Thakkali Sadham - Home style

Category:  Lunch / Rice
Preparation Time: 10 mins 
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Servings: 3-4

Thakkali Sadham:)

 Tomato Rice / Thakkali Sadham - there are so many varieties of it and this one is adapted from my mom's recipe:)

Ingredients:

• Rice - 1 cup
• Tomato, chopped- 3 nos
• Onion, thinly sliced - 1 no
• Green chillies, slitted - 2-3 (adjust spiciness)
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Coriander & Mint leaves - handful
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Annasi poo - 1
• Bay leaf - 1
• Oil - 1 - 2 tbsp
• Salt - to taste 
• Water - as required

Grind to paste:

• Ginger - 1 1/2 inch piece
• Garlic cloves - 4-5 nos
• Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
• Cloves - 3 nos
• Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
• Poppy seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cashews - 5-6 nos (Optional)
• Small onion - 2-3 nos

Method:

1. Soak rice in enough water for atleast 30 mins
2. Grind the above given ingredients into fine paste by adding little water
3. Heat oil in the pressure cooker, once it's hot, add mustard seeds then add Annasi poo and Bay leaf, fry for 30 secs
4. Add curry leaves, green chillies and onions, saute well till onions become soft and transparent
   
5. Then add the ground paste, saute for 2 mins till nice aroma arises
   
6. Add chopped tomatoes, little salt and turmeric powder, saute well for 5 mins till it turns mushy
   
7. Add the soaked and drained rice, mix well; then add enough water (2 cups), required salt and allow to boil
   
8. Once it starts to boil, add coriander and mint leaves (keep few leaves for adding at the final stage) mix well, close with lid
   
9. Cook for 2 whistles and reduce the flame to low for 5 mins
10. Switch off and wait till the pressure releases
    
11. Then add the coriander & mint leaves and mix gently without breaking the rice grains
    
12. Serve hot with Raita or Ghee - Yummy:)
    

Drumstick Sambhar -Home style

Category:  Lunch
Preparation Time: 10 mins 
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Servings: 3-4


Drumstick Sambhar is our favourite and after coming to US I really missed my mom's Sambhar . And whenever we bought fresh ones here, Immediately will prepare this sambhar. At my home, they will cook toor dhal in open pot and not in pressure cooker; when Dhal cooked "under pressure", there's little compromise in taste - this is in my opinion:), May be that's the secret for the authentic flavor. They will cook Dhal in open pot with a tomato in it, once dhal is half cooked, they will take off the tomato and some dhal water for preparing rasam.Then add the veggies with home made sambhar powder so that it gets cooked in dhal itself. Both the Rasam and Sambhar will be Yummy:)
Due to time constraint, I pressure cook it mostly:(

 Home Style Drumstick Sambhar

Ingredients:

• Toor Dhal - 1 cup
• Small onions, peeled and halved - 12-15 nos
• Tomato, roughly chopped  - 1 no.
• Drumsticks, chopped - 2 nos
• Tamarind - lemon sized (I used 1/2 tsp of tamarind concentrate)
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Sambhar powder (Home made / Store bought) -1 1/2 tsp
• Cooking Oil- 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida (Hing) - a generous pinch
• Curry leaves - few
• Red chilly - 1 (adjust for required spiciness)
• Water - as required
• Castor Oil - few drops (Optional)
• Coriander leaves - 3-4 tbsp
• Salt-  to taste

Method:

1. Soak Dhal in enough water for atleast 15 mins and pressure cook it with required water, turmeric, few drops of castor oil for 2 whistles (Not to be mushy)
   
2. Take the cooked dhal in a pan / in cooker itself, add required water and then add halved onions, chopped tomatoes and drumsticks
   
3. Add Sambhar powder and allow to cook till the veggies become soft (not mushy)
4. Add tamarind juice and allow to boil for few mins
   
5. In another pan, heat oil, once its hot, add mustard seeds. After it splutters, add red chilly, asafoetids, fenugreek and curry leaves
6. Then add the sambhar into it (or the vice versa) and give a nice boil
7. Switch off and garnish with coriander leaves
   
8. Serve hot with Rice or Idly, Dosai or Pongal