Madras Ratna Cafe Sambhar

When it comes to South Indian breakfast in my home, my little one always gives a big thumbsup for Idly and Sambhar. Sambhar is a lentil based vegetable stew which is cooked in an addition of tamarind pulp and usually served with Rice, Pongal, Idly and Dosa. Sambhar is made in many ways in different state and region. And also, the preparation of Tiffin sambhar is different from the regular sambhar which is served with Rice. Moong and Toor dal are added in tiffin sambhar whereas only Toor dal is used for the one which is serve with rice.

Each state serves different flavours of Sambhar and being brought up from Chennai, I always love the  hotel style sambhar especially from Saravana bhavan, Vasantha bhavan and Ratna Cafe. While surfing Veena's page for a recipe to recreate for an interesting blogger event Recipe Swap Challenge, happened to see this delicious and Madras Ratna cafe style sambhar. And also, having a little sambhar lover at home, this recipe tempted me so much to try.  Recipe swap challenge is an interesting event happening among bloggers where couple of bloggers are paired and have to recreate the recipe from their partner's page. I was paired with a lovely blogger Veena Krishnakumari who owns a fabulous webpage which is filled loads of amazing recipes. Thanks Veena for sharing this delicious sambhar recipe. The taste was absolutely delicious and exactly like the way it is usually  served in hotels. My son enjoyed this flavourful sambhar with a crispy ghee dosa.

Recipe Source : Veenasvegnation

Ingredients :

1/4 Cup Moong dal 
1/4 Cup Toor dal 
1 Tomato, finely chopped 
1 Carrot, Chopped into small cubes 
Coriander leaves for garnishing 

For Seasoning :

1 Tsp Oil / Ghee
1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds
1 Dry red chilli 
A pinch of Hing powder 

For Sambhar masala Paste :

1 Tsp Oil 
1/2 Tsp Urad dal 
4 Red chillies 
1 Tsp Coriander seeds
1/4 Tsp Methi seeds
2 Tbsp Coconut, grated 
1 Tomato, chopped 
1 Onion, chopped 
1 Green chilli, chopped 
1/4 Tsp Hing powder 
1/4 Tsp Turmeric powder
1/4 Tsp Chilli powder 
Salt to taste 
1 Tsp Jaggery powder 

Method :

To make Sambhar masala paste, heat oil in a pan and add urad dal followed by red chilli, coriander seeds and methi seeds.

Fry and add the remaining ingredients.

Saute well until the tomatoes turn soft and remove from the flame.

Cool and grind into a fine paste by adding 1/4 cup of water. Keep aside.

Pressure cook moong and toor dal dal for 3 - 4 whistles or until it turns mushy.

Now add carrot and tomato into the pressure cooker along with the ground paste and required amount of salt.

Add little water and pressure cook it again for 2 whistles.

Heat oil or ghee for seasoning and add mustard seeds.

Once it starts spluttering, add red chilli followed by hing powder.

Fry and add it to the prepared sambhar.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve with Idly, Dosa or Pongal.