Red Radish Sambar

Rajini Fans vs. Kamal Haasan Fans
Dog Lovers vs. Cat Lovers
Steffi Graf vs. Monica Seles
Rasam lovers vs. Sambar lovers

By now you'd have made an obvious connection of what I'm talking about!! According to the research by my "vetti-statistics-edupor-sangam" (club that takes useless statistics), there are only 2 sets of people in the world, who fall either in the left category or in the right! Yes, You can't possibly like Rajini as well as Kamal. Same way, you can't love both Sambar and Rasam!From most of the people I met, venus inhabitants are rasam lovers and the ones from Mars are all thumbs-up for Sambar. Too much of free time leads to such useless ramblings! Sigh!



Sambar is always not my kinda food. But after our marriage, when it became evident that I can never let go Sambar from the daily menu (even if not daily, atleast 2 or 3 times in a week), I surrendered to learning and eating the same. After coming here, those round little red Radish bundles in the fresh-produce section kept tempting me, and when my MIL visited us, we bought one of those bunches and tried. Needless to say, it was soft, flavored and tasted way better than the white radish. Even the leaf, when cooked with dal, was delicious.

So ladies and gentlemen, presenting you, the (second) love of my DH, Sambar!!! *Sniff* *Sniff*

Red Radish Sambar


What we need:
Red Radish - a small bundle or about quarter of a Kilogram
Onion, small - 1, chopped or A few shallots / Small onions - Optional
Sambar powder - 3 tbsp.
Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Tamarind - 1 marble sized ball
Salt - according to taste
Asafoetida (Perungayam) - 2 pinch
Turmeric powder - a pinch

For tempering:
Oil/Ghee - 1 tbsp.
Mustard - 1 tsp.
Cumin - 1 tsp. Ya, I mean Jeera. It tastes really good!
Curry leaves - a sprig

How to do:
1. Pressure cook the toor dal with a pinch of turmeric powder, and a tsp. of oil till soft. Mash the dal well and set aside
2. Boil the Radish and onion vegetables with just enough water.
3. Once the vegetables are boiled (takes about 10 min), add the tamarind extract and sambar powder and required salt.
4. Boil for another 5 to 10 minutes or till the raw smell of powder starts leaving.
5. Add the dal at this point, and mix thoroughly. When the first set of bubbles/foam start appearing on the surface, remove and set aside.
6. In a seasoning wok, heat oil/ghee and add mustard. When it starts popping, add jeera, curry leaves, stir well and add it to the sambar.
7. Sprinkle some asafoetida and close with a lid.
8. If you are adding some garnish like curry leaves/coriander, add it at this point.

Notes:
1. Garnishing with coriander leaves gives an excellent flavor to Sambar.
2. Usually Cumin is not added as tempering, but I tried one day adding Cumin and it turned out to be good.
3. The procedure for all types of vegetable sambar (except Arbi/Shama Gadda/Sepa Kizhangu) is the same. So replace any vegetable of your choice and follow the same method.
4. Don't slow cook the red radish, because after a few minutes they start distributing the color and finally sambar will turn red!

Serve hot with rice, ghee and papad!

An Update: In my last post, I had mentioned about this little roadside joint near Naidu hall in Pondy Bazaar, Chennai. Where this joint is: Just a few metres away from Naidu hall on the opposite side of the road, you'll see a small lane. It will practically be invisible due to too many flowers shops and heavy traffic. Take this lane and towards the end you'll see "Brilliant Tutorials" (Ya, the same IIT training center). This Kaiyendhi bhavan sits right there. Hope you enjoy this place as much as I did.

Happy Cooking and happy blogging!

40 comments:

Nithya said...

Red reddish looks really cute.. we don't get these here. I like this one letting go the fact that I am a pakka venus inhabitant. ;) sometimes we tend to swing sides na...:)

Tina said...

Never tried sambar with radish....Yummy..

Shanthi Krishnakumar said...

Radish sambhar has its own lovely and ddelicious taste. Nice sambhar but we don't get this small variety of radish here.

Vidya Rao said...

True...we have to venture into all possible dishes with whatever veg is available around! Just one request...could post sometime the Sambar powder recipe...I have found out that everybody's sambar tastes different from each other! Thanks a lot in advance!

Urmi said...

Thanks a lot for visiting my blog and for your lovely comment.
Please collect your award from my blog.
I liked your blog very much. I appreciate for your wonderful presentation. Sambar with reddish is absolutely new recipe for me. It looks delicious.

lata raja said...

I have made mullangi sambhar today. Radish, onions and drumsticks are perfect for sambhar. they give the sambhar an extra flavour.

SE said...

hi rohini..you are so awesome!!! thats so much true about the ones from venus loving rasam!!I was reading your post and could't agree more..atleast about rasam and sambhar.
Sambar seems to be delicious..we make simple dal with the white radish..may be i can give a try with these red ones.

chakhlere said...

I also like those cute red radish very much. They taste great. sambar recipe is nice and simple.

Ambika said...

Hey Rohini, as usual, you are right!! People from Mars definitely like sambar!! I also make sambar with these red little radishes, hubby dear loves it!!

Padhu Sankar said...

Rohini I love both sambar and rasam (exceptional case).Ok Your radish photo is very good.

Unknown said...

You are absolutely true about mars & venus. I love rasam all the time. Have seen this kaiyendhi bhavan numerous times when i used to go to the Agasthiar temple with my Mom but never tried out once, may be next visit back home will try out.

Namitha said...

Not a radish fan..but using it in sambar is new to me..:-)

Sanjana said...

I love these raddishes! My mum makes a dry curry with besan and red raddish. It is so awesome so I can imagine how good they taste in this dish too! Great recipe and as usual, your lil story made me smile! :D

Anupama said...

My Mom and I love this sambar while the rest of the family hates it. I guess you can only have two sets of people: radish lovers Vs. Non-radish lovers ;-).

my kitchen said...

Flavorful sambhar,loved ur version

kitchen queen said...

Yum! I usually make sambar with white radish but now I will give the red one a try.

Anonymous said...

I was nodding my head all the way when u said abt making sambar 2-3 times a week..TH wud have it 7 days a week too..radish sambar rocks

Uma said...

I also add these red radishes to sambar sometimes. Yours look more delectable. YUM!!

Preety said...

i love sambhar, but never tried it by myself..looks so mouthwatering

Priya Suresh said...

Sambhar looks delicious dear...i do add rarely radish sometimes in sambhar..

Unknown said...

looks Yummy and sounds gr8..never tried sambar with radish..Next time will give a try..and let u know..:)

Raks said...

I saw this in veggie section when I went for weekly shopping,never knew we can make sambar ... Looks good,next time I will take out !

Unknown said...

i never touched radish in childhood..but u know what almost everyday I had to taste sambhar with this veggie in hostel and now its in fav list...lol...good post rohini

Sree vidya said...

Yummy!
I love raddish in my sambar
Raddish makes a nice option for arachuvitta sambar too
In my case, I like both sambar and rasam. I am from earth ;)

Sushma Mallya said...

red radish in sambar sounds interesting, and must be very nice as well....

Jeyashris Kitchen said...

my mom and my daughter fan are a great fan of radish sambhar.this sambhar radish looks yummy.i always make salad with the small radish,never made sambhar out of that.

Kanchan said...

the write up was well written, never seen these red raddish around here ..

Ash said...

Wonderful looking sambar...Sambar it self is not regular at home... & the Radish is new too.....

Ash....
(http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

Sreelekha Sumesh said...

This is new to me,interesting recipe..i have seen these red radish in market.give a try next time.

Chitra said...

New to me..will buy if i c around :)

priya said...

hi rohini,

thx for visiting my blog and for those sweet comments..u ve a lovely blog!...delicious recipes...ll keep in touch!

Unknown said...

looks so good. and yummy..

My cooking experiments said...

Sambar is my comfort food.Your sambar seems to be perfect.

Ambika said...

Hey Rohini, Congratulations on being featured in the Budding Blogger!!! Wish you many many more :)

Sandhya Hariharan said...

Way to go Rohini.... Nice clicks.. Did u get urself a new Camera is it?

Congrats on being featured in Ec's blog.

Sh... said...

Thats a good one. I too prefer this to the white one coz of its softness..:). Shd def visit the Kaiyendhi bhavan during r next trip to India

Rohini said...

Thanks everybody!!

@ Vidya: Sure da, Will post Sambar powder recipe soon!

@Padhu: Gald to see an exception at last!!

@ Sandhya: No dear, it is the same one I've been using. Thanks for your wishes!! :)

shahana said...

Radish sambar is new for me.will try it definetly!!!

Mythreyi Dilip said...

Excellent radish sambhar, my all time favorite.

lubnakarim06 said...

I never tried red radish till now...have to try this veggie...well said about the intro of the dish...sambar looks yum...