asannuti@burst.princeton.edu (Arun Meda Sannuti) (06/21/91)
A few days ago, my mom gave me a book of south Indian
vegetarian recipes. I never learned to cook from my mom, though that's
going to change in the near future, but she thought this cookbook was a
good way to start. It is published in India, and neither my mom or I
have used any of these recipes, but it was recommended to her by her
sister, so I assume that they're good. I thought I'd start with the
basics
Sambar
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1/2 cup (heaped) thur dal (papu) 2 tbsps coconut gratings
1 tbsp bengal gram dal 2 sprig curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds tamarind lump (the size of a marble)
2 tsps (heaped) coriander seeds 2 tbsps oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds 1 bunch coriander leaves
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds salt to taste
8 pepper corns chunks of vegetables (tomato,
1 small piece turmeric onion, squash, potato,
1 small piece asafoetida (ingua) okra, raw bananna, etc..
6 red chillies (just about anything))
Wash thur dal thoroughly. Boil 1 liter of water. Drop dal in boiling
water. Cook until soft. Take a little oil in a frying pan on another
flame. Roast mustard, coriander, fenugrek, cumin, pepper, turmeric,
red chillies, asafoetida, bengal gram dal, coconut gratings and 1 sprig
of curry leaves - all in the same sequence, until brown. Grind all the
roasted ingredients with tamarind to a fairly smooth paste. To the
cooked thur dal, add vegetable pieces and a few coriander leaves. Cook
until tender. Then add salt along with ground masala (paste made
above) and some water. Boil well. When done, remove from flame.
Garnish with bits of coriander leaves.
This is usually served with
Idlis
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1 heaping cup black gram dal oil for greasing cups
2 heaping cups raw rice or salt to taste
(1 heaping cup boiled rice and
1 heaping cup raw rice)
Soak black gram dal and the two rices (mixed) seperately in water for 3
hours. First, wash the soaked dhal and grind to a fine paste and keep
aside. Then grind the soaked rice to a coarse paste. Mix both the
pastes using hands, add salt and keep under cover overnight. Next day,
beat the batter well. Grease idli cups (you can use egg poachers if
you want) with oil, and fill them (about 3/4 full) with the idli bater
and steam in an idli vessel (basically, a big steamer) for about 20
minutes. (note: if raw rice only is used, there is no need to grind
it. Just wash it and crush it in a mortar and pedstle (sp?) and then
mix it with the ground black gram paste)
The same idli batter can be use to make Sannan. Pour the batter in the
container of a pressure cooker (previously greased with oil) about 3/4
full and steam for 15-20 minutes as above. Take out and cut into pieces
with a spatula.
Recipes from Dakshin Bharat Dishes Cookbook by Jaya V. Shenoy
Reprinted w/o permission.
Thanks for all the recipes. Good luck
Arun
asannuti@phoenix.princeton.edu