Venpongal and Carrot Sambar

 Venpongal:
 Ingredients:

• Raw rice – 1 cup
• Mung dal – ¼ cup
• Peppercorns – 1 Table spoon
• Cumin seeds – 1 Table spoon
• Asafoetida - pinch
• Curry leaves
• Water – 4 cups
• Cashew nuts - 1 Table spoon
• Ghee
• Salt

 Method:

• Soak rice and mung dal in water for about 20 mins.
• Drain soaked rice and dal. Cook them in a pressure cooker by adding four cups water and required amount of salt.
• In a separate vessel, heat one table spoon ghee and fry cashew nuts, peppercorns, cumin seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves.
• Mix this with cooked rice and dal.
• While serving, add two table spoon ghee over pongal.

 Carrot Sambar:
 Ingredients:

• Carrot -2 nos
• Toor dal – 150 g
• Onion – 1
• Tomato – 1
• Garlic cloves – 3
• Sambar powder – ½ Table spoon
• Turmeric powder – ¼ Tea spoon
• Tamarind pulp – 1 Table spoon
• Salt
• Curry leaves – few
• Coriander leaves

 Method:

• Cook toor dal with water and keep it aside.
• Chop carrot, onion and tomato.
• Extract juice from tamarind pulp.
• Heat oil in a vessel and add mustard seeds. When they pop up add onion and a pinch of salt. Fry till onion is slightly brown.
• Add carrot, tomato, curry leaves, turmeric powder, sambar powder and tamarind juice. Mix and cook them well.
• Now add cooked toor dal, required amount of water for the curry and crushed garlic cloves. Adjust salt and cook the mixture until it is done (in a slow flame).
• Garnish with coriander leaves.