More likely she's sharpening her MIL claws. The Karnataka version of a beetroot sambar is quite terrific actually, not to mention, it looks beautiful. Try it!
Meenakshii requested "all" help. She would feel proud of this helping forum where Karnataka beetroot sambar and conversion of an incorrect sambar partway to rasam are discussed.
I thought the term sambar was exclusively reserved for daal-related dishes. There is no daal in that beetroot sambar recipe. Is that officially recognised as a sambar or should be called beetroot gravy? What is integral to sambar? If there are so many variants (like daal-less) what is the defining feature of a sambar?
when in alert I noticed it is about SAMBAR, I thought I should browse to know more about deer in African jungle. any way thanks it was mouth watering while reading the feedbacks. thanks and Regards.
There are three forms of sambars. Lentil-based sambar One of the stories is that it originated in the kitchen of Thanjavur Marathas ruler Shahuji during the 17th century from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shahuji, trying to make a dish called amti, experimented with pigeon peas instead of mung beans and tamarind pulp for kokum. The court named it sambhar after the guest of the day, Sambhaji, second emperor of the Maratha Empire. Spice-based sambar Other sources point to sambar's originating in Karnataka, where sambaru padartha in Kannada means “mix of spices and condiments”. There is also an alternate explanation that the origin of the name is from the old Tamil word chaampu, meaning “ground” or “paste”, in the context of grinding coconut and spices to be dissolved in tamarind pulp. This word is also the root for the unrelated South East Asian dish sambol. Deer called Sambar Sourced from here. If “sambhar” is a derivative of Sambhaji's name, what's the connection to the deer? The root of the animal's name is the Sanskrit ‘sambara'. In Hindu mythology, Indra slew a demon of that name. Was the animal named after a villain? Or is it, like the stew, named for Sambhu, ‘lord of the universe', who is depicted holding a deer in one of his hands? I can only speculate. So the Karnataka beetroot sambar is not that (1) Sambhaji's sambar but huli is that (2) Spice-based sambar. This research is more than what the OP has asked for. I hope we haven't scared her away
Then there is sambal. The spicy paste of chili and other ingredients. Common in the cooking of Malaysia, Indonesia and srilanka. When Indians talk about sambar, nyonyas often think it is sambal. The details about vegetables, simmering, lentils etc leaves them scratching their heads. Sambal - Wikipedia The "r" and "l" pronunciation confusion is everywhere in Asia.
A Love story about sambal(r). Indian IT guy finds himself in a less well known city in Holland. The closest thing to an indian grocery store is an Indonesian one. They sell lots of varieties of sambals in bottles -- and he found a few that had no non-veg (maldive fish, shrimp, krill, etc etc.) components -- just chili, salt, and vinegar. In his cooking he would saute his sambal with some coriander powder, fenugreek seeds and vegetables, add the tamarind-water and the cooked dal (masoor dal is the one variety that he could find in the local indonesian store), and he had his sambar. Made using sambal. One day the IT guy saw an Indian girl in a local bus. He just went up to her, said hello, etc.. and asked her about grocery stores. And she told him about a Surinami store that is a bit of a train ride away. He wrote down the information and thanked her and went on his way. One Saturday he went to that Surinami store; 40 min by train. He was happy to find all sorts of things -- many imported from India, and some from UK. No more trying to fake a sambal into a sambar. On his third visit to that shop a couple of months later, he runs into that bus-girl, and her parents in that same shop. They give him a ride in their car. And take him to their home, and give him snacks and chai. He learns that their ancestors went from Bihar to Suriname on a dutch bargain -- free agricultural land in the amazon, if you can clear the jungle, and cultivate it. And this family had come to Holland before Suriname got independence in 1978 etc..etc.. Not a sambar cooking culture. Eventually the IT guy, and the Surinami Bus-girl get married. And he teaches her how to make sambar. She likes the sambar made from sambal, and not from the MTR powder. He acquires a taste for her sambar over the years. And eventually when the new Saravanabavan "Hotel" (restaurant) opened up in Amsterdam, one day the whole family, parents and the two kids, go to that restaurant for lunch. They order dosas, idlies, vadas and pongal. The kids go "yuk" at the taste of the sambar. Mummy tells them to eat it with the white chutney. Daddy has mixed feelings about the sambar. He couldn't slurp all their portions with gusto, lest his wife would take that as a comment on the sambar she makes at home. He makes a neutral face, and pretends that he is only trying not to waste the sambar that is already in all their plates.
