Puli vitta poricha Kuzhambu( Mixed vegetables sambar)

 This is my take on the traditional puli vitta poricha Kuzhambu. I have made some changes to the recipe to make it more interesting!!! So here it is...This is a dish I make when I have a little bit of many vegetables. It is a sambar with loads of veggies..just have it with steaming hot rice ..chips or appalam if you like!!

In today's recipe the vegetables I used are

Ash gourd 1/4 kg

Red pumpkin 1/4 kg

carrots 2

Broad beans/avarakkai 10 numbers

Bhindi (Okhra) 10 numbers

finely chopped coriander.  We also need...

1/4 tsp methi seeds

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Tamarind.. a lemon sized ball

1 tsp Jaggery

Hing powder 1/4 tsp

2 tsp oil to roast masalas

1 tbsp coconut oil for tempering 

Tuvar dal /Moong dal . I have used tuvar dal but you can make it with moong dal too.

Salt to taste

To roast

2 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp chana dal

4 Kashmiri red chillies ( they give fantastic colour and are mildly spicy.) You may add regular red chillies too

1 inch piece cinnamon

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp jeera

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp methi seeds

half a cup grated coconut/ desiccated coconut is fine too.

Preparation.

Soak the tuvar dal/moong dal with 1/4 tsp methi seeds ( adding methi to the dal gives amazing flavour and the sambar will not get spoilt even in hot weather conditions). Soak the lemon sized ball of tamarind ( You can use tamarind paste too) in hot water for 10 minutes. Extract the juice completely and keep aside. Wash and dice the vegetables. Cook the tuvar/moong dal in a pressure cooker for 4 to 5 whistles and keep aside. You can make this in a pressure pan or in a regular kadai. Cook the vegetables in the tamarind extract, turmeric and salt. In a kadai, pour two tbsp oil and roast channa dal, coriander seeds cinnamon,bay leaf, jeera, pepper , methi seeds. Roast it in medium flame and take care not to burn it. Add the grated coconut and stir it a couple of times. Cool it completely and blend it smooth in a mixie adding water . Once the vegetables are completely cooked, add the cooked and mashed dal to it and bring it to a boil. Add the blended masalas and let it simmer for a minute in low flame. Do not boil it too much. In a kadai, add some coconut oil and and put some mustard seeds, curry leaves and add it to the sambar. Garnish it generously with finely chopped coriander. You can serve this hot with rice.

 You can add potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas. Cauliflower, broccoli turns mushy and tastes weird..so you can avoid.