Its been many days I was thinking about posting this recipe. Finally today I am doing it.
When I was in Bangalore, I brought this powder from my native. I never tried to prepare it at home. Even if I keep it for 1 year, it retains its nice aroma (unlike the other sambar powders which we get in shop).
Aayi prepares this in a lot so that she can give it to me, my brother and aunty. I brought some when I came here. But luckily I had noted down the recipe, so next time I am going to make this myself.
This powder is used in variety of dishes. I make two kinds of sambar (one for idli and one for rice), then poha(avalakki), tomato sar etc using this powder.
Definitely this powder is better than any other sambar powder we get in shops. Try atleast once…
Ingredients: Coriander seeds 3 tbl spns Chana dal 1 tbl spn Jeera(Cumin seeds) 1 tbl spn Mustard seeds 1 tbl spn Methi(fenugreek) seeds 1/2 tbl spn Urad dal 1/2 tbl spn Pepper corns 1/2 tbl spn Asafoetida 2-3 big stones or Asafoetida powder 3/4 tea spn Turmeric 1/2 tea spn Cloves 25-30 Cinnamon 3″ piece Oil 1/2 tea spn Chilli powder
Method: Fry mustard and asafoetida in 1/2 tea spn oil. Fry remaining ingredients(except chilli powder) one by one without oil. Mix all and make a fine powder. Heat same quantity (as the powder) of chilli powder in a drop of oil for some time. Mix it with the powder. Store in a air tight container (Allow it to cool to room temperature before storing).
Poha is a very famous dish. Aayi prepares some 3-4 types of poha. I like this one very much. Phova pitto is used in a variety of dishes like this. But aayi uses the Sambar powder for this. It tastes great. (I will blog about ‘phova pitto’ soon).
‘Phanna’ means ‘Tadka’ and ‘phovu’ is ‘poha’ in Konkani. The name ‘Phanni phovu’ is used because tadka(tampering) is used in this dish. We usually make different dishes with poha. To broadly classify them, – “kalayle phovu” poha mixed with coconut and other things, no heating of any ingredients.This is prepared usually prepared for evening snack. I will blog about them soon. This has atleast 3-4 types in it. – “phanni phovu”,where in the ingredients are heated or cooked
Ingredients: Poha (avalakki) of medium thinkness 2 cups Onion 1 Potato 1 Sambar powder ½ tea spn Mustard seeds, Urad daal ½ tea spn each Sugar ½ tea spn Turmeric a pinch Curry leaves 7-8 Oil/ghee 1 tea spn Coriander leaves (Optional) 3-4 strands Grated Coconut (Optional) 1 tbl spn Salt.
Method: Soak poha in water and squeeze out the water. Keep it aside for 5 minutes, so that poha becomes soft. Heat oil/ghee and add mustard seeds and urad daal. When they start spluttering, add curry leaves. Add finely chopped onion and fry till onions turn slightly brownish is color. Add potatoes cut into very small pieces. Add turmeric, if required, sprinkle some water (do not add more water), cover and cook till potatoes are cooked. Add poha, sugar, salt, sambar masala and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves and coconut. Serve hot.
Serves : 4 Preparation time : 20min
