Katharikkai_Sambar

#KatharikkaiSambar  #BrinjalSambar : I have been preparing sambar only  in a pressure cooker [ by pressure cooking ] since I started cooking. I always used to prepare mixed vegetable sambar with two or three vegetables from vegetables like brinjal [ katharikkai ], drumstick, radish, ridge gourd, bittergourd, jackfruit seeds, chow chow, bottle gourd, yellow pumpkin, pumpkin, potato, etc.,...

Sometimes I used to do sambar for tiffin from katharikkai & green gram and also prepare another dish called katharikkai chutney [ katharikkai gothsu ] from katharikkai. But their preparations are completely different from the sambar for lunch. I have never done sambar using only katharikkai till I started living in Chittaranjan. What compelled me to make katharikkai sambar now is that I have brinjal plants in my garden. So I am getting steady supply of fresh and organically cultivated brinjals.

When I make sambar with katharikkai in a pressure cooker, the katharikkai pieces get over cooked and disintegrate into the sambar. The sambar looks like a katharikkai porridge. The reason might be that they are coming to the kitchen straight from the garden and also this particular variety takes lesser time to cook soft.

So henceforth I have decided not to prepare sambar by pressure cooking method when I use this katharikkai [ kathirikai ].

Thuvar dal alone is being pressure cooked in a pressure cooker.
But the sambar is being cooked in the pressure cooker without closing it by its lid.

Preparation Time                : 15 Mins
Cooking Time                     : 15 Mins
Quantity prepared               : 2 1/2 to 3 Cups approx.

Ingredients :
1/3 Cup	Thuvar Dal [ Pigeon Pea ]
3 - 4 medium size	Katharikkai [ Brinjal ]
Amla size	Tamarind, Soak in warm water
2 Tsp	Sambar powder
1/2 Inch long	Turmeric Tuber
Small piece	Asafoetida
1 Tsp	Coriander powder
8 - 10	Small Onion, peeled & halved
15 - 20	Curry Leaf
2 - 3	Green Chilly, slit lengthwise
1 Tsp	Mustard seed
1 1/2 Tsp	Gingelly oil [ Sesame / Til oil ]
1 1/2 Tsp	Salt [ Adjust ]
2 - 3 sprigs	Kothamalli Ilai [ Coriander leaf ] to garnish
1 Tbsp	Murungai keerai [ Moringa leaf ] to garnish

Note : Turmeric powder can be used if turmeric tuber is not available.

Method :
Take thuvar dal in a 3 litre pressure cooker.
Wash it twice with clean water and drain.
Now add 1 Cup of water, thinly sliced & crushed turmeric tuber and asafoetida.
Close the pressure cooker with its lid and put the weight on.
Pressure cook on HIGH for 5 whistles and reduce the flame to SIM & cook for 5 minutes.
Wait till the cooker ran out of steam.

Open the cooker and mash the cooked dal with the back of a ladle or with a potato masher.
Add Sambar powder and Coriander powder.
Mix well adding a cup of water.
Keep on a stove over medium heat.
On another burner of the stove heat a kadai with oil over medium flame.
Crackle mustard seeds once oil starts smoking.
Then add curry leaves after tearing them with hand.
Next add green chilly and onion in the order.
Saute till onion turns translucent.
Then add tomato and stir for another minute.
Transfer into the cooker.

Again keep the kadai on the stove and add 1/2 Tsp of oil.
Add katharikkai pieces and saute for two minutes.
Turn off the stove and transfer into boiling dal mixture.
Stir well with a ladle and close with a plate.
Cook till katharikkai become soft.

Now squeeze tamarind adding half a cup of water.
Strain its juice into the boiling sambar.
Add salt and let it boil for another 2 - 3 minutes.
Finally add curry leaves & murungaikeerai [ drumstick leaf ]
and turn off the stove.

Transfer into a serving vessel.
Garnish with curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Take hot white rice in a plate, pour a ladle full of sambar and a dash of ghee or
gingelly oil [ sesame/til oil ].
Mix well with hand and enjoy with your favorite stir fry or curry.

Sambar is a great accompaniment to paruppu sadham [ rice mixed with lentil and ghee ].
And also goes well with curd rice.

Other recipes you might like to try

Katharikkai Idli sambar

Vangi Bath with Black Pepper

Katharikkai Chutney

Katharikkai morekuzhambu

Katharikkai Varuval [ Brinjal Fry ]

Aviyal

Venthaya kuzhambu

Manathakkali vathakuzhambu

Vadai morekuzhambu

Vazhaipoo Kuzhambu

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Katharikkai-Morekuzhambu

#KatharikkaiMorekuzhambu #BrinjalMorekuzhambu : #Katharikkai is called #Brinjal in English and also known as #Eggplant. It is one of the vegetables suitable for preparing sambar, kuzhambu, kootu, dry curry, masala curry, kurma, chutney, mixed rice and so on. It is also one of the most suitable vegetables apart from bottle gourd and pumpkin to prepare a tasty mor kuzhambu.

The method of preparing Katharikkai mor kuzhambu is just the same way as that of any other mor kuzhambu. But the way of cooking brinjal slightly differs from others.

The taste of #morekuzhambu [ #morkuzhambu ] varies with the taste of the curd and also on the vegetable taken. But the gravy comes out good only with fresh curd or slightly sour curd.

There are five stages to prepare a tasty #morekuzhambu

• Beat the curd adding 1/4 tsp of asafoetida and crushed ginger
• Grind coconut, cumin, chilly and soaked gram dhal & rice along with other ingredients into a smooth paste
• Boil the vegetable
• Finally simmer boiled vegetable adding prepared coconut paste and then curd
• Temper mustard seed, cumin seed, split black gram, broken red chilly, asafoetida and curry leaves

Ingredients :
1 cup	Curd
small piece	Ginger
2 pinch	Asafoetida powder
2 or 3	Katharikkai, chop into 1 in, long pieces
1/4 Tsp	Turmeric powder
2 Tsp	Oil
1 Tsp	Salt [ Adjust ]
For masala :
3 Tsp	Grated Coconut
1 Tsp	Gram dhal
1/2 Tsp	Raw Rice
11/2 Tsp	Cumin seeds
1/2 Tsp	Coriander seeds
4 or 5	Black pepper
2 Cloves	Garlic
4 or 5	small Onion or
1 small size	Onion
2 or 3	Green chilly [ Adjust ]
10 to 15	Curry Leaves [ Optional ]
1 or 2	Red chilly [ Adjust ]
small piece	Ginger
small piece	Turmeric tuber [ optional ]
1/4 Tsp	Salt [ adjust ]
To Temper :
1/2 Tsp	Mustard seeds
1/2 Tsp	Cumin seeds
1 Tsp	Urad dhal
1/4 Tsp	asafoetida powder
1	Red chilly, break into pieces
20	Curry leaves
1 Tsp	Oil

Coriander leaves to garnish.

Method :
Soak gram dhal and raw rice half an hour before starting to prepare morekuzhambu [ mor kuzhambu ].

Beat curd with a ladle or spoon to make it smooth.
Add smashed ginger piece & asafoetida powder and keep aside.

Take all the ingredients for masala in a mixer grinder jar and grind without adding water.

Then add water and grind into a fine paste.
Transfer into a bowl and keep aside.

Heat a kadai on a stove over slow flame.
Add 2 Tsp of oil and put chopped pieces of katharikkai, a pinch of turmeric powder & salt.
Saute for a minute and cook it closed on slow flame till katharikkai pieces become soft.
Add prepared masala, 1 to 1 1/4 cup of water and mix well.
Allow to simmer for 5 minutes or until the raw smell goes off.

Now completely reduce the flame and add beaten curd.
Adjust salt and mix well.
Simmer over the stove until first few bubbles starts coming up.
Tear five to six curry leaves and put them on boiling kuzhambu.
Turn off stove and transfer into a serving bowl.

Keep a kadai with oil on a slow flame.
When the oil becomes hot crackle mustard seeds.
Then add cumin and then chilly pieces.
Now add urad dhal.
Add curry leaves and asafotida after urad dhal turns golden color.
Pour tempered ingredients over more kuzhambu.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Tasty tasty more kuzhambu is ready.
Mix dhal [ paruppu ] with hot rice adding 1/2 tsp of ghee and enjoy it with Katharikkai morekuzhambu.
Katharikkai morekuzhambu [ mor kuzhambu ] can also be mixed with rice and relished with any dry curry or  vegetable stir fry of your choice.

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Vadai Morekuzhambu	Vazhaipoo paruppu urundai kuzhambu	vazhaipoo kuzhambu
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Sambar & Kuzhambu

Katharikkai-varuval-Brinjal-fry

#KatharikkaiVaruval #BrinjalFry #EggplantFry : Few months back when we were new to a township called #Chittaranjan in West Bengal we approached a small hotel in amladahi market area to buy roti and side dish. We gave the cook of the hotel two tiffin boxes, one big another small one. He kept them aside and started rolling roti dough on a table. Then he put the rolled dough onto a hot tawa, fliped two sides for few seconds and then cooked roti in direct fire by holding it with tongs. The roti bulged like a baloon with dark spots here and there on both sides. Once done he placed it on a plate. He made 4 rotis within 10 minutes and packed them in the big tiffin box. He filled the other tiffin box with side dish. We paid him and placed the boxes in a bag and started to leave from there. At that time he asked us to give the tiffin box with rotis and we didn't know for what purpose he asked it.  He slid 3 pieces of some fried items into the tiffin box and gave it back to us. When we asked him whether it was vegetarian, he shook his head affirmatively and told something in Bengali.
We didn't understand what he told but we kept it inside our bag and returned back home. After coming home, when we opened the tiffin box we found out that the pieces were fried masala coated brinjal pieces. It was tasty and spicy but little bit sweety also.
We later learned that the dish is known as Bengali Begun Bhaja or Baingan Bhaja. #Brinjal [ #eggplant ] is known as #Begun in Bengali and #Baingan in Hindi. Here in vegetable market brinjal of big size either in violet or green color are available in plenty through out the year. Even though they are very big in size its very soft and seedless. If you cut it by a knife it seems like as if cutting butter.
Thick slices of #brinjal [ #eggplant ] are marinated in spicy masala mix and then deep fried after coating them with rice flour. I got an idea of its recipe and made it in my own way and according to my taste. After marinating them with my own masala mix powder I roasted the slices on a dosai kal instead of frying in oil. One big #katharikkai [ brinjal ] is enough for two persons. Here I have taken 2 medium size #katharikkai [ brinjal ].

Ingredients :
2 medium size	Katharikkai [ brinjal ]
1/2 Tsp	Red chilly powder [ Adjust ]
2 Tsp	Sambar powder
1/4 Tsp	Turmeric powder
1/2 Tsp	Curry leaf powder
1/2 Tsp	Cumin powder
1/2 Tsp	Kadalai maavu [ Besan ]
3 Tsp	Coriander Chutney
3/4 Tsp	Salt [ Adjust ]
5 - 6 Tsp	Groundnut oil

Method :
Take Red chilly powder, Sambar powder, Turmeric powder, curry leaf powder, kadalai maavu [ besan ] and salt in a clean & dry vessel and mix well
Wash katharikkai and cut into equal thickness pieces.
Spread Coriander Chutney on both sides of each piece and then sprinkle the powder mix over it.
Allow to stand for half an hour.

Heat tawa on a stove over medium flame.
Sprinkle oil on tawa and spread pieces on tawa.
Again sprinkle oil on the pieces and also around them.
Flip them and roast till both the sides turn golden color and also till pieces become soft.
Transfer into a serving bowl/plate.
Again sprinkle oil on tawa and roast next batch of brinjal pieces.

Goes well with hot white rice mixed with sambar and rasam.

It can be packed as side dish in lunch box for mixed rice varieties and also along with chapathi.



Note : The quantity of powders can be altered according to ones' taste buds.






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Katharikkai Chutney

#KatharikkaiChutney : The preparation of this chutney is just like the preparation of sambar without dhal. That's why it is called chutney, not as sambar. The consistency of chutney is thicker than sambar. This type of chutney is commonly prepared using ridge gourd [ peerkangai ], #brinjal and karunai kizhangu [ கருணை கிழங்கு ].

Ingredients :
2 big size	Katharikkai [ brinjal ]
Amla size	Tamarind
1	Big Onion. chop nicely
10 - 12	small Onion, chop nicely
2 - 3	Green chilly
10 - 12	Curry leaves
1/2 Tsp	Mustard seeds
1/4 Tsp	Asafoetida
1 Tsp	Groundnut Oil
1 1/2 Tsp	Salt [ adjust ]
2 pinches	Turmeric powder
2 Tsp	sambar powder
1 Tsp	Araithuvitta kuzhambu powder
1 Tsp	Coriander powder [ dhaniya powder ]

Method :
Soak tamarind in lukewarm water half an hour before starting the preparations.
Dice onion and slit green chilly lengthwise.
Wash and then cut brinjal into equal sized pieces.
Cook katharikkai [ brinjal ] adding a pinch of turmeric powder and 3/4 cup of water in a pressure cooker for a whistle.
Immediately release the steam and open the cooker.

Mash the cooked vegetable with a potato masher or a ladle.

Add sambar powder , turmeric powder, Araithuvitta kuzhambu powder  and coriander powder to the mashed katharikkai.
Mix well adding 3/4 cup of water.
Heat on a stove over medium flame.

On another burner of the stove keep a kadai on slow flame with oil.
When the oil becomes hot add mustard seeds and wait till it splutters.
Then add asafoetida, curry leaves, green chillly.
Then add onion and saute for 1 minute.
Turn off the stove.

Then transfer sauteed onion & green chilly into cooker and mix well.
Now squeeze tamarind and strain into cooker and add enough salt.
Close the cooker with weight on.
Pressure cook for one whistle.
Wait till the pressure cooker runs out of steam.
Then open and transfer into a serving bowl.

Garnish with coriander leaves.
Can have spicy katharikkai chutney by mixing with hot white rice.
It is also a great accompaniment to Idli.

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