives if i finished my food.The incentives were simple like extra play time or having a new ball to play with or playing with my baby blue teddy, simple as that.I was too naive then, to be fooled by simple things.Now itz only that i am being fooled by simpler things.My brother who is self trained to bug me, says all sorts of nonsense and i still believe his stories.

So what was i telling,authentic food.Yes.This particular sambhar recipe is according to me the AUTHENTIC  Idli Sambhar recipe.It really complements plain coconut chutney.Also,u can pair this with Pongal,even Uzhunnu vadas or with paniyarams.I slightly adapted by not adding Fenugreek while grinding the masala but used it for tadka.The choice of vegetables depends on the availability.Carrots,Radish,Potatoes and Drumsticks will be a lovely combo.

Method

Source:My Mummy     Serves :4      Cooking time :45 min

Ingredients

1. Moong Dal - 3/4 th of a cup
2. Veggies -5 pieces of drumstick,Potato one diced,Carrots 2 sliced.(This is what i used,it totally depends on your choice and availability)
3. Tamarind pulp got from soaking a gooseberry size (Nellikaya size) ball of tamarind in water(1/2 cup).
4. Shallots(Kunjulli) - 12
5. Tomato -1 big
6. Green chilly - 2 
7. Salt -As required
8. Curry Leaves - generous bunch
9. Asafoteida - A pinch
10. Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves

To Grind

1. Coriander Seeds-1.5 Tbsp
2. Channa Dal/Kadala Paripu -1.5 Tbsp
3. Red Chilly -2
4. Optional Fenugreek-1/4 Tsp(I used it for Tadka and not while grinding.)

For Tadka

1. Oil - 1 Tbsp
2. Mustard Seeds - 1 Tsp
3. Jeera -1/2 Tsp
4. Urad Dal -1/2 Tsp
5. Fenugreek - A generous pinch

Method

1. Dry roast moon dal till you get a nice aroma.To a slighly golden brown color.
2. Cook the dry roasted  Moong Dal in a pressure cooker along with asafoteida,green chillies,Garlic and turmeric powder. Mash it with the back of a laddle.Reserve
3. Dry roast the ingredients in low flame till a nice aroma emanates.Grind this to a fine powder.The ground mixture.
4. In a kadai add half tbsp oil and add the kunjulli vegetables , Tomato, along with the vegetables that you are going to add to make sambhar.
5. Saute nicely and cook with enough water.
6.  When the vegetables are cooked add them to the dal and give a good mix.
7. Add the tamarind pulp,Ground masala to the dal in the mashed dal and if you feel that the sambhar need to be a bit watery add the required quantity of water after keeping it on the stove.
8. Check for salt and doneness .
9. Do the tadka with the items mentioned and pour in the sambhar.
10.  Donot allow the sambhar to be on the stove for too long or in high flame for a long time as it may result in adikku pidikkal.
11. Pair with Idlis,Dosas,Paniyarams and the like.
12. It goes well with pesarattu even.

 Notes:

1. The cooking time of the dal greatly depends on the quality of the dal.
2. I added the cooked vegetables and the tadka to the pressure cooker that i used to cook the dal.
3. Add water and heat the sambhar if you are using it for the next meal/day coz the sambhar may get thick.
4. refrigerate the leftovers if any coz moong dal has the tendency to get spoiled fast.

Sambhar using the above recipe with uzhunnu vada.

Am sending this to Crazy For Potatoes hosted by Nivedhanams Sowmya and Pari of Cooking good food.

Am also sending this to  Made with Love Mondays and tosowmya  and Priya's event.
Am also sending this to Dish it out
Happy Cooking