We make keerai sambar for rice at least once in a week. Usually I add Arai keerai or mulai keerai (Amaranthus) to make sambar. This time I prepared keerai sambar with palak / pasalai keerai / spinach. It came out well with a nice flavor. We liked it very much. This Spinach sambar can be prepared quickly as palak takes less time to cook. This palak keerai sambar is definitely a welcome change from my Dal palak and Palak kootu. Friends, do try this healthy, yummy palak sambar / spinach sambar and share your feedback with me. Lets see how to make Tamil nadu style pasalai keerai sambar with step by step pictures.
Wash and chop palak roughly. Soak tamarind in 1 cup water.
Pressure cook toor dal in enough water and mash it.
Heat oil in a kadai. Temper and saute onion, curry leaves.
Saute palak and add tamarind extract, sambar powder, salt and turmeric powder.
Let it boil for a minute. Lastly add the cooked dal and boil for few minutes.
Transfer to a bowl and serve hot with plain rice adding ghee. Enjoy !
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Soak tamarind in 1 cup warm water for 15 minutes. In the mean time, take the toor dal, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, few drops of cooking oil in a pressure cooker. Cook in low flame for one whistle. Open the cooker after steam is released. Mash the dal and set aside. Wash and chop the keerai roughly. Keep it aside.
Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds, methi seeds, urad dal, red chilli and curry leaves. Saute onion till transparent.
Add the chopped palak and saute till the keerai shrinks in quantity. Add 1 cup of tamarind extract, sambar powder, turmeric powder, salt and hing.
Boil till onion & palak cooks well. Then add the cooked dal and boil for a minute. Add more water and adjust the consistency of sambar.
Switch off the flame and transfer the sambar to a bowl. Serve hot with plain rice adding few drops of ghee.
Enjoy!
Note
Adjust the amount of sambar powder and red chillies as per your taste.
Do not use tomato as the combination of palak and tomato is not good for people with kidney stones.
For variations, replace sambar powder with 1 tsp of red chilli powder and 1/2 tsp of dhania powder.
Try this easy, yummy, healthy Palak sambar for rice and enjoy with your favorite poriyal / curry and appalam / papad !
Recently my MIL gave me a big bunch of Ponnanganni keerai from our Salem house backyard. It is known as Dwarf copper leaf Alternanthera sessilis) in English, Gudari Sag in Hindi, Ponnaganti Koora in Telugu, Honagonne soppu in Kannada, Kozuppa, Ponnankanni in Malayalam.There are two varieties available in the market. One is with green leaves called nattu ponnanganni and the other is with pink leaves called seemai ponnanganni. In this sambar recipe, I have used the one with pink leaves. This keerai has so many health benefits. Its very good for eyes, helps to reduce body heat, cures piles, head ache, asthma and many more. I prepared this sambar for rice following my MIL’s keerai sambar recipe. It tasted so good. We loved it very much more than Ponnanganni keerai poriyal or kootu. You too give a try. Lets see how to make Ponnanganni keerai sambar recipe with step by step pictures.
Red chilli or green chilli - 2 nos ( Pinched into two)
Big onion or small onions - 1 no / 10 nos
Curry leaves - Few
Sambar powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Asafetida / hing - 1/8 tsp
METHOD
Pluck the leaves of keerai and set aside.Soak tamarind in 1 cup of water.
In a pressure cooker base, heat 1 tsp of oil and saute the keerai for few minutes.
Add toor dal, turmeric powder, water and pressure cook everything for 2 whistles in very low flame.
Remove the lid after steam is released. Mash the dal well and set aside.
Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds, methi , cumin seeds, red chillies. Saute big onion or small onion till transparent.
Add tamarind extract, sambar powder, turmeric powder, hing and salt. Boil till tamarind smell goes off.
Now add the cooked dal + keerai and boil for few minutes. Remove and transfer to a bowl.
Serve hot with plain rice adding few drops of ghee.
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Wash the keerai leaves and set aside. Soak tamarind in 1 cup of water and take the extract. Peel and slice onions. Heat oil in a pressure cooker with 1 tsp of cooking oil. Saute the leaves for one minute.
Add toor dal, turmeric powder, few drops of cooking oil. Let it pressure cook in very low flame for 2 whistles. Remove the lid after the steam is released. Mash the dal using a whisk and set aside.
Heat oil in a kadai and splutter methi seeds, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Saute red chilli or green chilli, curry leaves and onion. Saute till onion becomes transparent.
Add 1 cup of tamarind extract, sambar powder, turmeric powder, salt and hing. Boil for few minutes till nice aroma comes.
Now add the cooked dal + keerai. Mix well and boil for 3 minutes till the desired consistency is reached. Add more water based on the thickness of sambar.
Switch off the flame and transfer the sambar to a bowl.Serve with plain rice adding few drops of ghee. Enjoy !
Note
You can replace sambar powder with 1 tsp of dhania powder + 1 tsp of red chilli powder.
Adjust the quantity of keerai as you wish. I like to add more keerai in the sambar.
Reduce the number of red chillies for less spicy sambar.
Try this healthy ponnanganni sambar for rice and enjoy !
I learnt this cabbage sambar / muttaikose sambar recipe for rice from my friend Shalini. She told 3 different ways of making this sambar in South Indian style but I chose to try cabbage sambar with freshly ground masala like arachuvitta sambar. It came out very flavorful and great in taste. We couldn’t even find any trace of raw cabbage smell in the sambar. If you want to try no onion, no garlic sambar recipes for festivals or occasions, you can try this recipe.
Sendhil is not a big fan of cabbage recipes. But he loved this sambar a lot and told me to prepare it often. It tasted good with idli, dosa as well. After making it thrice in the last 2 weeks, I am posting this recipe. Friends, Do try this muttaikose sambar recipe for a change and share your feedback with me. Ok, lets see how to make South Indian Cabbage sambar recipe with step by step pictures.
Small onions or big onion - 10 nos / 1no ( Optional)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - Few
Cooking oil - Few drops
To mix with cooked cabbeg
Sambar powder – 1/2 tsp
Hing / asafetida – a pinch
Jaggery – 2 pinches
Tamarind - Big gooseberry size
To saute and grind
Cooking oil - 2 tsp
Coriander seeds / Dhania - 1.5 tsp
Chana dal - 1.5 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Methi seeds / fenugreek seeds - 1/8 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli - 3 to 4 nos ( use 6 nos for spicy sambar)
Grated coconut - 2 tsp
Water - to grind to paste
To Temper
Ghee - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – Few
Red chilli – 1 no
Coriander leaves - to garnish
HOW TO MAKE CABBAGE SAMBAR
Soak tamarind in water. Wash and chop cabbage. In a pressure cooker base, take all the ingredients mentioned under “to pressure cook”. Add 2 cups water and cook in low flame for 2 whistles. Mash the dal well after steam is released. Set aside.
Heat oil in a kadai and roast the spices for sambar. Grind to smooth paste.
Take 1 cup of tamarind extract and add to cooked dal in pressure cooker. Add ground masala, salt, sambar powder, jaggery, hing and boil the sambar for few minutes till nice aroma arises.
Temper in ghee and add to sambar. Switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Cover and leave for 2 hours before serving for all the flavors to blend well. Serve with hot rice drizzling ghee.
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Soak tamarind in warm water. Take 1 cup of tamarind extract and set aside. Wash and chop cabbage into thin or thick slices as you like. Peel and Chop onions.
In a pressure cooker base, take toor dal, chopped cabbage, chopped onion (optional), turmeric powder, few drops of cooking oil and few torn curry leaves. Add 2 cups of water. Pressure cook in low flame for 2 whistles. Mash the dal with a ladle after steam is released. Set aside.
Heat oil in a kadai. Roast all the ingredients given under “to saute and grind” in medium flame without burning it. Lastly add the coconut, switch off the flame and mix well. No need to roast the coconut. Just mix with other roasted spices. Let it cool. Grind to smooth paste adding water.
Add 1 cup of tamarind extract to the cooked dal in pressure cooker. Add the ground masala paste, sambar powder, salt, hing and jaggery. Mix well and roll boil the sambar for few minutes till nice aroma arises. You can add some water if sambar is too thick.
Heat ghee in a small tempering pan. Add mustard seeds, red chilli, curry leaves and let mustard start to splutter in low flame. Add this to the sambar. Mix well and garnish with coriander leaves. If possible, rest this sambar for 2 to 3 hours before serving for all the flavors to infuse well. At the time of serving, you can reheat it or serve it with plain hot rice drizzled with ghee.
Enjoy this cabbage sambar with any poriyal and papad/ appalam.
Note
Adjust the quantity of red chillies as per the taste.
Tempering in ghee adds a nice flavor to this sambar. Do not skip it.
Do the tempering only at the end.
Tomato is not necessary for this sambar.If you want to add, saute in oil and then add to cooked dal.
Try this easy, yummy cabbage sambar for a change and enjoy with plain rice, poriyal and appalam !
People in Tamil nadu prepare Pongal kuzhambu on Pongal festival day adding 5 or 7 vegetables. We call it as 7 kai kuzhambu or kootu in Tamil. There are many versions for Pongal kuzhambu. It differs based on their custom. In Chettinad region, people make it without adding any dal or coconut. But this version is a no onion, no garlic Arachu vitta sambar kind of Pongal kuzhambu I learnt from my friend Shalini. But the quantity of dal and coconut used is very less for this kuzhambu. It is prepared with freshly roasted & ground spices. So its too flavorful just like Brahmin’s style arachuvitta sambar.
Shalini told me to use 5 vegetables. So I blindly followed her recipe and came up with this version. If you are making on a normal day, you can skip all these vegetables and use yellow pumpkin alone. This pongal festival sambar tastes good with white pongal / Paal pongal, rice, ven pongal andidli,dosa.
Friends If you are planning to make Pongal kuzhambu with mixed vegetables in sambar taste, you can follow this recipe. You will like it for sure. Next year before Pongal festival, I will try to share Chettinad Pongal Kuzhambu Recipe. Now lets see how to make no onion, no garlic pongal festival kuzhambu with step by step pictures.
Mixed vegetables - 1.5 cups ( 5 cluster beans, 1/2 raw banana, 1/2 sweet potato, 4 pumpkin pieces, 1/2 cup of mochai)
Toor dal - 2 tbsp
Tamarind - Medium gooseberry size
Green chilli - 2 nos
Asafetida / Hing - A pinch
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt & water - as needed
To roast & grind
Cooking oil - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1.5 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Pepper corns - 2 nos
Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp
Raw rice - 1/4 tsp
Red chillies - 3 to 5 nos
Grated coconut - 1 tbsp
To Temper
Ghee - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - Few
Coriander leaves - to garnish
HOW TO MAKE PONGAL KUZHAMBU
Wash and soak toor dal. Chop all the vegetables and keep aside.
In a pressure cooker base, take toor dal and add vegetables, green chillies.
Cook for 2 whistles in low flame. Open and mash the dal.
To the cooked dal, add tamarind extract, roasted & ground masala.
Boil for few minutes. Temper mustard seeds, curry leaves and add to sambar.
Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with white pongal / Paal pongal.
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Wash and soak toor dal in a cooker base. Wash and chop all the vegetables into cubes and set aside. Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup of water. Take the extract and keep aside.
Add chopped vegetables to toor dal. Add slit green chilli. Add required water, turmeric powder and cook for 2 whistles in low flame. Remove the lid after steam is released. Mash the dal well. Set aside.
Heat 1 tsp oil in a kadai. Roast all the ingredients given under “to roast and grind” and grind to a smooth paste.
Add this paste and tamarind extract to the cooked dal. Mix well and boil for few minutes till its raw smell goes off.
Temper mustard seeds, curry leaves in ghee and add to sambar. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with white pongal / Paal pongal. This sambar tastes good with idli , dosa too.
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of red chilli as per your taste.
Do not add more tamarind.
You can skip toor dal if you want to make this kuzhambu without dal. But adjust the quantity of coconut and roasting spices to give thickness to kuzhambu.
Try this yummy Pongal kuzhambu with 5 vegetables and enjoy !
Last year I shared traditional Kerala Varutharacha sambar recipe during Onam. Recently I came across this easy Onam sadya sambar without coconut using a pressure cooker in Anu’s kitchen YouTube Video. Its the simplified version of varutharacha sambar using Kerala sambar powder. I loved the idea and tried it with some modifications to make it even more easy. As I don’t have Kerala sambar powder, I used my homemade sambar powder, red chilli powder and coriander seeds powder. Still it tasted great with a nice flavor.
For Onam sadya, you may need to cook so many recipes for the feast. I am sure this easy sambar recipe will help you save lots of time when compared with varutharacha sambar with spices and coconut.
Ofcourse taste may not be equal to the traditional Kerala sambar still you can give a try. This sambar would be useful especially for bachelors and working women to make a quick & healthy recipe with the goodness of all the vegetables. You don’t need to make any side dish like thoran or mezhukupuratti if you add lots of vegetables.
Friends, do try this easy Kerala style Onam sadya sambar and share your feedback with me. Lets see how to make Onam sadya sambar recipe without coconut easily in a pressure cooker with step by step pictures and video !
Do check out my Kerala Ulli Sambar For Idli, Dosa.
Temper mustard, red chilli, spice powders in low flame.
Add to sambar, boil for a minute. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Kerala sambar recipe - Step by step photos
Soak tamarind in 1 cup water and take the extract. Take 1/2 cup of toor dal, small onion and slit green chilli in a cooker base. Add 2 cups of water, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp cooking oil in water.
Wash and chop the vegetables( I used yam, raw banana, carrot, ash gourd, broad beans, cluster beans, beans, lady's finger, drumstick - 5 pieces each). Chop tomato finely. Transfer the vegetables and tomato to a small bowl that fit inside the cooker. Add 1/4 cup water to it.
Place the bowl with vegetables inside the pressure cooker. Close and cook for 2 whistles in low flame.
Open the lid after the steam is released. Dal and vegetables would be cooked soft. Remove the veggies bowl and mash the dal nicely.
Add the cooked vegetables, tamarind extract, sambar powder, salt. Check for thickness and add 1/2 to 1 cup water if needed. Boil well for 5 minutes till nice aroma arises.
Heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in a kadai. Temper mustard seeds, red chilli, curry leaves. When the mustard seeds start to crackle, lower the flame completely. Add sambar powder, red chilli powder, dhania powder, methi powder and hing. Mix quickly without burning. Add to the boiling sambar. Boil for a minute and switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with plain rice adding ghee. You can also have with idli,dosa if you like.
Notes
Adjust the quantity of chillies as per your taste.
For variations, you can saute finely chopped onion, tomato and add to vegetables inside the cooker.
Sambar powder gives nice aroma to this sambar. To replace it, you should use 1 tbsp dhania powder, 1/4 tsp methi powder and 1.5 tbsp red chilli powder.
You can use any number of vegetables or you can make this sambar only with onions.
Easy Onam Sadya Sambar is ready ! I had with nendran chips !
Cluster beans sambar ( Kothavarangai sambar in Tamil ) is my FIL’s favorite sambar recipe for rice. Today my in-laws visited my place.So I prepared this sambar and cauliflower poriyal for lunch. Even I love kothavarangai sambar more than kothavarangai poriyal or kothavarangai poricha kuzhambu. I learnt this recipe from my MIL. But I make a quick version in pressure cooker. It can be done easily in one pot. For variations, you can use green beans/ French beans as well. Do try this sambar with cluster beans for rice. I am sure you will love it. Lets see how to make cluster beans sambar with step by step photos !
Check out my 30 kuzhambu varieties recipes too !
Cluster beans sambar recipe
Cluster beans sambar recipe / Kothavarangai sambar for rice
Wash and chop the cluster beans of 2 inches size. Chop and Discard the tail portion of cluster beans. Peel the small onion, slit the green chillies. Soak tamarind in 1 cup of hot water for 10 minutes and take the extract. Set aside.
In a pressure cooker base, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, methi seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves.After the mustard seeds splutter, add the slit green chillies, curry leaves, chopped cluster beans and small onions. Saute until onions turn transparent and cluster beans turns dark green in color.
To this, add 2.5 cups of water, toor dal, turmeric powder and mix well. Pressure cook in very low flame for 1 whistle. It takes nearly 10-12 minutes. After the steam is released completely, open the cooker and mash the dal well with a whisk. After the dal turns mushy, add the tamarind extract, sambar powder, salt and hing. Roll boil well till the raw smell leaves. Lastly add the chopped coriander leaves, boil for a minute and switch off the flame.
Transfer the sambar to a serving bowl and add 2 tsp of ghee. Cover with a lid. Serve with hot rice, poriyal/curry and papad/appalam. Enjoy !
Note
Add more sambar powder if you want spicy sambar.
Sauting cluster beans gives a nice flavor to this sambar.
You can use French beans/green beans instead of cluster beans.
You can also add 1 chopped tomato along with onions for variation.
Delicious cluster beans sambar is ready to serve with rice !
