Garden To Table Series(Ep:3)- Radish harvest and Sambhar
Greens have a quick harvest time and it is the reason why my last two posts were about greens. Now it’s time for vegetables. Finally, some vegetables coming out of my balcony garden. Yes, it is Raddish and it is also one of the quick harvest veggies.
I am quite happy with the produce and it was just enough for our one time meal. We also collected some fresh leaves for cooking and rest for compost 🙂
During my childhood, my Mom often makes Radish Sambhar. If there are more veggies leftover, then other recipes would follow like stir-fries, chutney, Pachaadi, curry, and there are endless options. In South India, Sambhar is a common recipe usually made at least once a week. It is also a must for any vegetarian meal. When Radish is added to Sambhar it creates a unique flavor and adds taste to it. Likewise, in Northern part of India, Paratha is a common recipe and Mooli ka Paratha( stuffed Radish in Indian bread) is a delicacy. Health benefits of Radish here.
Following our home tradition and taste for this vegetable, I made Sambhar and this was also the request from my family after the harvest. Fresh harvested Radish was tender and simply delicious. Also, I harvested some fresh greens from Radish and made a simple stir fry. Needless to say, they tasted crisp, fresh, tasty, and satisfying.
Sambhar is a lentil based sauce usually made from Pigeon Pea(Toor Dhal) and it is the base for a sauce. Sambhar contains a special spice blend called Sambhar powder( Coriander seeds, cumin, red chilli, asafoetida, lentils for and few other ingredients added and it differs regionally ) and it is a key ingredient. For sourness, tamarind juice is added. Different varieties of vegetables are added like drumstick, brinjal, carrots, etc which adds nutrition and taste to the dish. Sambhar is best served with little ghee on top of rice.
Below is the Recipe of simple Sambhar! (You can also use store bought Sambhar powder and each brand differ in taste. Sambhar in every Indian home is different due to the spice blends they use 🙂
Ingredients for Sambhar
- Oil – 1 tablespoon
- Mustard – 1 tsp
- Cumin – 1tsp
- Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp
- Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
- Curry leaves – 1 sprig
- Onion – 1 chopped
- Tomato – 1 chopped
- Sambhar powder – 1 tablespooon
- Radish – 4-5 medium size or 500gm
- Tamarind – small lemon size(soak in warm water and extract juice)
- Toor Dhal – 1 cup
- Coriander leaves
- Salt for taste
Method:
- Wash Toor dhal in water . Add 3 cups of water to toor dhal, turmeric and asafoetida and pressure cook them until dhal is soft and keep aside.
- Heat a pot and add oil. Add Mustard seeds and wait until it crackles. Add cumin, asafoetida 1/4 , curry leaves one after other.
- Add onion and saute for couple of minutes. Add tomato and saute for a minute. Add sambhar powder, raddish slices and tamarind water and salt. Cook these until the radish slices are soft and cooked for approx 10 min in medium flame after a boil.
- Now, add cooked dhal and mix it and allow it to boil for 5 minutes together.
- Sprinkle corrainder leaves and switch of heat.
Serve it with soft cooked short grain rice preferably boiled rice or Sona-Masoori to get best flavours of Sambhar.
Do try this version of Sambhar and Enjoy!
We had so much of fresh greens from Radish, we wanted to make another recipe and we made Lasagne :). Such a great alternative for Spinach in Lasagne. Radish leaves were slightly sautéed with little oil and onion. This mixture is used for stuffing. I was so proud to see the dish made completely by Riya. It tasted delicious and Radish greens had the crunchiness unlike Spinach which was good..
You can also try adding other edible greens to your Lasagne:-)
Hits: 796