Small Onion (Shallots) Sambar - Chinna-Ulli Sambar - చిన్న ఉల్లి సాంబారు - Andhra Recipes - గాయత్రి వంటిల్లు

Take dal into a bowl and add water and wash well. Add 150ml water to washed dal. Peel the skins of 50gms shallots and wash and slice them. Heat a pan and add 1tsp oil and heat it. When oil is hot add shallot pieces and fry well till they turn translucent. Add the fried shallot pieces to the dal bowl. Place the dal bowl in pressure cooker and cook on high flame. After first whistle, lower the flame and cook the dal in pressure cookere for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, switch off the flame and allow the pressure cooker to cool. Then remove the dal bowl from pressure cooker and add 50ml water and churn the dal along with cooked shallot pieces.

Peel the shallots and wash them.

Wash and chop tomato into small pieces.

Take tamarind into a microwave safe bowl and wash it. Add 30ml water to tamarind and cook in microwave oven on high power for 30seconds or till water starts boiling. Add 20ml water to cooked tamarind and grind to a smooth paste. Remove pith and collect smooth tamarind pulp and keep it aside.

Method:

Take a deep bowl and add 500ml water and heat it. Add shallots, tomato pieces to the water in the bowl and heat till the vegetables are cooked well. Meanwhile make sambar powder.

Heat a pan and add 2 to 3 drops of oil. To the pan add coriander seeds, bengal gram, black gram, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds and fry stirring on low flame. Fry the seeds till they start changing color. Then add red chili pieces and fry till chilies turn slightly crisp. Take the fried ingredients into a mixie jar and add grated coconut and turmeric powder. Make a paste of the ingredients in mixie jar adding sufficient water (75ml).

When the shallots and tomato pieces are well cooked add the ground paste, tamarind pulp, cooked and mashed dal and mix well. Add sufficient water (50ml) to get the required consistency. Add salt and grated jaggery and mix well. Check seasonings and cook the sambar for few minutes.

Seasoning:

Heat a pan and add oil and heat oil. When oil is hot, add fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and cumin seeds and allow them to splutter then add asafetida and curry leaves and mix. add this seasoning to the sambar and cover the pan and switch off the flame. After few minutes remove lid and mix the seasoning into the sambar and transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve. Serve ullipaya sambar with one or two big hot steamed idlis or with normal idlis or with button idlis. This sambar goes well with dosa also. Also this sambar can be served with plain rice too.

Points to Observe:

Shallots are small onions which are oblong in shape and are also called as madras onions or sambar onions. If shallots are not available make sambar with small sized onions.

Shallots have a special flavor unlike normal onions. When cooked in water they swell up and look nice when floating in sambar. Their skin is thin unlike normal onions and hence when boiled in sambar tastes good.

After adding seasoning to the sambar, immediately cover the pan to retain the smell of the seasoning. After few minutes, mix the seasoning in the sambar and serve.Always grind sambar powder or paste freshly to get better taste than pre- ground store bought powders.

Peeling the shallots is a tough task. Take luke warm water in a bowl and add shallots and soak them for few minutes. Skins of shallots come out easily when they are soaked for few minutes. Otherwise take a knife and patiently peel the skins of shallots. Peeling the shallots is the tough job in making this tasty sambar---so all family members gather at one place and peel the shallots so that the person who cooks get some respite.

Place a big idli or few normal idlis or few button idlis in a wide bowl shaped plate and pour hot ulipaya sambar and serve immediately. Idlis soak the sambar and that tastes yummy.

Serve the ullipaya sambar with idlis, dosas and vadas or with plain rice and enjoy.

Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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