Leftover rice Part IX

Leftover rice can be made into sambhar rice. Pressure cook a mixture of 2 fistfuls of tuar dal, 1 ½ fistfuls of moong dal and 1 fistful of chana dal till tender and place it aside. Wet grind a mixture of a small cup grated coconut, 3 deseeded green chillis and a lemon-sized washed seedless tamarind and place it aside. Dry roast and grind to a fine powder a mixture of 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 2 teaspoons corianders seeds, ½ teaspoon pepper corns and ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds and place it aside.

Dry roast and grind a mixture of 1 fistful of peanuts, ½ fistful of broken roasted chana dal, ½ fistful white sesame seeds and 1 teaspoon poppy seeds and place it aside. Cut 3-4 moringa (drumsticks), 3-4 medium-sized aubergines (brinjal), 15 medium-sized pieces of white pumpkin 15 medium-sized pieces of red pumpkin, 20 ladies fingers and 2 medium-sized onions. Place a kadhai on a stove. Pour some cooking oil and sprinkle ½ teaspoon mustard seeds and ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds. Add chopped onion and stir till it becomes transparent.

Add ladies finger pieces. In the meantime, boil drumsticks in a separate container. Do not use a lot of water for this. When drained, the nutrients will go with the water. If water evaporates, then pour little by little only. When ladies finger is ¾ done, add white and red pumpkins. Add a little water and cook. When the drumsticks are ¾ done, add to the ingredients in the kadhai. Add enough salt for the rice, dal and the vegetables.

Add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and 2 teaspoons MTR Sambhar Masala. Now, add coconut paste, nuts powder and masala powder one by one to the kadhai. Keep stirring. When vegetables are done properly, add the dals and mix well for 3 minutes. Add rice and mix well. Take a small kadhai for seasoning. Add 3 teaspoons til oil, ¼ teaspoons asafetida and only leaves from 4 sprigs of curry leaves. When the seasoning is done, add it to the sambhar rice and mix well. Switch off the stove and garnish with coriander leaves. Fry udad papad. While serving, put sambhar rice on the plate and break the papad into small pieces to garnish. Also, garnish with bhel puri sev. Serve with curd raita and mashed potatoes (typical South Indian dish).