Mango Drumstick Sambar Recipe - Tirunelveli / Nellai Sambar Recipe

I love to taste and try varieties of sambar recipes be it idli sambar or lunch sambar and particularly this is my most favourite among all the sambar recipes. U know why, this is my mom’s Tirunelveli style sambar for rice :) We love to have it with idli, dosa as well. My mom calls this as "Idi sambar". Its a very tasty and flavorful sambar with freshly ground sambar powder. I can have a plateful of rice anytime with this Nellai sambar. We ( me and my sis) fondly call this as "Amma sambar". After marriage,when I started cooking, I couldn’t make this sambar often in my kitchen as Sendhil is very much fond of his mom’s Tanjore/Kumbakonam style sambar. So whenever I go to my mom’s house(Salem), she prepares this specially for me. This sambar needs very less dal than the usual quantity. We can add any vegetables like lady’s finger, drumstick, brinjal and raw mango. But our favorite combo is drumstick and raw mango. In my family, everybody loves my mom’s cooking very much. She makes authentic Nellai Saiva pillai (Tirunelveli) samayal very nicely. My amma never used store bought sambar powder in her cooking so far. Her recipes are mostly with freshly ground powder be it sambar, puli kulambu or rasam. So preparation /cooking time takes little more than my (mil’s)usual method of cooking. So I make my mil’s and mom’s lunch recipes in alternate days and enjoy eating varieties of kuzhambu.

My mom makes Carrot puttu or avial as side dish for this sambar recipe. To me, just a papad/ appalam is enough.

If you are looking to find Tirunelveli style Sambar powder, check THIS LINK. 

 

Basic Tirunelveli style Sambar Recipe For Rice

Basic Nellai style sambar recipe for rice using freshly ground sambar powder.U can use any vegetables like brinjal , lady’s finger , drumstick or simply onion.

Cuisine: South Indian Category: Lunch recipesServes: 2-3 persons 

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 30 Minutes Total Time: 40 Minutes 

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 200ml

To pressure cook Toor dal – 1/3 cup Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp Cooking oil – a drop To roast and grind for sambar powder ( use 1 tsp of this powder, store the excess powder for future use. My mom use this powder for idli sambar too.) Oil – 1/4 tsp Methi seeds - `1/2 tsp Chana dal – 1 tsp Coriander seeds – 1/2 tsp Red chillies – 3 nos To grind Grated coconut – 1.5 tbsp Small onions – 3 nos Jeera/cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp To saute Cooking oil – 1 tbsp Big onion – 1 no (slice cut) Curry leaves – few Tamarind – A big gooseberry size Drumstick – 1 no (cut into finger size pieces) Small Raw mango – 1/2no ( 5-6 cubes) Red chilli powder – 2 tsp Salt & water – as needed To temper Cooking oil – 1 tsp Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Coriander leaves – 2tbsp (to garnish)

METHOD

Pressure cook toor dal adding turmeric powder ,salt and a drop of oil for 2 whistles.Mash the cooked dal and set aside.In a mixie jar , grind the coconut , small onions and jeera to a smooth paste adding the required water. In a pan , heat 1/4 tsp of oil and roast the ingredients given under “ To roast n grind”. Powder it nicely.U don’t have to use all the powder. Use only 1 tsp. Store the remaining for making idli sambar.. Take the tamarind extract in a bowl. To this add red chilli powder ,salt ,turmeric powder and drumstick.Check for taste.Set apart In a pan , heat 1 tbsp of oil and saute the sliced onions. To this add the tamarind extract mixture. Cover and cook till drumstick is done. After the drumstick is 3/4th cooked , add raw mango pieces. Again cover and cook for sometime. Mango takes less time to cook.So keep checking otherwise it will cook soft & dissolve in sambar. After the vegetables get cooked , add the mashed dal.Allow it to roll boil. Lastly add the ground coconut , mix well.Let it boil for a minute. Now add a tsp of roasted n ground sambar powder.Allow it to boil till u get a nice aroma. Switch off the stove and garnish with coriander leaves.Give a standing time of minimum 30 minutes for all the flavors to induce well.. Temper with the ingredients given under “to temper”..Mix well. Enjoy mixing with hot rice !!

Note

Adding raw mango is optional. U can add only drumstick and make this sambar. But increase the tamarind to a small lemon size. Garnishing with coriander leaves gives a superb flavor for this sambar. Please don’t skip.. Do not use all the powder to this sambar. Use only a tsp . U can make sambar 2-3 times using this powder. As mixie doesn’t grind very small quantity , amma use this measure..She use this powder for making idli sambar too.So store the remaining powder in a  box and use whenever needed. Less dal is needed for sambar as we add ground coconut and channa dal which helps for thickening.

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