Many of you know what Sambar is and would have either prepared it at home or cherished it at your favorite Indian restaurant. While cooking at home, most of us would have used a store bought Sambar powder, but have you ever given a thought of its ingredients or how it was made? So for all the sambar lovers out there, get ready to say goodbye to the store bought packets and let’s grind some fresh homemade Sambar Powder. And believe me, its sooo simple to prepare…!

Before I jump into our recipe of the day, let me explain what Sambar is to those who do not know. Sambar is a mixed vegetable stew made with yellow lentils, spices & vegetables, and is a quintessential dish in Indian cuisine. The preparation and flavors slightly differ across the length and breadth of the country, ranging from light and sweet versions to thick and savory ones. It is mainly consumed as a side dish with any meal of a day. In Kerala, sambar is also served as one of the main curries for Sadya; which is the biggest vegetarian feast on all auspicious occasions.

Sambar can be made with a readymade powder mix (store bought or homemade) or just by adding the spices directly while cooking. But homemade sambar powder always make a huge difference in terms of flavor and aroma and elevates the dish overall. Thanks to my mother-in-law for sharing this recipe, it has made my sambar cooking much easier and flavorful since then.

Coming to the recipe, this DIY Sambar powder is very easy to prepare. The key to its preparation is the slow roasting of spices and lentils, make sure to roast them individually as their burning points differs and you might otherwise end up burning it. Grind the roasted ingredients to a fine powder, and your sambar powder is ready… all set to be stored and used for months together.

I will be uploading my Sambar recipe using this sambar powder in my next post. So stay tuned…!!

Happy Cooking!!!

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Homemade Sambar Powder

Homemade Sambar Powder… A Grounded Blend of Roasted Spices and Lentils…!! Fresh & Aromatic. 

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Keyword sambar, sambar powder

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• ¼ cup chana dal (split bengal gram / kadala parippu)
• 2 tbsp urad dal (split black gram / uzunnu parippu)
• ¼ cup coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp black pepper corns
• 1 tbsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp asafetida (hing / kayam)
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi / uluva)
• 18-20 dry red chilies
• 8-10 curry leaves

Instructions

• Heat a pan on a low flame and start roasting the following individually one after the other; chana dal, urad dal, coriander seeds, black pepper corns, & fenugreek seeds. Roast them until they turn golden and aromatic, keep aside to cool.
• Add oil to the pan and roast dry red chilies and curry leaves for 1-2 minutes, then allow it to cool.
• Grind all the above roasted ingredients along with turmeric powder and asafetida, into a fine powder.
• Your sambar powder is ready, store in an airtight container at room temperature so that it lasts for 6 months.

Notes

• Make sure you roast all the ingredients on a low flame separately to avoid burning.
• If you are using the powdered form of turmeric and asafetida, no need to roast them. You can add them while grinding the other roasted ingredients.

The post Homemade Sambar Powder appeared first on Pepper Delight.

Crab roast is a delicacy in my family and is cooked for get-together and parties, this is a spicy recipe which my grandma was so fond of and used to serve us quite often. My memories of this dish go all the way to my childhood, starting with the fun and excitement when my father brings home a big chaakku (sack) of live crabs from the seafood market auction. These were caught from the backwaters of my hometown and had their legs tied before being packed into the sack. He would release the sack into our courtyard and though we were scared to go near them as they were big and fast, me and my cousins would run around to catch them and hand it to over to our grandma to clean and prep.  She used to tell us that the crabs from the backwaters are very tasty, the big black colored ones being good to roast while the white ones to prepare curry, with an old fashioned coconut mixed yellow crab curry recipe which is quite famous in my hometown. I shall prepare that recipe later, do look out for.

Though I prefer cooking with the shell on which takes around 30 minutes to finish eating after all the hassle and hard work in breaking the shell, the taste and satisfaction makes it worth every bit.

Follow me on Instagram, try out the recipes and tag #pepperdelightblog to all your pictures of Pepper Delight recipes you prepare. Rate us if you love it!

Interested in trying out more crab recipes? Check this out -> Yellow Crab Curry

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Kerala Style Crab Roast

Spicy and delicious Kerala Style Crab Roast simmered in an aromatic spicy masala.  

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Keyword crab roast, kerala crab roast, njandu roast

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• 1 big Dungeness Crab (cleaned and cut)
• 2 onions (thinly sliced)
• 2 green chilies (slit)
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 small tomato (chopped)
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp red chili powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tbsp pepper powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 3 sprigs curry leaves
• Salt (as required)
• Oil (as required)

Instructions

• Clean the crab well. You can refer this link to see to how to clean a crab.
• Make sure you remove all the dirt from the crab. Break its legs, do not pop out its flesh while breaking.
• For the masala preparation:
• Heat oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds and add sliced onions, green chilies, curry leaves, and a little salt. Saute until onions turns golden brown.
• Make a paste of ginger and garlic. Add this paste to the pan and mix well.
• Add chopped tomatoes and place the lid on to cook on a low flame until it turns mushy.
• Add spice powders; chili, coriander, turmeric, pepper, and garam masala, and mix well. Make sure you turn the heat to low while adding the spice powders, so that they do not burn.
• Add the crab and mix well with the masala. Add three quarters of a cup of water and cook on a medium flame for 5 -8 minutes. Toss the pan carefully while cooking.
• Cook until gravy thickens. Garnish with curry leaves and allow it to rest for a few minutes.

Notes

1. You can vary the amount of chili and pepper to suit your spice level.
2. The garam masala I have used in my recipe has been bought from an Indian store (Sakthi Garam masala). You can also use a homemade masala which is preferable.

The post Crab Roast appeared first on Pepper Delight.

Here is a simple & a spicy fish fry recipe from my mother’s cookbook, something which has been in my palate right from the days I could ever remember.

Fish Fry (Meen Varathathu/Meen Porichathu) is very common and one of the most favorite dishes in Kerala. This recipe is as simple as it can get, and goes well with any type of fish. You can find many variations of this dish with different measurements of the spices used, and here is my take with Silver Pomfret (Avoli).

Here are some extra tips:

• Fishes like tilapia, pompano, salmon, king fish, pomfret, red snapper, pearl spot, sardine, pearl spot, milk fish, anchovies can be used.
• Adjust chili powder and pepper powder in the masala to suit your spiciness.
• Coconut oil is ideal for all authentic Kerala recipes, but any neutral oil except for olive oil would do.

Interested in more Kerala style fish recipes, check this out:

• Anchovy Fry/ നെത്തോലി നിറവ്
• Roasted Coconut Fish Curry / വറുത്തരച്ച മീൻ കറി
• Fish Molly/Kerala Style Fish Stew
• Fish Curry with Coconut Milk /തേങ്ങാപാൽ ഒഴിച്ച മീൻ കറി
• Red Fish Curry/മീൻ മുളകിട്ടത് 
• Fish Biriyani 

Enjoy, Happy Cooking…!

Follow me on Instagram, try out the recipes and tag #pepperdelightblog to all your pictures of Pepper Delight recipes you prepare. Rate us if you love it!

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Kerala Style Fish Fry

Spicy and Aromatic Kerala Style Fish Fry

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Indian

Keyword fish fry, kerala fish fry

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Akhila

Ingredients

• 1 large (app: 1Kg) pomfret (avoli)
• 1 tbsp red Chili powder
• 1 tbsp pepper powder 
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• Salt (as required)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• Oil (pref;coconut oil) (as required)
• 2 lemon slice (to squeeze on top)
• onion slices (to serve)

Instructions

• Clean fish and make slits on both sides.
• Prepare the masala by mixing the red chili powder, pepper powder, turmeric powder, salt, and lemon juice. The masala should have a thick consistency, and evenly coat the fish with it on both sides. Marinate for 30 minutes.
• Heat oil in frying pan, and add curry leaves. It helps to enhance the flavour while frying the fish. Place the fish carefully and shallow fry (use less oil) in medium flame. Allow it to fry until it becomes nicely charred and brown, and then flip to cook the other side.
• Once cooked, place the fish on a paper towel to drain the oil.
• Squeeze a lemon on top of the fish, and serve with onion slices.
• Serve warm with Rice.

Notes

• Adjust the spice level to your choice by varying the amounts of chili & pepper powder.
• Coconut oil is recommended for all authentic Kerala recipes.

The post Kerala Style Fish Fry appeared first on Pepper Delight.