Sambhar Uninterrupted

Madam Rihana, I enjoyed your sambhar.The recipe in Tanjore style is different from what they do in karnataka.Taste also differs from people to people,Never once we can pat ourselves as having done full justice,if the people are from different states.The proof of pudding is in the eating.When we have a pure calm mind, normally the dishes cooked will be okayed by all.If we have sambandhis from Tiruchi,Thanjavur,palakkadu and karnataka-you know the difficulty of satisfying the guests.There are a few women who will complain however nice sambhar you make.Some criticize dry powders and others criticize use of fried pasted ingredients.
During bigger weddings when they prepare Sambhar in giant vessels, the assistant will be holding salt in a winnow( muram ) and in the presence of the chief chef he would go on adding the salt by winnowing and as he hears,the word' stop( niruththu) he will just stop.The salt will be just correct, not a spoon more not a spoon less.
Sambar, that is most popular of south Indian curries, has been proved to prevent colon cancer and medical experts say that it is the mixture of spices in the sambar powder that contributes to its effectiveness.

Soon we may expect 'sambhar in the tablet or capsule form from pharma companies doing research in medicines relating to oncology.
The divinity associated with sambhar and the titles such as 'sambhar king'may vanish giving place to a NOBEL puraskar to the Chemist for formulating new molecular formula to sambhar.
In another field, research is going on as to the origin of Sambar and Sambaji,son of King Shivaji takes the credit of bring Sambhar into the culinary world when he accidentally added tamarind juice to the dhal when the palace cook was not available.
The name 'sambar' itself was derived from his name.
Madam, wish you good luck in receiving the title of 'sambar queen' and I will be the first in the tasters' row.

Jayasala 42

 

That was a wonderful piece of ... no, ... cup of sambhar @Rihana .

A smile broke as I read your comparison to Barbara Cartland's heroines' complexions. In every book they were "smooth as alabaster". I could imagine how delicious looking your sambhar was.

These poor curry leaves! Tell me about it. I treat every leaf like a gold leaf, but my family does not know its worth. I chop them up finely so that they are swallowed.

I am this friend too.

Thank you for this wonderful write up. I could not taste the sambhar but it more than made up for a calming, enjoyable reading first thing in the morning.

 

Congrats for being nominated by not one but by three ilites. Your post made me post my experience on cooking.

Awesome write up. Did not know you can write a thread on sambhar. Like Jayakka has mentioned you can be given Queen of Sambhar

I make sambhar without dal and tamarind and use tomato instead of tamarind. The secret of cooking is the nice vasanai you get while cooking and men will judge from that. Everyone makes sambhar but some have kai manam and it turns out well

Curry leaves and coriander leaves makes the sambhar more tasty but only few like it.

 

Dear @Rihana,

I savored every moment of your writing, nah cooking uninterrupted! It felt like I was with you watching you do this silent dance (?) around your kitchen as you cooked your smabhar! You know even as I was thinking, I realized that while I do love big kitchen, I am not sure how I would survive in a kitchen without windows to look out. I love my kitchen but then I can still envision the kitchen I would love even as I type! I loved the way the you have described the curry leaves and the coriander leaves! I am a brave heart and I love the curry leaves - everyone in the family knows to pass on the curry leaves from their plates to mine I still have jet black hair and my grandmother never failed to remind everyone that it is because of curry leaves - yes, a story from grand mother's tales. How else do we remember them fondly? Your floating vegetables reminded of grand mother again - during those difficult times when at times she had at least 20 grand kids visiting her, she wanted to make sure every one got some vegetables as we sat around her with hands stretched for that morsel and believe it or not, we watched as kids and counted and fussed about the number of vegetables each one got! Make sure you eat your veggies was never a problem

No multi tasking for me either actually on a daily basis, so much so that I cannot do the dishes that I use as I cook and it is only after a hearty meal when I look at my sink, my heart sinks. But the brave heart that I am, I very peacefully without a flutter put it away as a chore for the next day! Amazing how I never fail here.

You know when we take time to do something, love follows automatically! I think of this often when I remove the nirmalyam from my temple or clean the floor - I am just struggling to translate that to doing dishes With time, I am learning taking time in doing things, saying things and feeling is what makes it all look so lovely!

And Oh! I absolutely love it when my family comes in and try to get a taste (sneak peek) of what I am cooking. Nothing makes me more happy

Thank you my friend, for sharing this lovely write up. Enjoyed it. Now for a while, I will be a different person as I cook.

 

@Rihana,

Congratulations on so many ILites nominating your maiden snippet. You have made a name as a legend in IL without writing a snippet just by your invaluable responses. Now, this snippet revealed how your original work will excel and take ILites' enjoyment to the next level. When so many ILites were praising you, without your permission, I have assigned a portion of their credit to me for constantly following up with you to get "Sambhar uninterrupted" out in the open.

Now let me get to my comments:

What a delightful description this is! Indeed, every day Sambhar is made, it is a new creation especially when it is made with due care and diligence and with great love for the family.

It is interesting when the poets have been focusing on Apple and many other fruits to describe heroines cheeks, you decided to describe the color of the cooked onion pieces to their cheeks.

What is the use of mixing the Sambhar in the Rice or eat with Idlis if we don't eat it with curry leaves? I tell that every week to my son. the floating curry leaves gives not only a great smell to Sambhar but also add taste to it.

It is the sizzle that sells and not the steak. Please go on describing it as much as you could. Your description is far superior to marriage-broker's lyrical waxing. When your description motivates men to long for Sambhar, the marriage-broker's lyrical waxing makes them commit a mistake that they regret for life. Frankly, young men salivate on listening to the lyrical waxing whereas even old man salivate when they hear the description of Sambhar.

You have motivated me enough today to go and make my own onion Sambhar. For me three things are essential for good cooking.

1) Uninterrupted time without phone calls, emails and other's giving instructions how to do it

2) Undivided attention to cooking to add everything at the right proportion by mental measure and adding them at the right time to give the best flavor.

3) Great mental state while cooking to add the flavor of love as the ingredient.

4) Having kitchen to myself without anyone's presence.

5) Enjoying cutting of vegetables requires a sharp knife.

Three stalwarts have already nominated your thread and hence I reserved my opportunity for another thread. Thanks for this wonderful thread.

Viswa

 

Very nice write up ....so much poetic description of Sambhar

For me it is exact opposite, if I cook in haste , it turns out very well. If I plan and take time to took ,I some how spoil it by trying to make it perfect ....

 

@Rihana

My apologies for the interruption.

No. It is like a dance sequence in the middle of a very interesting story line to keep the audience in the edge of their seats.

When I was biting my nail what Kamal Hassan was going to do to treat a terminally ill patient in Vasool Raja M.B.B.S., he introduces the patient to a series of dance moves. I prefer to shy away from posting that You Tube link here in IL.

Viswa

 

Dear Rihana
I loved over enjoyed reading about your Sambhar. You should write more on these everyday experiences. Huh the metaphor of a new parent enjoying their new born looking proudly at their creation ... awesome. Now Sambhar onions and drumsticks adds unique flavor to this wonderful simple yet extremely tasty dish. We come from the family of Huli-Annas. An Urad Pappad or aviyal on the side is just extreme bliss. Now you know how much I enjoy Sambhar. Reading your snippet is making me crave for it.

For me, cooking is like meditation. To make a perfect dish I would plan mentally first. Prefer minimum talking or even better perfect silence inside out.

Lack of time and a short response. Shall drop in later. Enjoyed reading. Well written.

 

When I saw the title in the index I was thinking of sambhar salt lake in Rajasthan or some deer in wild forest.
But when began reading from bottom up, it was all the way - mouth watering
And felt I had three pyramids of rice with your perfect sambhar. A sumptuous write up hot and reader would sevour devour for ever.
Thanks and Regards.

 

I loved your sambhar story Rihana! My mother in law and my husband make the best sambhar. I cannot dream to even come close to their perfection but I do enjoy what they make, just like how i enjoyed what you wrote. I bet it tastes heavenly!

I have mastered the art of cooking with a lot of interruptions, I mean....I have 2 kids under the age of 6, a dog (who loves to bark at the drop of a hat); so I live and thrive on distractions.

A perfect dish for me would be when I can pour myself a glass of red wine, attend to the kids while still cutting veggies or making dal. After a lot of trial and error, I have understood what suits me and the family. So, I wrote down the recipe (including 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder etc). So, I just get it right.
I honestly do not remember when was the last time I took my own sweet time in cooking. But what I did manage to get the recipe right; still, not as nice as hubby's sambar or my MIL's. So I guess you do have a point there.