Vendakkai sambar recipe | Ladies finger sambar recipe
Vendakkai sambar recipe | Ladies finger sambar recipe with detailed step wise photos and description. Sambar is one of the everyday dish in south Indian houses. The simple curry has too many variations and suits both for rice and most of the south Indian breakfast recipes like dosa, idli, pongal, and many more.
Vendakka | bendakaya | Vendakkai | okra | Bhindi known by so many names this one particular sambar with ladies finger is so tasty when prepared with freshly ground sambar masala. tastes good with dosa/idli and rice.
If your interested in hotel style sambar sadham, have a look at it. also , there is one detailed pumpkin sambar recipe which might be very interesting as well. Varutharacha ulli sambar is a tiffin sambar mostly prepared for medu vadas and pongal. If you like podi sambar or sambar made with sambar powder – check this vegetable podi sambar recipe.
varutharacha sambar recipe with simple video and picture description is given here with ladies finger. You can follow the same recipe for any other vegetable just that you need not fry the vegetable like we do for ladies finger sambhar. We fry the ladies finger to remove its stickiness.
Vendakkai sambar recipe quick video:
Vendakkai sambar recipe | Ladies finger sambar recipe:
vendakkai sambar
Ingredients
- 6 tsp oil
- 1/2 tsp asafoetida
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1/4 cup coriander seeds
- 6-7 dry red chilies
- 2 spring curry leaves
- 1 cup coconut grated
- 2 cups ladies finger
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 large onion medium diced
- 1 large tomato roughly chopped
- 1 cup tur dal
- 2-3 tbsp tamarind water
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- salt to taste
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Firstly, heat oil in a pan and add the asafoetida, fenugreek seeds and heat it up
- add red chillies, curry leaves and coriander seeds and Fry until coriander seeds lets out strong aroma. and when starts changing colour, add grated coconut
- Fry in simmer until it is reddish brown. Cool it down and grind it to a fine paste.
- Now, in the same pan, heat oil and drop in the ladies finger and fry until it is roasted.
- heat oil in a thick bottomed vessel and Crackle mustard seeds
- Add curry leaves and medium diced onions and fry for a minute until it is pale. add tomatoes roughly chopped and fry for a minute
- Next, add the fried ladies finger, cooked tur dal,prepared sambar masala paste, tamarind water, salt, water and mix well
- It has to boil for a minimum of 15 minutes until the raw smell goes off and flavour of sambar arises.
- switch off and serve hot with steamed rice
Vendakkai sambar – stepwise pics:
First step is to prepare the sambar masala – We will be frying the spices and grind them to paste.
Firstly, heat oil in a pan 
Get all the ingredients for frying ready
When the oil is hot enough, add the asafoetida (perungaya katti)
Just give it a stir in oil and add the fenugreek seeds
Do not let it turn reddish, when it gets heated up, add red chillies, curry leaves and coriander seeds
Fry until coriander seeds lets out strong aroma. make sure all this happens in medium to low flame. taste of sambar is in the way we get these spices fried. When it starts changing colour, add grated coconut
Fry in simmer until it is reddish brown. Colour of the sambar can be pale if we add more coconut. Just enough should be added and roasted until reddish to get the beautiful brown colour of the sambar
Cool it down and grind it to a fine paste. Now, in the same pan, heat oil and drop in the ladies finger and fry until it is roasted. This step is to let out the stickiness from the ladies finger and is must to fry well. 
To Make the sambar, heat oil in a thick bottomed vessel
Crackle mustard seeds
Add curry leaves and medium diced onions and fry for a minute until it is pale. Onions should neither be finely chopped or roughly chopped. It should be medium diced size so that it is not a disturbance as well seen through the sambar. 
Further, when onion turns pale, add tomatoes roughly chopped and fry for a minute
Next, add the fried ladies finger 
Goes in next is the cooked tur dal. Pressure cook tur dal until mushy. (I cook it in a small vessel in cooker adding 1 cup dal with 4 cups water to 5 whistles)
together, goes in the prepared sambar masala paste
furthermore, add the tamarind water just a little. adding too much will bring a sour taste to sambar. 
mix well
add enough water and let it boil
It has to boil for a minimum of 15 minutes until the raw smell goes off and flavour of sambar arises. let it boil open. if it splutters, then close it partially with a lid. the colour changes in itself from pale yellow to dark brown when boiled properly. 
switch off and serve hot with steamed rice
