Okra Sambar / Vendakka Sambar

Am very lazy this week , so leaving an old vendakka sambar for you.. Not much change in the usual sambar recipe, but love preparing this one without using so many other vegetables..



Ingredients,
Vendakka / ladies finger / okra 2 cups chopped
potato 1
dal / parippu 3/4 cup
onion 1/2
shallots 1 handful
tomato 1
tamarind 1 goose berry size
coconut grated 1 cup
asafoetida 1 small piece
turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
red chilly powder 1 tsp or as per taste
coriander powder 2 Tbsp
jeerakam / cumin seeds 1 pinch
uluva / fenugreek seeds 1/2 tsp
uzhunnu parippu / black gram dal 2 tsp
coriander leaves few chopped
salt

for seasoning,
coconut oil
curry leaves few
dry red chillies 2
mustard 1 tsp



How to prepare,
Soak tamarind in little water.
Peel and chop potato into big pieces.
Cook dal with turmeric powder,potato,onion, small onions and salt.
Heat little coconut oil in a kadai and saute ladies finger for some time until it looses the stickiness.
Keep it aside.
Heat 2 tsp coconut oil again, fry kayam in it.
Then fry uzhunnu parippu until it gets golden color.
Next add cumin seeds and fenugreek and when it starts spluttering add grated coconut.
Fry until the coconut gets slight brown color, add the coriander and chilly powder.
Stir for less than one minuter and remove from fire.
Allow to cool, then blend it with water until you get a smooth solution.
Take the tamarind extract.
Add vendakka pieces and chopped tomato to the cooked dal-potato mixture.
Pour the blended solution , tamarind extract and salt to the above.
Boil it until tomato is cooked, remove from fire.
Heat coconut oil again, allow mustard seeds to splutter, fry red chillies and then curry leaves, pour this to the above cooked sambar.
Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves over it.
Sambar is ready!
(I used asafoetida as an earstud size.You can use approximately 1/4 tsp kayappodi instead of this.)