Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu

We were wondering what to make on Saturday. We wanted to eat something special rather than the ordinary sambar and rasam. Something spicy. So we zeroed in on "Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu". Here is the recipe for the delicious kuzhambu.

Ingredients:

For the urundai -

Toor dal - 1 cup
Channa dal - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 1 or 2 cloves
Green chillies - 2
Ginger - small amount
Dry Red chilli - 1 (Optional)
Salt

For the sambar -

Tamarind - Size of a lemon
Onion - 1/2 cup
Pearl onion - 1/2 cup
Tomatoes (finely mashed) - 1/2 - 1 cup
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Salt

Preparation:

The Lentil Dumplings-

• Soak both the dals in water for about an hour.
• Grind all the ingredients together to a coarse paste with very little water. In case the mixture is watery add a little rice flour to it.
• Roll the paste into small balls. Don't make them too hard.

The Sambar -

• Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. Once the seeds sputter add cumin seeds and onions to it.
• When the onions turn golden brown add the tomato and mash it finely. Once this is done add the sambar powder, salt, asfoetida and pour the tamarind extract.
• Allow the mixture to boil.
• Once the mixture has boiled well start adding the lentil dumplings. Add 2 - 3 dumplings at a time and allow the mixture to start boiling before you add the others.
• Allow the dumplings to get cooked well in low flame. Do not stir too much as the dumplings may break due to repetitive stirring.
• Once the dumplings are soft and well cooked switch the flame off and garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve with hot rice.