Dinner Recipes

Dinner menu:

Dinner menu 1: Carrot sambar with homemade sambar powder and cauliflower-beans stir fry

Weekday dinners are pretty simple affairs, something that does not involve too much of fussing .


Carrot Sambar:

Ingredients needed:

Toor dal- 1/3 cup ..I generally soak toor dal overnight as the soaking helps in faster cooking. It is also said to remove the phytate levels. Phytates are anti nutrients found in many plant foods, which can cause digestive distress to people with compromised gut linings.
Carrots- 1 to 2 (sliced thinly)
Tamarind-  I used the Tamicon brand paste that is readily available at all Indian grocery
stores.
Salt needed

Spices to be ground:

Bengal gram dal-1 tbsp
Coriander seeds-1-2 tsp
Dried red chillies-2 (My family prefers it less spicy. Feel free to adjust according to your requirement.
Oil-2 tsp-I use Avocado oil mainly due to its stability for high temperature cooking.
Fenugreek seeds-1 tsp (Recommended mainly for its blood sugar stabilising properties).
Shredded coconut-1-2 tbsp..

Fry these ingredients in oil. Once it cools down, grind to a fine paste in a mixer.


Spices for seasoning:

Mustard seeds, Urad dal


Preparation:

Cook the toor dal with sufficient water in a pressure cooker. Make sure to discard the water in which it was soaked. Adding a few drops of oil while cooking is believed to quicken the cooking process.

Heat oil in a kadai. Throw in the mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add the urad dal and curry leaves(if using). Once the urad dal turns red, add in the carrot pieces. Fry for a while. Add in the tamarind paste mixed with the required amount of water. Add the salt at this stage.

Cook covered for a while. Once the raw smell of the tamarind paste leaves, add in the ground spice paste. Let it cook for a while. Once the spices are really well blended, add in the cooked toor dal.

Once it thickens, it is ready to be enjoyed.

This can be served with a simple stir fry. I served this sambar mixed with rice and made cauliflower beans stir fry to go along with it, the recipe for which is as follows


Cauliflower beans stir fry:

Ingredients:

Cauliflower- 1 medium sized head thoroughly cleaned and chopped
Organic french beans- 15-20 strings
Salt as needed
Oil for cooking
Chilli powder-1 tsp.( Garam masala, Curry masala could be added for extra flavor)

Spices for seasoning:

Mustard seeds

Preparation:

Heat oil in a kadai. Add the mustard seeds. Once it splutters, throw in the french beans. Once it is slightly cooked, add the cauliflower pieces. Add the chilli powder and the salt.

Cook covered. Stir frequently to make sure that the vegetables don't get charred.

This very simple vegetable curry is ready to be enjoyed.

Rice with carrot sambar and cauliflower beans stir fry