Cluster beans sambar recipe | Kothavarangai sambar

We always make sambar with cluster beans/ kothavarangai. Make poriyal next to it and very rarely paruppu usili. Only cluster beans south Indian recipe, though I love to try a subji. My mom makes this kothavarangai sambar by sauteeing the vegetable first in oil and then boiling it, discarding the water (says its pitham) and proceed with sambar. It will be yummy, but MIL makes it as such boiling directly, I have no complains about that too. So I follow MIL’s method as Vj likes it that way. He is a big fan of cluster beans sambar, just contrast to my FIL, he hates it. This is a simple recipe, but when I made I thought I will click and post here in my blog for beginners.

Cluster beans sambar recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Indian  |  Recipe Category: Lunch
Prep Time:15 mins    |  Cook time: 25 mins    |  Serves: 4

Ingredients

Cluster beans - 1 cup, cut into 2 inch pieces

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Toor dal - 1/2 cup

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Onion - 1

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Tomato - 1

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Tamarind - 1 tsp tightly packed

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Sambar powder - 2 tsp heaped

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Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

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Asafoetida - 1 pinch

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Salt - As needed

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Curry leaves - Few

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To temper

Oil/ Ghee- 1 tblsp

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Mustard - 1 tsp

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Fenugreek seeds / vendhayam - 1/4 tsp

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Jeera - 1 tsp

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Asafoetida - 1 pinch

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Curry leaves - Few

Method

1. Pressure cook toor dal with a drop of sesame oil, one red chilli (optional added to cook it easily) with 1 & 1/4 cup of water for 4 whistles. Soak tamarind in hot water for 30 mins and extracts the juice, keep aside. Chop onion (I used small onions, so just peeled and used it) in to cubes and tomato too.
2. Boil cluster beans with little salt in two cups of water. Once done, add the tamarind extract and required salt. 
3. Temper the items given under ‘To temper’ table, add onion fry till transparent, add tomatoes fry until soft and add this to the boiling cluster beans. Add turmeric, sambar powder, asafoetida and mix well. 
4. Once it boils well, add cooked dal, mashed well. Bring to boil. Adjust water consistency and boil until the sambar is thick enough. As it cools it will thicken, so switch off accordingly. Add few curry leaves torn and mix well.

Notes

• If there is lots of water in cooked dal, drain it before mashing it to make it easy.
• Tomato can be skipped.
• Tempering with ghee gives nice flavor.
• Cluster beans takes long time to cook. Cook it covered with a pinch of sugar if you need to retain the green.

Serve with hot rice and poriyal/ kootu/ curry. We love it with a dollop of ghee.

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