A very different sambar recipe from the Negamam region of Kongunadu, Tamilnadu. Sambar made with vegetables and a home made coconut masala. Recipe with step by step pictures and video.
Negamam is known all over Tamilnadu for its looms and especially the handloom sarees. This gem of a recipe has been curated by Vinodh’s cousin Mahesh Akka. Mahesh akka recently made a second home, a farm in Negamam near Coimbatore. This recipe comes from the previous owners of the farm. They live next door and Mahesh akka says that they are one of the best hosts and their food is so simple and different. This sambar is one such find. She served me this sambar when I visited her this time when I was in Coimbatore. Very little lentils are used in the sambar and the method of making it is very unique. She passed on the recipe to be featured here in Kannamma Cooks. While I have shared a lot of sambar recipes on the site, each of them is unique and so is this one. Here are the other sambar recipes from the site. Sambar and Kuzhambu Varieties
Here is my favorite Mahesh akka.
Here is the video of how to make Negamam Sambar
Here is how to do Negamam Sambar First, lets cook the dal. Unlike traditional sambar recipes, this recipe for Negamam sambar uses very little dal. Take a pressure cooker and add in the washed lentils. I have used 1/3 cup of toor dal. Add in the water and cover. (For measurements etc…. scroll to the bottom of the page)
Cook for 5 whistles, approximately about 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and wait for the pressure to settle. Open the cooker and mash the lentils with a back of a cup / tumbler to a fine puree. Set aside.
Take a lime size tamarind and soak it in hot water for about 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind and extract the pulp. Discard the seeds and the pith. Set aside.
Take a kadai / pan and add in the tamarind extract. Add in a cup of water.
Add in the veggies. Drumstick, potatoes and brinjal is what is traditionally used. Add in the salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Mix well to combine. Note: After chopping potatoes and brinjal, place it in a bowl of water to prevent discoloration.
Cover the pan and let it cook for 15 minutes on medium flame. After 15 minutes, just try breaking a small piece of potato. The potatoes should be soft and fork tender.
While the veggies are cooking, we will make a masala paste for Negamam sambar. Take a pan and add in the rice and coriander seeds. Regarding rice, parboiled rice / raw rice all works. Use whatever you have on hand. Dry roast on a low flame till the rice is roasted and light brown in colour. Add in the curry leaves and briefly sauté for a few seconds.
Remove the roasted rice mixture from heat and add it to a bowl. Add in fresh shredded coconut and half a cup of water. Grind to a fine paste.
Add in the ground paste to the pan. Wash the mixie/bowl with half a cup of water and add it back to the pan.
Let it cook for five minutes. The mixture will thicken considerably. Add in the mashed dal to the pan. Let it simmer for a few minutes.
Tempering for Negamam Sambar Take a small kadai and add in Indian sesame oil. To the hot oil, add in the fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Switch off the flame. To the hot oil, add in the asafoetida and the sambar powder. Mix well for a few seconds.
Add it to the sambar and let the sambar simmer for a minute more. Finally finish with a generous sprinkle of coriander leaves. Negamam sambar is ready.
This is an excellent sambar that can be served with rice. This can also be served with idli and dosai. In case of making it for tiffin to serve with idli and dosai, sprinkle a teaspoon of jaggery at the end as tiffin sambar tastes so good with the addition of a little sugar. Hope you will try this sambar at home.
For cooking the dal
1/3 cup toor dal 1.5 cups water
Making tamarind extract
1 small lime size tamarind 1 cup hot water
Masala for Negamam Sambar
1 tablespoon rice 1 teaspoon coriander seeds 1/3 cup fresh shredded coconut 1/2 cup water
Other Ingredients for Negamam Sambar
1 drumstick, chopped 1 potato, diced 3 brinjals. chopped 10 Indian Shallots, ( sambar onions ) 2 tomatoes, chopped 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 2 sprigs coriander leaves, finely chopped 1.5 cups water (divided)
Tempering for Negamam Sambar
1 tablespoon Indian sesame oil 1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds 1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds 1 sprig curry leaves 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida 1 teaspoon sambar powder
Take a pressure cooker and add in the washed lentils. Cook for 5 whistles, approximately about 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and wait for the pressure to settle. Open the cooker and mash the lentils with a back of a cup / tumbler to a fine puree. Set aside.
Take a lime size tamarind and soak it in hot water for about 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind and extract the pulp. Discard the seeds and the pith. Set aside.
Take a kadai / pan and add in the tamarind extract. Add in a cup of water. Add in the veggies. Add in the salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Mix well to combine. Cover the pan and let it cook for 15 minutes on medium flame. After 15 minutes, just try breaking a small piece of potato. The potatoes should be soft and fork tender.
While the veggies are cooking, we will make a masala paste for Negamam sambar. Take a pan and add in the rice and coriander seeds. Regarding rice, parboiled rice / raw rice all works. Use whatever you have on hand. Dry roast on a low flame till the rice is roasted and light brown in colour. Add in the curry leaves and briefly sauté for a few seconds. Remove the roasted rice mixture from heat and add it to a bowl. Add in fresh shredded coconut and half a cup of water. Grind to a fine paste.
Add in the ground paste to the pan. Wash the mixie/bowl with half a cup of water and add it back to the pan. Let it cook for five minutes. The mixture will thicken considerably. Add in the mashed dal to the pan. Let it simmer for a few minutes.
Take a small kadai and add in Indian sesame oil. To the hot oil, add in the fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Switch off the flame. To the hot oil, add in the asafoetida and the sambar powder. Mix well for a few seconds. Add it to the sambar and let the sambar simmer for a minute more. Finally finish with a generous sprinkle of coriander leaves. Negamam sambar is ready.
Notes
This is an excellent sambar that can be served with rice. This can also be served with idli and dosai. In case of making it for tiffin to serve with idli and dosai, sprinkle a teaspoon of jaggery at the end as tiffin sambar tastes so good with the addition of a little sugar. Hope you will try this sambar at home.
- Author: Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 10m
- Cook Time: 30m
For cooking the dal
1/3 cup toor dal 1.5 cups water
Making tamarind extract
1 small lime size tamarind 1 cup hot water
Masala for Negamam Sambar
1 tablespoon rice 1 teaspoon coriander seeds 1/3 cup fresh shredded coconut 1/2 cup water
Other Ingredients for Negamam Sambar
1 drumstick, chopped 1 potato, diced 3 brinjals. chopped 10 Indian Shallots, ( sambar onions ) 2 tomatoes, chopped 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 2 sprigs coriander leaves, finely chopped 1.5 cups water (divided)
Tempering for Negamam Sambar
1 tablespoon Indian sesame oil 1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds 1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds 1 sprig curry leaves 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida 1 teaspoon sambar powder
Take a pressure cooker and add in the washed lentils. Cook for 5 whistles, approximately about 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and wait for the pressure to settle. Open the cooker and mash the lentils with a back of a cup / tumbler to a fine puree. Set aside.
Take a lime size tamarind and soak it in hot water for about 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind and extract the pulp. Discard the seeds and the pith. Set aside.
Take a kadai / pan and add in the tamarind extract. Add in a cup of water. Add in the veggies. Add in the salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Mix well to combine. Cover the pan and let it cook for 15 minutes on medium flame. After 15 minutes, just try breaking a small piece of potato. The potatoes should be soft and fork tender.
While the veggies are cooking, we will make a masala paste for Negamam sambar. Take a pan and add in the rice and coriander seeds. Regarding rice, parboiled rice / raw rice all works. Use whatever you have on hand. Dry roast on a low flame till the rice is roasted and light brown in colour. Add in the curry leaves and briefly sauté for a few seconds. Remove the roasted rice mixture from heat and add it to a bowl. Add in fresh shredded coconut and half a cup of water. Grind to a fine paste.
Add in the ground paste to the pan. Wash the mixie/bowl with half a cup of water and add it back to the pan. Let it cook for five minutes. The mixture will thicken considerably. Add in the mashed dal to the pan. Let it simmer for a few minutes.
Take a small kadai and add in Indian sesame oil. To the hot oil, add in the fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Switch off the flame. To the hot oil, add in the asafoetida and the sambar powder. Mix well for a few seconds. Add it to the sambar and let the sambar simmer for a minute more. Finally finish with a generous sprinkle of coriander leaves. Negamam sambar is ready.
Notes
This is an excellent sambar that can be served with rice. This can also be served with idli and dosai. In case of making it for tiffin to serve with idli and dosai, sprinkle a teaspoon of jaggery at the end as tiffin sambar tastes so good with the addition of a little sugar. Hope you will try this sambar at home.
- Author: Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 10m
- Cook Time: 30m
Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/negamam-sambar-recipe/
Recipe for Chicken Soup With Cracker Dumplings made with home made chicken stock and dumplings made with salt crackers. Recipe with step by step pictures.
Here is an ultimate chicken soup meal made with home made chicken stock and dumplings. This is my desi take on the matzo ball soup. Since I am in India, I have no way to source matzo meal and I am too lazy to make matzo from scratch. I used salt crackers for making the dumplings and it works superbly well. I also used ghee while making the dumplings instead of the traditional schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) – now, it may not be kosher too! All the purists – please forgive me. So that’s the reason I call this as Chicken Soup With Cracker Dumplings instead of matzo ball soup.
Chicken Stock First lets make a basic chicken stock. The ingredients in my chicken stock is really simple. I use chicken bones, water, salt and black peppercorn. That’s it. I do not add anything else while making the stock. Take a pressure cooker and add in everything and cook on a low simmer for one hour. Keep the flame at the lowest setting possible. Cook for a full one hour and ignore the number of whistles. Tip: Cook the stock in a big pressure cooker / pan so it does not spew while whistling. After the said one hour, remove the cooker from heat and wait for the pressure to settle manually. Open the cooker and remove any excess fat that may be floating on the top. Do not throw this fat out. Store the fat in the fridge. This can be used to make omelet, stir fry etc… Set aside. If there is very little fat, then do not bother. Just leave it in the stock.
The dumplings In the mean time, while the soup is cooking, lets make the dumplings. I have used plain crackers for making the dumplings. I have used nutri-choice crackers but you can use any kind of plain salt crackers you can get on hand.
Grind the crackers to a coarse powder in the mixie. We are looking at making around 1 cup cracker meal / powder. I used about 15 crackers.
Take a bowl and add in the ground cracker meal, salt, baking powder, red chilli flakes, Italian seasoning, ghee and eggs. The baking powder will make the dumplings light and fluffy. Mix everything to form a cohesive dough. The dough will be wet. Chill the dough for 30 minutes. The dough will become firm during the rest time.
After chilling the dough for 30 minutes, lets make small balls. Wet your hands in water and start making small balls about an inch in size. I like to keep the balls small as it will cook evenly when boiled in soup.
Keep the balls in a greased plate. Chill again until we are ready to use.
Get the prep ready. Chop the chicken breast into small cubes. Chop the carrots into small cubes. Finely chop the onions and garlic. Set aside.
Now lets make the soup!!! Heat oil in a pan and add in the finely chopped garlic, onions and carrots. Add in a teaspoon of Italian seasoning. Sauté for a minute. Click the link here to buy Italian seasoning online.
Add in the cubes of chicken and sauté for a minute more.
Strain the chicken stock directly onto the pan. Discard the bones.
When the stock is simmering, add in one stock cube and the dumplings. Add in the dumplings one by one so it does not stick to one another. Adding the stock cube is optional but it enhances the taste of the soup. Here is where you can buy stock cube online. I store my stock cubes in the freezer and it lasts for a long time in the freezer. Check for seasoning. Add salt if necessary. Remember that we have already salted the chicken stock and the stock cube is salty too!
Cover the pot with a lid and simmer the soup on a low flame for 30 minutes. The dumplings will become big while cooking.
Chicken soup with dumplings is ready. Serve hot. This is a complete meal and you do not need anything else to accompany the soup. This soup is our current favorite at home.
For the chicken stock
500 grams chicken bones
1.5 litres water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorn
For the dumplings
1 cup cracker meal (ground)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
4 eggs
2 tablespoon ghee
For making the soup
2 teaspoon vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup carrots, cubed
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
250 grams boneless chicken breast, cubed
1 stock cube
Chicken Stock First lets make a basic chicken stock. The ingredients in my chicken stock is really simple. I use chicken bones, water, salt and black peppercorn. That’s it. I do not add anything else while making the stock. Take a pressure cooker and add in everything and cook on a low simmer for one hour. Keep the flame at the lowest setting possible. Cook for a full one hour and ignore the number of whistles. After the said one hour, remove the cooker from heat and wait for the pressure to settle manually. Open the cooker and remove any excess fat that may be floating on the top. Set aside.
The dumplings In the mean time, while the soup is cooking, lets make the dumplings. I have used plain crackers for making the dumplings. Grind the crackers to a coarse powder in the mixie. We are looking at making around 1 cup cracker meal / powder. I used about 15 crackers. Take a bowl and add in the ground cracker meal, salt, baking powder, red chilli flakes, Italian seasoning, ghee and eggs. The baking powder will make the dumplings light and fluffy. Mix everything to form a cohesive dough. The dough will be wet. Chill the dough for 30 minutes. The dough will become firm during the rest time. After chilling the dough for 30 minutes, make small balls. Wet your hands in water and start making small balls about an inch in size. I like to keep the balls small as it will cook evenly when boiled in soup. Keep the balls in a greased plate. Chill again until we are ready to use.
The Soup
Heat oil in a pan and add in the finely chopped garlic, onions and carrots. Add in a teaspoon of Italian seasoning. Sauté for a minute. Add in the cubes of chicken and sauté for a minute more. Strain the chicken stock directly onto the pan. Discard the bones. When the stock is simmering, add in one stock cube and the dumplings. Add in the dumplings one by one so it does not stick to one another.
Cover the pot with a lid and simmer the soup on a low flame for 30 minutes. The dumplings will become big while cooking. Chicken soup with dumplings is ready. Serve hot. This is a complete meal and you do not need anything else to accompany the soup. This soup is our current favorite at home.
- Author: Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 15m
- Cook Time: 2h
