Sambar

This is a sambar different from the Udidpi sambar that I posted previously. So here goes.......

Ingredients:-

• Toor dal : one small cup ( I took one handful ).
• Radish : cut in circles or rather slices.
• Bottle gourd : cut into pieces of medium size.
• Tamarind : about the size of lemon, soaked in 2 cups of water. If you are using readymade tamarind paste then take 2 teaspoons and mix it in 2 cups of water.
• Salt : as per your taste.
• Sambar powder : about 3-4 table spoons ( can be djusted according to your taste, I like it hot and spicy ).
• Coriander : for garnishing, finely chopped.
• Oil/Ghee : 2 tablespoons ( for seasoning ).
• Asafoetida : half teaspoon.
• Cumin seeds : 1 teaspoon.
• Mustard seeds : 1 teaspoon.
• Curry leaves : 2-3 strands.

Procedure:-

• Wash toor dal and pressure cook it along with the cut vegetables.
• Now squeeze the tamarind juice and add it to the cooked dal and vegetables.
• Add sambar powder and salt along with the coriander leaves and let the whole mixture boil till the liquid becomes semi-thick in consistency.
• Now heat oil/ghee in a small pan and add asafoetida, cumin and mustard seeds and once the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the curry leaves and add this seasoning to the boiled sambar.

Your sambar is ready. Have it with rice.

P.S :- I would prefer using butter/ghee for seasoning than oil. It tastes better and is also healthy.

Pumpkin Curry - Indian Style

The other day my Mother-in-law showed me how to make this wonderful dish. Ever since I've been trying to make it and finally did it today.

Try it and tell me how you liked it.

Ingredients :-

• Pumpkin - cut into small pieces.
• Oil - for seasoning , about a tablespoon.
• Urad dal, Cumin seeds, Mustard seeds and asafoetida - for seasoning, about a teaspoon each.
• Red chillies - 1 or 2 ( optional ).
• Ginger - 2cm in length.
• Coconut - raw, about one small bowl grated or cut into pipeces.
• Green coriander leaves - 2 bunches.
• Green chillies - 2 or 3 ( depending on how hot you want your dish ).
• Curry leaves - 2 strands.
• Salt - for taste.

Procedure :-

• Heat oil in a wok or kadai and add asafoetida, urad dal, cumin and mustard seeds, red cihllies and curry leaves in that order.
• Once the urad dal turns to golden brown, add the cut pumpkin and toss it well and then add salt to it and cook it covered till the pumkin is soft. Remember when cooked the pumpkin is soft but doesn't become paste.
• Now grind ginger, coconut, green chillies and coriander and add the paste to the cooked pumpkin pieces and mix well. Leave it on flame for about 2 minutes.

Your pumpkin curry is ready. Eat it with hot rice or chapathi or bread.

Palak / Spinach Dal

Hey guys I'm back and it is recipe time again........ I made palak dal last sunday and wanted to share this recipe with you guys ever since. So here comes.........

Ingredients :

1. Toor dal - 2 hand-fulls ( would serve 2 people, I know I use old methods for measurement, that is what is special about my cooking )
2. Onions - 2 small, thinly cut in long
3. Green chillies - 2 split in length
4. Palak/Spinach - one big bunch
5. Garlic - 2-3 cloves finely chopped
6. Salt - as per your taste
7. Turmeric - a teaspoonful
8. Red chilly powder - ( optional ) 1 teaspoonful
9. Curry leaves - 5-10
10. Besan/chickpea flour - 2 teaspoons made into paste of very thin consistency with water
11. Oil - 2 tablespoons for seasoning
12. Asafoetida - a pinch
13. Cumin seeds - half teaspoon
14. Mustard seeds - teaspoonful
15. Urad dal - half teaspoon

Procedure :

• Wash toor dal and take it in a pressure cooker with a cup of water added to it. To this add split green chilies, finely cut onions, curry leaves, spinach which is washed and finely chopped and pressure cook all of these together.

• Now add turmeric, red chilly powder, chickpea flour made into paste of thin consistency and salt to the pressure cooked mixture and the whole thing boil for about 5 minutes.
• Now heat oil for seasoning and add urad dal, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and gralic cloves which are finely chopped in that order and add the seasoning to the dal.
• Garnish it with coriander.

Eat this dal with rice and butter or with roti. Have a yummy time...............

Till the next post its chao from me...........

Please Help!!

I received this mail from art of living group.Please help out the A.P and Karnataka Flood victims in your own way. Or visit this site you will get all the information.

Torrential rains over last one week have left over 200 people dead and rendered over 3,00,000 people homeless in the state. The floods have affected all 14 districts of state's northern region.

According to official sources, over 26,000 houses have collapsed in North Karnataka. Most of the eleven districts in the region are inundated, as all the rivers are flowing above the danger mark. Road and rail transport services have also been disrupted.

Poojya Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar ji has been actively monitoring the situation and had visited some of the worst affected areas. Art of Living has started relief work in few of the worst affected villages (Buradepad,Thalamari) of Raichur district. More teams are being deployed as we identify more villages for relief work. We are in the process of mobilizing the relief material and resources for managing this situation.We need cash donations for buying essential materials and rebuilding the houses.

You can do
i ) Contribute yourself
ii ) Ask your friends/relatives to do so.
iii ) Contact your companies/apartment association/... to do so.
If you need any official letter for the same, contact us.

Please issue the cheques / DDs in the name of ‘VVKI - DHARMA STAMBA YOJANA’
and mail to VVKI – Divine Karnataka Project, #1431-A, Ground Floor, 39th
Cross, 22nd Main, 4th T Block, Bangalore -560 041.

Or directly transfer the funds to:

Beneficiary: “VVKI - DHARMA STAMBA YOJANA”
A/C NO: 10386328062, IFSC Code:SBIN0003286, Account type: CURRENT ACCOUNT
BANK DETAILS: STATE BANK OF INDIA, JAYANAGAR 2nd BLOCK BRANCH

Please send a mail to info@divinekarnatakaproject. org , with subject "Flood Relieft Karnataka" with the details of Transferred amount and Date.Also in the transaction remark please put ' flood relief KAR '

For any donation above Rs. 1000/- , 80G certificate will provided.

You can also donate the essential items. WE NEED THE FOLLOWING ITEMS IMMEDIATELY:

Food Items:Grains (Rice, maize), Dhal(Tuvar dhal, green gram),Biscuits,Tea powder,Sugar,Milk Power,Sooji (Upma Rava), MTR Ready to eat food packets.

Medicine:Antibiotics,Electrol,Pain Killers,First Aid Kits

Request you to sort the materials and label the same (Rice in one packet, Sugar in packet etc). This will help us in reducing the processing time and minimize transportation costs.

Relief material can be sent to:
VVKI – Divine Karnataka Project, #1431-A, Ground Floor, 39th Cross, 22nd
Main, 4th T Block,Bangalore -560 041 OR call us ( numbers given below ) and our volunteers will pickup the material from your centers.

For your international friends who wants to contribute, they can do so through IAHV (International Association of Human Values )

http://www.iahv.org/our_work_socio_economic_development_disaster_relief_southindiafloods2009.asp

For more info and status of relief work visit
www.divinekarnatakaproject. org/v1/floodrelief.htm

Phone : 080-42173285, 9845589393, 9986487255 for any queries, info.
Email : info@divinekarnatakaproject. org

Its our basic responsibility as a human being to contribute our part to fellow humans who are in pain,trauma.We should thank god that at least we are in a position to help needy.

Love T

Long Time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Guys,

Its been a really loooooooooooooooooong time since I posted the last time. I got so busy with many things. I have had a long vacation in the past week and I'm going back to my job from tomorrow. So I thought " why not catch up with my old friends?" How's the blog world guys? Oh in the mean while, I have made some sets of floating candles which I'm planning to sell this Diwali. I shall show you guys a glimpse of it in my next post. I'm sorry Pat for not keeping up my promise. You shall see my candles soon. Till the next love you all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

" R "