Capsicum Sambar

Growing up, I didn’t like capsicum because it was always made with coconut. This combination was never very appealing to me. Recently, I adapted the capsicum sambar recipe from jeyashriskitchen.com, and it has become my favorite.

Desika Products:

Toor Dal, Tamarind, Palm Jaggery Crystals, Turmeric Powder

RECIPE FOR CAPSICUM SAMBAR

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

Capsicum (medium size) - 2

Toor Dal (pressure cooked, mashed nicely) - 1/2 cup

Red chilies- 2

Red chili powder - 2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt - as needed

Tamarind - golf-ball size

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Peanut Oil - 2 tsp

Ghee - 1 tsp

Palm Sugar Crystals - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves and cilantro for garnishing

Instructions:

1. Cut the capsicum into big cubes.

2. Soak the tamarind in warm water and extract 1 cup juice from it.

3. Heat up oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds.

4. Once they sputter, add the red chilies and saute well.

5. To this, add the cubed capsicum and turmeric powder and saute for 1 min

6. Now, add the tamarind juice, red chili powder, coriander powder, and salt and mix well.

7. Cook this on medium flame until the raw small of the tamarind goes away.

8. Add the cooked, mashed toor dal and mix it thoroughly. Adjust the consistency with water if needed.

9. Add palm sugar crystals and bring all of this to a boil.

10. Once it boils, switch off the flame and one spoon of ghee to the sambar.

11. Garnish the sambar with curry leaves and chopped cilantro. Capsicum sambar is ready to serve!

Tips & Tricks:

• I like to keep the capsicum a little crunchy so I don’t allow it to saute/cook for long. However, if you like it softer, allow the sambar to boil for longer after adding palm sugary crystals.