Milagu Kara Sambar/ Spicy Pepper Sambar

Ingredients

Murungaikai( Drumstick)-2 or Kathrikai (Eggplant)-4 or Keerai Thandu(  Stems of Amaranth leaves)-1 bunch

Toordal( cooked and mashed)-1cup

Onion small chopped-1

Tomato small chopped-1

Turmeric powder-1/4tsp

Salt to taste

Dry roast and grind the following ingredients to fine powder

Urad dal( Ullutham parrupu)-2tsp

Whole Black pepper( Milagu)-2tsp

Mustard seeds( Kadugu)-1tsp

Dry red chilly( Varamilagai)-4

Tempering

Mustard seeds-1tsp

Asafetida-pinch

Curry leaves-few

Oil required

P.S-Any one of the above vegetables can be used to make this sambar or you can combine both drumstick and eggplant.

Only use the stems of the amaranth leaves, donot use the leaves.

Method

In a deep vessel add vegetable( i had used drumstick here), onions and tomatoes, add enough water and bring to boil. Cook till the vegetable are tender. When vegetable is done, add cooked toordal to the above vegetable and mix well. In a small bowl add the ground masala, 1tsp of water and mix well. Add this mixture to the vegetable toordal mixture.( If the ground masala is directly added to toordal mixture, masala powder will form into lumps and will not mix thoroughly).

Add turmeric powder and enough salt to the sambar( add water according to the thickness of sambar). Bring the mixture to boil, simmer for 2mins and keep stirring sambar.

In a small tadka pan heat 2 tbsp of oil, when hot add mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafetida. When crackles, add this tempering to the boiling sambar.

Serve hot with steamed rice.