Beetroot Sambhar with Freshly ground Masala (Arachuvitta Sambhar)

Category:  Sambhar Recipes
Preparation Time: 10 mins  
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Servings: 4-5 servings

Beet Sambhar

For the last 1-2 years, I am preparing Sambhar in this way only with freshly roast & ground Masala, since my kid loves it:) Its a bit time consuming, but really worth it. The fresh Masala gives a nice flavour and aroma and of course very tasty than using the Sambar Powder. This time for a change, I added Beetroot in Sambhar and it really comes out very well. Kids who wont like to have beetroot as poriyal will surely like it:)

BeetRoot Arachuvitta Sambhar

 Ingredients: 

For Cooking Dhal:

• Toor Dhal - 1/2 cup
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp (For cooking Dhal)
• Castor Oil - few drops  (For cooking Dhal)
• Water - Around 1 1/2 cups

Veggies:

• Beetroot - 1 no, chopped
• Small onions - 10-12 nos, halved
• Tomato - 1 no, chopped

To Roast &Grind:

• Channa Dhal - 1 tbsp
• Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
• Red chiilies - 1-3 nos (adjust as per spice level)
• Raw Rice - 1/2 tsp (Optional and I didnt use this time)
• Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Methi seeds -  1/4 tsp
• Dry Coconut - 2 tbsp

For Tempering:

• Ghee / Oil -2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chilly - 1 no, broken
• Curry leaves - few
• Asafoetida (Hing) - a generous pinch

Other Ingredients:

• Oil - 1 tsp
• Tamarind - small lemon sized
• Water - as required
• Coriander leaves - for garnishing
• Salt-  to taste

Method:

1. Cooking Dhal: Pressure cook Dhal with required water, turmeric, few drops of castor oil for 3 whistles in medium flame (We can even presoak the dhal for 20-30 mins for faster cooking). Once it gets cooked, mash it up; If we are having more water, reserve a little for adding to the veggies or else take around 1 tbsp of cooked dhal and mix it up with a cup of water and keep it ready
   
2. Preparing Masala: Heat up a small pan, add the Channa dhal and roast it in low flame until it turns golden brown. Then add the coriander seeds, red chillies and raw rice and roast till the seeds start to brown; by this time the chilies would become crisp and rice gets puffed up a bit. Finally switch off the flame and add the cumin seeds, methi seeds and dry coconut, fry well in the heat of the pan itself. Transfer to a plate and alllow it to cool down. Then grind to a fine powder or we can even grind it with little water to a fine paste
   
   
   
   
3. Tamarind Extract: Soak the tamarind in warm water for 15 mins and extract the juice
4. Veggies: Chop the veggies and keep them ready
   
5. Heat 1 tsp of Oil in a pan, add the halved onions and saute for a min
   
6. Add the chopped tomato pieces and saute for 1 min
   
7. Now add the chopped beetroot and saute for 2 mins
   
8. Add the dhal water and allow to cook till the beetroot becomes soft and gets cooked
   
9. Then add the ground masala powder / paste. If we grind to a powder, we can even mix it up with few tsp of water to form a paste so that there will not be any lump formation while adding it. Mix it well and bring it to boil
   
10. Now add the tamarind extract with required salt and allow to boil for 2 mins in medium flame
    
    
    
    
11. Add the cooked dhal and mix well
    
12. Adjust the water quantity and check for salt (Sambhar will tends to become thick while cools down so adjust water accordingly)
    
13. Allow to boil for few mins in low to medium flame 
    
14. Tempering: Heat up a small pan, add ghee / oil, once it becomes hot add mustard seeds followed by cumin seeds. Once it splutters, add red chilly and curry leaves, fry for few secs and switch it off. Finally add the asafoetida
    
15. Pour the tempering over the boiling sambhar and switch it off
    
16. Mix well and garnish with coriander leaves
    
17. Serve hot with Rice or even with Idli / Dosa / Pongal:)