Arachuvitta sambar is a type of sambar that has freshly ground masala made of coconut, coriander seeds, bengal gram and dried chillies. The usual sambar is made with pre-made powder that lasts for months.

One more “predominantly made in tamil brahmin home” recipe like Paruppu usilli. It is Often made for Sunday lunch, festival days or when guest come home and kind of must in any function menu.

This sambar is a bit tedious compared to normal sambar because of the “roasting & grinding” part that is involved but definitely worth the extra work. A perfect dish for making in large quantity and the freshly ground masala adds so much flavor that the house is full of sambar aroma and you’ll love it! As far as I know, I haven’t met any one who doesn’t love this sambar.

I remember my Amma, Chithi (amma’s sister and uncle’s wife) and Patti (grandma) used it serve this sambar as a side for curd rice.. Yum!

Other vegetables like Small/Big Onions, Drumstick, Eggplant/Brinjal, Okra/Bhindi/Vendakai or Mixed Vegetables go well with this sambar. The procedure is same.

Ingredients you will need:

1/2 cup Toor/Tuvar dhal/Thuvaram paruppu
A gooseberry size tamarind, soaked in 3/4 cup of hot water
1/2 cup chopped radish/Mullangi/Mooli
1/8 tsp Asafoetida
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
10 Curry Leaves
1 1/2 tsp Salt (to taste)

Roasting and grinding part:
1 Tbsp Coriander/Dhaniya Seeds
1 Tbsp Channa dhal/Kadala Paruppu
3-4 Dry red chillies (adjust as per preference)
3 tbsp Fresh coconut

Tempering:
1 tbsp Ghee
1/4 tsp Mustard seeds

Pressure cook Toor/Tuvar Dhal/Thuvaram Paruppu with 2 cups of water.

Gently mash tamarind soaked in hot water for 10-12 minutes with your fingers and extract the pulp.

On medium heat, in a thick bottom pan, add tamarind extract, Radish/mullangi/mooli, Asafoetida, turmeric powder, curry leaves and salt. Cook till the vegetable is soft and raw flavor of tamarind is gone. If the mixture becomes very thick, add 1/4 cup of water and dilute it.

Meanwhile, Dry roast or roast coriander/dhaniya seeds, channa dhal/kadala paruppu and dry chillies in a tsp of oil.

Grind the roasted ingredients with fresh coconut. Add 2-3 tbsp of water to get a thick-coarse paste.

Add the roasted and ground masala to tamarind extract that is boiling. The mixture will become very thick after adding ground masala, add water to bring to sauce consistency.

Add the pressure cooked dhal/paruppu and stir well.

Simmer the stove and stir often, let sambar cook for 5-6 minutes. Check for salt and add if required.

If the sambar is thick, add water and bring to a boil for a minute. If the sambar becomes very loose, add a tsp of rice flour to a cup, laddle out sambar, mix well and add it sambar. After a boil, the sambar will come to right consistency. The arachuvitta sambar has a tendency to become very thick after few hours because of the roasted and ground ingredients.

Tempering: Heat ghee in a small pan, add the mustard seeds and once mustard starts to splutter, add to the sambar. You can also add a few curry leaves once the mustard splutters.

Serve with steamed rice and Potato fry or coconut based curry like cabbage.

Happy cooking