Spicy, Snappy, Buttermilk Sambar. Lunch In One Hour!

   This has been an insane week around our house. We've been updating all our computer equipment and everything that that entails... don't ask. What with all of the shopping for HDMI cables at online places in Paramus New Jersey and Rancho Cucumonga (if only there were a Frys nearby) I haven't spent much time in the kitchen. In other words I haven't been cooking. We've had several dinner invitations at friends' houses (I love when people cook for me) and it all was topped off by a Valentines Day feast at our favorite date-night restaurant in Sonoma The Girl and The Fig. So finally, after all this bacchanal of cables and Divers scallops, it was time to step behind the range again and flip on all my burners.
   The idea for this Kerala sambar was built around the fact that I brought home a doggy bag from last nights' dinner. So did Alan. Okay, entree in place, all I needed to add was a veg and something to fill out the meal. That's  where the sambar comes in, a warming, nourishing soup, chock full of vegetables, that whips up in an hour or less. The perfect partner for a left overs kind of day.

Buttermilk Sambar

Here's what to do:
  In a heavy skillet put 2 Tbs of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot toss in:
1 and 1/4 tsp of fenugreek seeds
1 tsp of coriander seeds
1 and 1/2 Tbs of Toor dal
1 and 1/4 tsp of Urad dal
6 dried red chilies

Saute it all around for about 2 minutes or so until the dal and chilies and spices darken a bit.
When the spices are cooked, put them into a spice grinder or blender along with:
4 Tbs of dried grated coconut
A chopped 1 inch piece of peeled fresh ginger
And a bit of water to make it all go round. Grind it into a paste.

In a bowl mix:
2 cups of plain yogurt
1/4 tsp of turmeric

Whip it all together and set it aside.
Meanwhile chop some zucchini (I used grey zucchini) into 1/2 inch pieces until you get 3/4 of a cup.

Set them aside.

Now to put it all together:
 In a large skillet or kadhai, heat 2 tsp of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot toss in:
 1 tsp of brown mustard seeds
 1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds
 1 tsp of cumin seeds
 1 dried red chili broken in half
 About 6 curry leaves

 When the mustard seeds start to pop, add in the chopped squash.

 Stir it up and saute it a bit then add enough water to the skillet to cover the squash.

Put a lid on the pan, turn down the heat a bit and simmer it all for about 30 minutes or so until the squash is tender.
Finally, add in the yogurt paste mixture.

Stir it all together and keep stirring it warming it carefully (no curdling allowed) until it's warmed through. When it looks like it's about to boil, take it off the heat and serve it up.

 

 Hot and spicy with chilies and lovely vegetables, it's goes perfectly with any leftover. In fact tomorrow, I'm turning it into the leftover when I serve it with Basmati rice and a totally different entree. Coming next, a non boring, fast meal in about an hour and experiments with high fiber, low carb, gluten free coconut flour courtesy of my friends at Tropical Traditions

The Kerala Dinner. Part 1: Spicy, Fast and Easy, That's Not Soup It's A Sambar

   Every now and then I like to kick it with a big time Indian dinner. Not that I'm not cooking Indian food almost every day of the week, because I am. But I don't usually make an event out of it. So when I throw a dinner, I throw a dinner!  I get out all the Indian dinnerware, pick some flowers and break out the candles.

    I get into it the same way people hang out at Home Depot and then spend their weekends putting in a hot tub or rewiring something. It is an obsession. It is also my excuse to hang out at the Thailao Market on Santa Rosa Avenue in where else??...Santa Rosa!
   I love this place. They had me at Banana Flower.

   Okay, enough with the banana flower. I look like I'm trying to juggle torpedoes. What I actually was doing, was trying to plan a menu for some visiting friends from San Francisco, Bob and Cathy Barner.

   Cathy is the Director of Park Projects and Stewardship for The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.  Bob is a well known Childrens' book author.
  Here's one of his books, Dem Bones.

Here's Bob!

     Our friends Chip, Terri and Ray joined us and of course Mr. X, the Million Dollar Cauliflower Man.
Bob and Cathy had just returned from a month in India where Bob had been invited to speak at some schools. They happened to be visiting Sonoma for a months' vacation which was all the excuse I needed to toss an Indian feast.
   Since Chip is a vegetarian (he does eat fish) the dinner would contain no land-based protein, except for the legumes. Can't forget the legumes. Got to love the legumes. Can't live without them.
   Any Kerala dinner of course has to  start with a sambar. Sambar is a spicy broth, that's made up of toor dal which has been soaked and ground and blended with a combination of spices, most of the time including tamarind. It's cooked in stages and once the grinding and soaking is done, it actually makes up really really fast.
    In planning this dinner, I wanted a sambar that would go along with the other things I had planned and so I decided on a buttermilk sambar rather than a tamarind based one. It's called Moru Kuzhambu.  I first learned of this recipe from the excellent Vegetarian South Indian Cookbook, Dakshin. This is my adaptation of it.

  Part 1: Soaking and Grinding
     Soak:
2 tsp of toor dal
2 tsp of chana dal in 1 cup of water for one hour.
   Drain the dal and put it into a grinder or food processor along with:
 A 1 inch piece of peeled fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
4 tsp of cumin seeds
2 Tbs of coriander seeds
10 fresh green chilies
8 Tbs of grated dried coconut
 and a little bit of water.

Grind it up well.

  And set it aside.
    This is one of the things that I like so much about making a sambar. You can make it and quickly finish and eat it, or you can do this part and then set it aside and finish it later. All in, it takes about 30 minutes or so to cook.
   The other thing a good sambar has is the addition of vegetables. Any number and type of vegetables can be added, from potato to okra to onion. I chose grey zucchini the closest thing I could find that matched the ash gourd of the original recipe.
     Here's The Endgame.
 In a large pan or pot heat:
  3 tsp of vegetable oil
  When the oil is hot toss in:
  2 Tsp of brown mustard seed
  2 tsp of fenugreek seed
 2 dried red chilies broken in half
 A handful of curry leaves

   When the mustard seeds start to snap and pop toss in:
 2 cups of chopped grey zucchini or any other vegetable of your choice

  Add a bit of water,  just enough so the vegetables are covered, put a lid on it and turn down the heat. Let it simmer for about  10 or 15 minutes, until the  veggies are tender.
   Now for The Yogurt
    In a bowl mix together:
 4 cups of plain yogurt  whipped smooth
 The ground dal paste
 salt to taste
 1 tsp of turmeric
  Blend it all together well.
   Then add the yogurt spice mixture to the squash spice mixture and reheat it all very gently.

You don't want to curdle things. When it's heated though, it's ready to serve.
   So there you go. There's a sambar. Firey hot, but when served with the right accompanying dishes beautifully balanced.

   When you want to bring the heat, you have to bring the sweet and spicy too, which I'll be getting to.
 This sambar goes perfectly with a wonderful green bean dish which will be coming soon.
 People dug in,  passed their thalis...

cracked a few brews...

everyone except Patsy...

Who did not find the legumes particularly interesting. "What? No meat? I'm bored!"

  Now for the Winner of The Tropical Traditions Organic Shredded Coconut Contest!
   Drumroll please!!!!!
   Our lucky winner is Llinda!!!!!
 Llinda, if you'll get in touch with me, I'll arrange to have your wonderful coconut sent to you. I know you are going to love it as it's all I ever use!