Coconut Sambar

Thenga archa Sambar / Pacha thenga aracha Sambar/ Sambar with coconut paste. Its the same method of cubing the vegetables, cooking dal and mixing it with the vegetables, but the masala added is grated coconut, chilly powder , jeera and a few shallots, and tastes totally different from the usual sambar, and in which coriander seeds and coriander powder is totally avoided.

Ingredients:
3 cups Vegetables( 1 big potato, 1/2 cucumber, 1 carrot, 4-5 beans, 2 brinjal, 4-5 okra, 1 drumcticks, 1/2 snake gourd, few pumpkin pieces, 3-4 green chillies)
1 cup toor dal
1 cup shallots halfed / big onion cubed
1 1/2 tbsp tamarind juice ( from a lime sized tamarind pulp)
2 pinch of asafoetida/ hing
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
oil

For Grinding:
1 cup grated coconut
1 tbsp red chilly powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp jeera
3 shallots

For Tempering:
1/2 tsp mustard
3-4 red chillies
few curry leaves

Method:
Pressure cook the dal adding hing, turmeric powder and 2 shallots. ( adding shallots adds on extra flavour, its optional ).
Soak the tamarind pulp and extract the juice and keep it aside.
Cut all the vegetables into cube size , boil it adding very little salt.
Add the cooked dal to the vegetables also adding the tamarind extract.
Grind the ingredients for the masala to a fine paste, add it to the dal - vegetable mix and cook.
Heat oil in a tempering pan add mustard, red chillies and curry leaves, when the mustard starts spluttering transfer it to the cooked sambar.
Serve hot with rice, pappad and pickle.