Carrot Sambhar/Sambar - Using Pressure Cooker

Pressure cookers are blessings that come in various size and shapes, and is available in every Indian house-hold!!! I have 3 pressure cookers with me now, the smallest one is 3 litres, which comes super handy everyday morning to make dal/sambhar for kuttu. They cook like magic in 15 minutes!!! oh yes, i guarantee for that. So, when valli announced cooking with pressure cooker as a theme for Blogging Marathon#35, i immediately chose the theme, as i use these small wonders of the kitchen everyday!!!

Amma has 2 cute pressure cooker with her, the new prestige handi too!!! i just envy the sleek and cute shape of that handi!!! Amma always makes sambar/kootu in her pressure cooker only. iMany times,i have teased her, saying she almost forgot how to keep sambar otherwise, until i found myself in a situation where i need to make and pack sambhar everyday in 15 minutes straight, juggling with other kitchen work in-between. Yes,kuttu prefers sambhar with everything idly, dosa, upma, even poori!!!! This is a fail-proof recipe which i use to make him happy when he opens his dabba for breakfast!!!

Ingredients
1 Large Carrot
half a tomato
½ Cup toor dal/tuvar dal/yellow split pigeon peas
2-3 teaspoon homemade sambhar powder
1 tablespoon freshly grated coconut
a small lemon-sized tamarind, soaked in warm water
salt to taste

fresh coriander for garnishing

Tempering
1-2 teaspoon oil
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
¼ teaspoon hing
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 sprigs curry leaves

Method

Wash the carrots well, chop them into cubes. Cut the tomatoes into cubes. Extract tamarind juice, it should be about 3 cups.
Heat oil the pressure cooker, splutter mustard seeds, add fenugreek seeds, hing, turmeric and curry leaves, saute for a minute. Next add chopped carrots, tomatoes and saute until the tomatoes become mushy.
Add tamarind extract to this, followed by sambhar powder, tuvar dal and salt. Add grated coconut and another cup of water, Mix well. When the mixture starts to boil, close the cooker, put the whistle on.

Pressure cook in a medium flame for 5-6 whistles or until done. My Cooker needs 6 whistles in a medium flame for the dal to cook.
Once the pressure falls, open the cooker, Mix well and mash the dal well with the back of a laddle. Check the consistency of the sambhar. I usually add ½ Cup - ¾th Cup of Warm water to it. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve warm with Rice or as a Side to Idly/Dosa.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#35