Ezhukari Kuzhambu (Kadamba Sambar)
A sambar or south Indian dal made with eight veggies and spices
Servings: 8
Calories: 309kcal
Ingredients
- 5 small eggplants , diced, or ½ large one, diced
- 1 cup red pumpkin , diced
- 1 medium potato , diced
- 1 sweet potato , diced
- 1 plantain , diced
- ¾ cup okra , cut into 1-cm rings (I used frozen)
- ¾ cup green beans , cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 large lemon-sized ball tamarind , soaked in 1 cup of water for a few minutes. Extract the juice by crushing the tamarind between your fingers, and discard the solids.
- 1 tablespoon sambar powder
- 1 cup pink lentils or masoor dal, cooked until tender (you can substitute with tuvar dal)
- For the ground masala:
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil or any neutral oil (or any other vegetable oil except olive)
- ¼ cup coriander seeds
- ⅛ cup chana dal or bengal gram
- 3 dry red chilies (use more if you like more heat in your kuzhambu)
- 1 cup coconut milk (I used canned)
- For the tempering:
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 1 generous pinch of asafetida
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 10-15 curry leaves
Instructions
- To make the ground masala, fry the coriander seds, chana dal and red chilies in the oil until lightly golden and then grind into a fairly smooth paste with the coconut milk, adding a little water if necessary.
- Cook all the vegetables until they are almost tender (I zapped them in the microwave with about a cupful of water for about 8 minutes)
- Put the vegetables into a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the tamarind water and cook another 2-3 minutes
- Now add the cooked dal, sambar powder, and the ground masala paste. Give it all a good stir and allow it to come to a boil.
- Add salt to taste. If the kuzhambu is too thick, add some water.
- Let the kuzhambu or sambar cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes, turn off heat.
- Heat the oil for tempering and add the remaining tempering ingredients.
- When the mustard seeds crackle, take the tempering off the heat and add it to the sambar.
- Garnish the sambar with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice and poppadum.
Nutrition
Calories: 309kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 12.25g | Fat: 8.67g | Saturated Fat: 6.38g | Potassium: 1355.45mg | Fiber: 20.26g | Sugar: 15.58g | Vitamin A: 3016.5IU | Vitamin C: 45.9mg | Calcium: 100.63mg | Iron: 5.38mg