Milagu Kara Sambar/ Spicy Pepper Sambar

Ingredients

• Murungaikai( Drumstick)-2 or Kathrikai (Eggplant)-4 or Keerai Thandu( Stems of Amaranth leaves)-1 bunch
• Toordal( cooked and mashed)-1cup
• Onion small chopped-1
• Tomato small chopped-1
• Turmeric powder-1/4tsp
• Salt to taste
• Dry roast and grind the following ingredients to fine powder
• Urad dal( Ullutham parrupu)-2tsp
• Whole Black pepper( Milagu)-2tsp
• Mustard seeds( Kadugu)-1tsp
• Dry red chilly( Varamilagai)-4
• Tempering
• Mustard seeds-1tsp
• Asafetida-pinch
• Curry leaves-few
• Oil required

P.S-Any one of the above vegetables can be used to make this sambar or you can combine both drumstick and eggplant.

Only use the stems of the amaranth leaves, donot use the leaves.

Method

In a deep vessel add vegetable( i had used drumstick here), onions and tomatoes, add enough water and bring to boil. Cook till the vegetable are tender. When vegetable is done, add cooked toordal to the above vegetable and mix well. In a small bowl add the ground masala, 1tsp of water and mix well. Add this mixture to the vegetable toordal mixture.( If the ground masala is directly added to toordal mixture, masala powder will form into lumps and will not mix thoroughly).

Add turmeric powder and enough salt to the sambar( add water according to the thickness of sambar). Bring the mixture to boil, simmer for 2mins and keep stirring sambar.

In a small tadka pan heat 2 tbsp of oil, when hot add mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafetida. When crackles, add this tempering to the boiling sambar.

Serve hot with steamed rice.