This is a South Indian recipe which goes very well with rice/thohayil or ven pongal. This is basically like sambar but has more veggies in it.
I make it in my Instant Pot (IP). This is not the traditional method of cooking this. Usually one cooks the veggies along with the tamarind water so that while the veggies cook, they soak in the tamarind water into them and makes them juicy and then one adds the cooked dal. But of course since we are trying to save time and be efficient I try to do all of this as one pot recipe.
This year I made it during "Pongal" to go with ven pongal and sakkarai pongal for the dessert. You can check out these recipes in my blog too.
You will need:
Kozhumbu paste:
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp methi/fenugreek seeds
2 tsp desiccated coconut (I used frozen)
1/4 tsp hing/asafoetida
1-2 dry red chillies
Tempering:
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
3-4 curry leaves
Veggies (about 2 cups):
1 small eggplant chopped
1 small potato chopped
1 small carrot chopped
1/2 purple radish chopped
1/4 cup green peas (I used frozen)
You can use any veggies. Like kohlrabi, chayote squash, green beans, pumpkin, sweet potato, acorn squash. Options are endless here.
Protein:
1/2 cup toor dal
Seasonings:
2 tbsp tamarind paste (or tamarind extract after soaking it in hot water)
salt per taste
Water:
2 cups water
Method:
First we start by making the kozhumbu paste. Heat oil in IP in saute mode. Add in all the ingredients for the paste. Saute them till they turn aromatic. Transfer this out of the IP pot for grinding. Add water to this (about 1/3 cup) and grind it to a coarse paste.
Once again heat oil in IP main pot now. Add the tempering ingredients. Let them splatter. Add in the veggies, saute for a bit. Mix in the dal and water. Add the seasonings. Close the IP lid and set the valve to sealed position. Cook at manual high pressure mode for 8 minutes. Wait for natural pressure release. You can garnish with chopped cilantro if you wish.
TIP:
If you are having this with rice. You could cook rice and [dal+veggies] together stacked on top of each other in "pot in pot method" for 8 minutes. Once that is done. Then use the IP main vessel to follow the steps as mentioned above. After the tempering you just need to add the [cooked dal+veggies], seasonings and you would be done!. No need to cook again.
ENJOY!
