To play catch up for the months I have been missing out posting -
Feb - left me frazzled since the rush of things so demanded to exercise some of my old-time indefatigable spirit. (No, I don't enjoy being that and did pleasantly surprise myself that I could pull it off (again).)
V-Day - Though the practical half of my brain agrees that the hype about Feb 14th is one pompous marketing gimmick that is prevalent worldwide, I have to confess that I got bitten by the V-day bug a long time ago. Gimmick or no gimmick, I associate this day with a colorful kaleidoscope of events ever since my undergrad days. The anticipation and nerves felt was very infectious even to a person completely untouched by the fever (like me). The atmosphere remained charged all through the week and culminated in very different ways for every walking soul. It also led to a lot of "illegal" betting as to who would give THE card to who and the act of speculation turned out to be the top-rated sport of the month. It was considered perfectly normal (for even those very serious-in-life-first-benchers) to bandy around gossip. You could hear a lot of shushing in the corridors when some much sought-after maidens or hunks passed by. Times have changed and a decade has rolled by...V-Day has metamorphosized to being more predictable and pleasant. But I sure do miss the feeling of restlessness that so accompanies folks in their very early 20s. ;)
March - February segued into March and things mellowed down quite a bit. It was suffused with numerous fun events, a refreshing change to enjoy blithely, after what seemed like forever. (The two girls I consider "best" friends were on a long vacation in India and I couldn't help missing the insanely interesting phone chats.)
April - saw me very excited when my dad finally booked his tickets to here. Albeit he was never against visiting here, it took convincing from at least 15 different people to make him take a break from his teaching job at the college. The tough part was trying to drive down the fact that "now" was indeed a good time! He arrives in the first week of June and needless to say I’m thrilled. Apart from that, we also had one of our customary potlucks, complete with dress code and all. Though donning a sari is one of the most complicated tasks for an artistically-challenged imbecile like me, I never relent and make use of any opportunity that comes my way. The guests arrived resplendent in colorful and trendy kurtas and saris. We had a ball of a time hogging and playing games until late into the night.
May – was good especially because of all the summer shopping I unabashedly indulged in. On Sundays, Vee and I did some serious trail biking on our mountain bikes on the ever-so scenic trails in and around the Bay Area, wending our ways to the summit. Riding alongside a bubbling brook or going downhill on a bumpy dirt road unfailingly proves to be a catharsis of all the built-up stress.
June - After work, I love watching the sunset from our 7th floor west-facing apartment. The garnet ball that sinks into the horizon has one musing over whether this epitome of serenity could indeed be the rambunctious sun that scorches mercilessly during the day. The shimmering light adorns the worn-out city like a jewel. (hmm...dreamland eh?)
Getting back to this recipe, I am quite a fan of the unique taste of Fenugreek leaves and always have stuck religiously to Aloo-Methi to relish it. The downside to Aloo-Methi is I can't make it as often as I'd like due to the high carb nature of potatoes. My quest for an equally interesting dish minus the high carb levels led me to this intensely flavored sambar. This is one of those recipes which I credit to Amma.
Methi Sambar served over hot rice and pan-fried plantain
Ingredients -
1) Fenugreek leaves - 2 large or 3 small bunches (leaves separated with short stalks on - washed)
2) Mustard seeds - 1 tspn
3) Fenugreek seeds - 3/4th tspn
4) Red chilies - 1
5) Toor dal - 1.5 tbspns
6) Asafetida - a generous pinch
7) Green chilies - 2
8) Toor dal - 1/2 a cup (separate from #5)
9) Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tspn
10) Olive Oil (or any cooking oil) - 2 tspns
11) Tamarind - Gooseberry-sized ball (soaked in 1/4 cup of warm water for 20 minutes)
12) Sambar Powder - 2 heaped tspns (Scale this down if your sambar powder has a lot of heat in it.)
Method -
1) In a pressure cooker, heat oil and season with ingredients 2-7 adding one at a time and evenly frying them.
2) Add in washed toor dal on top of the sauteed condiments.
3) Stack cleaned and washed fenugreek leaves as the third tier and pour just enough water so the lentils get cooked.
4) Sprinkle half the salt you intend to use for the dish along with turmeric powder and pressure cook for 3 whistles or 8 minutes if you are using an electric pressure cooker.
5) Squeeze the juices out of the soaked tamarind, add some water if needed so that the extract is no more than 1/2 a cup.
6) Boil the tamarind water with the remaining salt and the sambar powder.
7) After all the steam has cooled off, pour the tamarind-sambar powder mixture into the cooker and mash slightly.
8) Simmer for 5-7 minutes until it all comes together. (You can add more water if you like your sambar thin.)
9) Serve along with hot rice and watch the hungry folks dig in!
