RED PUMPKIN SAMBAR | GUMMADIKAYA SAMBAR

Sambar is one of the most common dishes served in any South Indian meal.While some varieties of sambar(drumstick,ladies finger,pumpkin,yellow cucumber,radish,mixed vegetable) go well with Idli,Dosa and Rice , some others (chow chow,beans,carrot)go well with only rice. South Indians use most vegetables and greens in Sambar by making some tweaks to the recipe. This is another regular recipe from my kitchen.

RED PUMPKIN SAMBAR RECIPE:
(Serves 2-3)

Ingredients:
250 gms Red pumpkin,washed and cut into 1" cubes with skin
1/2 cup Toor dal
8-10 small Onions(peeled) or 1 big Onion(diced)
2 medium Tomatoes,roughly chopped
1/4 cup grated fresh Coconut
a gooseberry sized Tamarind
1/2 tsp grated Jaggery
Salt to taste

to roast and grind:
1 tbsp Coriander seeds
5-6 Red chillies
5 Byadige Red chillies(for color)
2 tsp Bengal gram dal(Chana dal)
1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp Oil

to temper:
1 tsp Ghee/Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
a sprig of Curry leaves
a pinch of Asafoetida

Method:

• Pressure cook toor dal with turmeric for 3 whistles until the dal is soft.
• Pressure cook pumpkin cubes ,peeled or diced onions,chopped tomatoes with salt in tamarind water and cook it until the pumpkin pieces are soft.
• Heat 1/2 tsp of oil and add chana dal and roast until it is red in color and remove it and keep aside.In the same pan add coriander seeds,fenugreek seeds and red chillies one by one and roast them until red.Let them come to the room temperature and powder it.
• Add grated coconut to it and grind to a smooth paste.
• In a big vessel,let the cooked vegetable mixture come to a rolling boil.Add cooked toor dal and ground masala to it and add enough water and salt and gated jaggery to it and let it boil for 7-8 mins until the raw smell of the ground masala goes away.
• Taste sambar at this stage and adjust according to your taste buds.
• In a small pan heat ghee and crackle mustard seeds and add curry leaves and hing and fry for 30seconds and add this tadka to the boiling sambar and give a quick mix and switch off.

Serve it hot with Idli/dosa/Rice.

Variations:

• You can follow the same recipe for vegetables like Drumsticks,Bottle gourd, White pumpkin, Chow-Chow, Radish and Carrot.
• For a variation you can skip the roasting the spices part and replace that with 2-3 tbsp Sambar powder and grind it with coconut and follow the same process.

Notes:

• For a Vegan version use oil instead of ghee in the seasoning.