DISH NAME : ULLI SAMBAR (PIGEON PEA CURRY WITH SHALLOTS)

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Description

Sambar, the famous lentil curry is an integral curry in most Southern Indian households, specially in vegetarian kitchens. This is a variation of the original recipe. The main difference being the addition of shallots and non-inclusion of vegetables.

Note

1) I prefer to keep shallots whole. Some people slice it.
2) I cooked pigeon pea in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles after soaking it for 15 minutes.
3) Also i prefer to fry shallots slightly. Some people skip this step.

Method

1) Peel shallots.
2) Soak tamarind in water. After 20minutes, squeeze tamarind and strain the pulp and keep aside.
3) Boil pigeon pea with turmeric powder, asafoetida, salt and water and the peas are cooked well and little mushy.
4) Heat coconut oil for frying. Fry shallots till they change color slightly. Remove and keep aside.
5) In the same oil, fry corriander seeds, fenugreek, coconut with curry leaves and chillies seperately. All the ingredients shoud be fried till crisp. Coconut should be brown.
Mix all fried ingredients together and add asafoetida powder to it. When the ingredients cool slightly, powder these ingredients. Then add little water to make it to a paste.
6) Fry tomatoes in little coconut oil till tomatoes are cooked well. Add this to cooked pigeon pea.
7) Add the ground masala paste to the pigeon pea and boil well.
8) Add tamarind paste and boil well. At this stage check for salt.
Tempering:
1) Heat coconut oil.
2) Splutter mustard seeds.
3) Then add curry leaves and fry till crisp. Pour this to the lentil curry.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with rice.