Peerkangai sambar recipe, How to make Ridge gourd sambar
Peerkangai sambar/ Ridge gourd sambar is a very easy and quick to make side dish/ stew prepared with toor dal, veggies snd tamarind extract. This sambar goes very well with idli, dosa and rice. We can prepare sambar with a variety of veggies like carrot, brinjal, pumpkin, drumstick, small onion etc but the idea of preparing sambar with ridge gourd came to my mind after tasting it at an Indian restaurant so thought to replicate that by adding ridge gourd in regular sambar recipe and I must say it was a sure hit at home. One plus point about this sambar is that ridge gourd cooks very quickly so sambar will be ready in 20 minutes and the ridge gourd peel can cooked as thovayal or chutney for breakfast. Sounds great right?
How to make Peerkangai sambar with step by step images
Peel ridge gourd and reserve it as you can make chutney/ thovayal the next day. Now chop the ridge gourd into small cubes and keep it aside.
Wash toor dal. In a pressure add toor dal, tomato, cumin seeds, turmeric powder and 1 cup water. Pressure cook for 3 whistles. When the pressure has subsided open the cooker, Mash dal well and set aside.
Soak the tamarind in 1 cup warm water and extract the tamarind juice. Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds, after it splutters add fenugreek seeds, curry leaves and cubed onions. Saute well.
Now add ridge gourd pieces, red chilli powder, sambar powder and coriander powder. Mix well and add tamarind extract and 1 cup water. Mix well and allow the mixture to boil for just minutes or less as ridge gourd gets cooked very quickly. Do not cook for long time.
When ridge gourd looks cooked add mashed dal. Give it a good stir and allow it boil for 2 minutes. When everything looks combined garnish it with chopped cilantro and serve it hot with rice.