For the next few days – we are going to be having traditional Tambram food for lunch. When it’s just me, I usually make one-pot meals which have a fair balance of carbs, proteins and loads of vegetables. Now that I have company for the next couple of weeks, proper lunch it is!
I’m just doing this for fun to chronicle how many such traditional (read non-fusion) recipes I can cook 🙂 Anyway it is also a great way to share authentic (almost) recipes from my heritage with anyone who may be interested
All items are accompanied by rice / broken wheat and with lots of yogurt to end the meal.
Serves 3-4 people
Day One – Sunday
Menu
- Vengaya Sambar
- Potato Roast
- Vendakai Curry
- Special add on: Fried vadam
Traditional Lunch Series - Day 1 ( Vengaya sambar, Vendakkai curry, Potato Roast )
For the next few days - we are going to be having traditional Tambram food for lunch. When it's just me, I usually make one-pot meals which have a fair balance of carbs, proteins and loads of vegetables. Now that I have company for the next couple of weeks, proper lunch it is! I'm just doing this fo
Ingredients
Method
- Recipe for Vengaya Sambar (Onion sambar):
- In a heavy pan, heat the oil. Temper with asafoetida, fenugreek, mustard, curry leaves, dried chilli and saute for a few seconds.
- Add the quartered onions, turmeric, pinch of salt, saute on medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
- Add a glass of water, cover and cook till onions are soft.
- In a bowl, make a slurry with sambar powder, tamarind paste and 1/2 cup water.
- Add this slurry to the softened onions, bring to a simmer.
- Next add the mashed dal, salt, bring to a simmer.
- Check for salt and sourness, adjust and bring to a simmer again.
- Remove from flame and keep covered until ready to serve with rice.
- Recipe for Potato Roast:
- Sprinkle the ingredients for the dry marinade on the boiled potato cubes, coat using light hands and keep aside for 15 min - half hour.
- Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add all the tempering ingredients, stir around till the dals turn golden.
- Add the spiced potato cubes, toss well to coat with whole spices. Let the potato brown on a low flame. For this it is necessary that you don't keep tossing them around, keep them on a low flame and turn around after 10 minutes, to brown the other sides.
- Once ready, garnish with coriander and serve hot.
- Recipe for Vendakkai Curry (Dry okra / lady's finger / bhindi saute):
- In a wok, heat oil. Splutter the mustard seeds, fry the red chillies and saute the udad dal till golden. Add in the sliced okra, tumeric and salt and saute on medium flame off and on for 7-8 minutes till okra is cooked yet lightly crunchy.
- Do not cover while cooking.
- Serve with rice and rasam / sambar / mor kozhambu.
Notes
Notes:
Vengaya Sambar (Onion sambar):
This tastes better after 1-2 hours of making it, as the flavours improve with time.
You can use chinna vengayam (Madras onions / Shallots) instead of regular onions.
I will share with you the recipe for homemade sambar powder in a later post, you can use MTR sambar powder instead.
Potato Roast:
The udad dal, bengal gram, fennel seeds and curry leaves are not added in a typical Iyer style roast, I have incorporated some Chettinad flavours in this. So you can avoid them to make a simpler roast.
Vendakkai Curry (Dry okra / lady's finger / bhindi saute):
A curry in Tamil Brahmin cuisine is a dry sauteed preparation, not involving any gravy. Most 'curries' are prepared in the similar manner using a variety of vegetables.
delicious :))havent made that potato curry for so many years now..:) Today it is thanks for sharing
OOps that anon comment was me sharanya
Enjoy the roast today then Sharanya 🙂
Lovely series, these traditional meals are the best. Looking forward to what you are going to cook up. The first day has me hooked.
Yumm i am comming over
This is how lunch usually is here! Having family over, I guess.Nothing beats traditional fare in the end.
nice balance of texture and spice. Traditional food also looks so welcoming. I just had a round of guests so now i am going back to the one pot meals.:)
Lovely series dearie, I love such simple dishes, and this particular meal can actually pass off as a traditional Kerala meal… 🙂 Have a great time with your guests…
Yummy! Reminds me of my mom’s vengaiya sambar, and urulai curry, the combination which I love the most but next only to my mother. Thanks for sharing, motivated to make vengaiya sambar and urulai roast sometime very soon!
Thank you for your encouragement, day two coming up next 😛
Nandita, This series is awesome, I eagerly look forward to more of it. So many simple yet most delicious recipes. Thanks a ton for sharing them!!!! Keep them flowing!
wow! I was searching for filter coffee out of sheer nostlagia..and im pregnant..and hit upon ur blog and one page led to the other and here im nearly drooling over the pics and ur menu combo..i LOV LOV sambar n potato..while in Chennai. now here in houston..somehow it all doesnt taste the same..mebbe its my cooking…anyways im motivated to try making the sambar and each of ur menu combos for the next few days :)) i’m haffy and i will try the coffee..tho sans the filter..my M-I-L is coming down and i will ask her to get me this coffee filter that u mentioned.Ur blogs rocking!Hav a Super duper day! 🙂
Potato roast looks so tempting! Blogrolling it ..thanks!
I bought 2 vegetables this week — cabbage & okra — to make them for the very first time. I came straight to your blog, hoping that you would have a recipe for these in your vast collection. And luckily I found such simple & delicious recipes in your Traditional Lunch Series for both of the veggies! Thanks a lot for your wonderful recipes! Your simple, healthy, and yummy collection inspires me to keep improving my cooking! 😉
ooh! aathu saapadu!! curry venumna naane-daan samaikannum indha ooru-le. your blog is a god-sent. i have a question. for sambar, amma sent me sambar powder she made at home. puli vanginen ingaye. toram parupu vanginen. but im at a loss to know how much thoram parupu to how much puli to how much sambar powder. experiment pannarthe, rendu vaati nanna vandudu. rendu vaati kanna pinna-nu pulichi vazhinjidu.can you help me? my mom is too busy laughing :Dthanks!! and keep posting!ps: indha ooru-le enaku vendekaye kedaukale 🙁 🙁 not even in tins! 😀 dont move to europe if you love iyer food 😀 😀
Thank you Nandita! Moreover, thanks for adding those pictures as well. Being a complete novice at Tamil cooking your recipes really help and motivate me. The pictures also help assess if i’m going in the right direction or not! If i may say, your blog is what i log onto before leaving work…so i can plan what to cook for dinner! Thanks once again!
I really like your sambhar recipe. I’ve been looking for a simple one for a while. I’ve used the instructions on some of the sambhar powder packets here in the US and haven’t liked it at all!I think I’m gonna try your bhindi recipe tonight 🙂
Awesome is the word 🙂 This used to be my demand from amma when I came down to Chennai for semester hols from college/hostel.
This recipe is a life saver! 🙂 Thanks Nandita <3
my mother is allergic to tamarind.. is there an alternative?