Directions

1. Roast in oil - channa dal, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chillies. Add these along with grated coconut to a mixer jar. Add water and grind to a coarse paste.

2. In a vessel, add water, add tamarind and required salt and boil for a few minutes. Keep aside to cool. Once cool, squeeze with hands to extract all the tamarind juice. Boiling helps easy extraction.

3. Prep veggies. Since we are using pumpkin, moringa and bajji molaga, these can be directly added to the water to cook. There is no need to pressure cook.

4. Take a pot, add the tamarind water. Add veggies. Some say that veggies won’t cook properly if added to tamarind water, but I think it cooks just fine. Add the ground mixture after the veggies cook a bit. Let it all boil and come together on medium heat. Once the sambar starts thickening, lower the heat and add the pressure cooked dal. Add water if needed to adjust consistency.

5. Switch off after a few minutes once you add dal.

6. Temper with coconut oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, a pinch of fenugreek seeds, 2-3 broken red chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida. Garnish with lot of chopped coriander.

7. Enjoy Arachvitta sambar, Palakkad style.

8. Or just buy Mylapore Kitchens Arachuvitta style sambar podi and skip all the roasting and grinding!