How good a cook are you?

[beetle]

nahi...par tarla dalal ki hain.... I rarely ever make thingsfrom books......recipe poocho aur usme apna tadka maaro...that is the secret to my cooking...:D

[apocalypse]

never used a cook book

[yoda]

What is the basic concept of cooking ? Everything i do seems to taste the same , irrespective of the ingredients or the method of cooking. Am i condemned to a life of eating my own worthless cooking for the rest of my life ?

Sriram what do you mean? Are you saying your Sambar and Rasam taste just the same?

[Ram]

Sriram what do you mean? Are you saying your Sambar and Rasam taste just the same?

My rasam is OK, but i have given up on Sambar. Am simply not able to get that consistency/thickness, for it to be called sambar.

[yoda]

My rasam is OK' date=' but i have given up on Sambar. Am simply not able to get that consistency/thickness, for it to be called sambar.[/quote'] Now we are talking. Solutions are: a) use more paruppu (dal) b) cook the paruppu well - if half cooked, it won't mesh well with the sambar c) use less water (may be 1/2 of what you are using) when boiling the vegetables d) use little more sambar powder than you are now e) if still not thick, use rice flour/besan(kadalai maavu) to thicken Use curry leaves if available, adds to taste.

[Ram]

Now we are talking. Solutions are: a) use more paruppu (dal) b) cook the paruppu well - if half cooked, it won't mesh well with the sambar c) use less water (may be 1/2 of what you are using) when boiling the vegetables d) use little more sambar powder than you are now e) if still not thick, use rice flour/besan(kadalai maavu) to thicken Use curry leaves if available, adds to taste.

Hmm.. thanks for that Yoda. But my problem is , it comes out all thick and great to begin with. If i let it to settle , then all the dal seems to settle at the bottom and i am left with translucent water at the top. How to avoid this ?

[yoda]

Hmm.. thanks for that Yoda. But my problem is , it comes out all thick and great to begin with. If i let it to settle , then all the dal seems to settle at the bottom and i am left with translucent water at the top. How to avoid this ?

:giggle: Dal should be cooked very well so that it blends well with the water, tamarind, vegetables, powder, etc. It happens when Dal is not 100% cooked. Also, after the dal is cooked, try to mash it with a karandi and use a little for rasam and rest with Sambar. Also, don't start boiling vegetables with too much water. Do you use a pressure cooker for dal?

[Ram]

:giggle: Dal should be cooked very well so that it blends well with the water, tamarind, vegetables, powder, etc. It happens when Dal is not 100% cooked. Also, after the dal is cooked, try to mash it with a karandi and use a little for rasam and rest with Sambar. Also, don't start boiling vegetables with too much water. Do you use a pressure cooker for dal?

Yea i do. But you are right , the dal must be cooked properly for it to all blend it. Should the dal be added at the beginning or at the end ? after the tamarind water + spice+veggies are boiled for sometime ?

[yoda]

Yea i do. But you are right ' date=' the dal must be cooked properly for it to all blend it. Should the dal be added at the beginning or at the end ? after the tamarind water + spice+veggies are boiled for sometime ?[/quote'] Typically at the end cause vegetables boil better with less water and the tamarind/sambar powder all blend together better without the inteference of the dal. But you still need to let it boil well at the end. Start with less water, use more sambar powder, mash/cook the dal well, add at the end, boil well, worst case thicken with rice powder. you can't get watery sambar with these tips.

[Ram]

Typically at the end cause vegetables boil better with less water and the tamarind/sambar powder all blend together better without the inteference of the dal. But you still need to let it boil well at the end. Start with less water, use more sambar powder, mash/cook the dal well, add at the end, boil well, worst case thicken with rice powder. you can't get watery sambar with these tips.

Awesome man ! thanks a million for that ! you are right , one needs to be a real lousy cook ( like me) to get watery sambar despite using all those tactics. Shall try it out tonight and report the results to you.. :D

[fineleg]

MM. Follow yoda's advice of "But you still need to let it boil well at the end." clearly. Take a longer time to boil and cook for good results on this one. Another thing if you like an alternative (recipe from web, maybe yoda has tips for this too): If u like

Kara Kulambu or Vatha kulambu

Ingredients needed: 1. Small Onion 6 to 7 sliced. 2. One Tomato chopped 3. Garlic pods 4 to 5 4. Any One vegetable (lady’s finger, brinjal, bitter guard or drumstick) 5. Tamarind Paste 3 tsp or One lemon size. (To dilute in ¾ cup). 6. Hing little. 7. Red Chilli Powder 1 ½ tsp to 2 tsp 8. Coriander Powder 1 ½ tsp to 2 tsp. 9. Sambar Powder ½ tsp. 10.Turmeric powder little For grinding: 1. Coconut 1 table spoon or coconut milk 1 table spoon. This takes out the extra hot and extra sour out of the dish. 2. ½ tsp Poppy seeds. For seasoning: 1. Oil 2 table spoons. 2. Mustard seeds ½ tsp 3. Cumin seeds ¼ tsp 4. Fenugreek seeds ¼ tsp 5. Fennel seeds ¼ tsp 6. Urad dal and Channa dal ½ tsp. 7. Curry leaves one string Method: a. Heat oil in a pan or kadai and season with the above and fry onion and garlic till Golden brown. b. Now add chopped tomato and fry till it becomes pulp and next goes the vegetables for few minutes (4-5 mins) of frying. c. Add all powders, mix well and pour tamarind diluted water. d. Bring it to a boil, till Oil floats on top. e. Add the grinded Coconut or Coconut Milk and bring it to a boil for few minutes. Ready -> Tasty and Spicy Kulambu is ready. * This is best enjoyed with Idli or Dosa or Paratha or Plain Rice with Ghee. *

[Ram]

Oh thank you so much F'leg ! that is my fav ! :two_thumbs_up:

[Lurker]

Darn it! Thats a piping picture..Now I am hungry

[yoda]

Another thing if you like an alternative (recipe from web, maybe yoda has tips for this too):

I haven't made Vatral Kozhambu yet. My wife makes it quite well. These days I am experimenting with Vegetable Kuruma. Will probably make one today if I fell like it. Recipe for that is as follows: 1. Cut veges into long-thin pieces and cook/steam with less water, turmeric and salt. Veges used are carrots, green beans, cauli flower, bottle gourd, etc. 2. Separately, toast in a little oil - garlic cloves (3 or 4), 1/2 onion, 1/2 tsp chana dal, bay leaves (2), cinamon stick (1), red chiles or red pepper (we use red pepper), 1 tomato. Grind to a smooth paste/gravy. 3. Add toasted/ground mix to the boiled veges, boil for another 10 minutes till all ingredients are mixed well. Adjust for salt. Goes well with Chapatis.

[The Outsider]

Seafood and specially fish is one reason one my vegetarian streaks have always come to an end. Cooked the following tonight. Simple to cook after work, healthy, and tasty :

Doi Mach Non-Veg | Non Spicy | Bengal Method Clean, wash and cut fish into one inch thick slices. Whisk yogurt, add salt and marinade fish in this for twenty minutes. Heat ghee in a kadai and add bay leaves, cloves and green cardamoms. Cook for fifteen seconds. Add grated onions. Sauté for five to seven minutes. Add slit green chillies and fish along with the yogurt. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on a low heat for seven to eight minutes. Tips Some people like this recipe cooked in mustard oil. If you wish to use mustard oil, heat it to a smoking point, cool it and then use as normal. Ingredients Serves 4 3 Green chillies (slit) 600 gms River fish (1 inch thick slices) 1 cup Yogurt Salt to taste 2 tbsps Ghee 2 Bay leaves 4-6 Cloves 3-4 Green cardamoms 2 small sized Onions (grated)

Used olive oil instead of ghee/mustard oil, though it comes out much better with mustard oil.

[jaideep]

a lousy cook... i am good at eating though...:haha:

[The Outsider]

a lousy cook... i am good at eating though...:haha:

Someone's got to do the job!!:finger:

[beetle]

Now we are talking. Solutions are: a) use more paruppu (dal) b) cook the paruppu well - if half cooked, it won't mesh well with the sambar c) use less water (may be 1/2 of what you are using) when boiling the vegetables d) use little more sambar powder than you are now e) if still not thick, use rice flour/besan(kadalai maavu) to thicken Use curry leaves if available, adds to taste.

Try to saute the veggies before adding to the dal...... and cook the dal properly.Stir it nicely with the ladle mashing the veggies just a little bit.I think you are not using enough dal ..... Are you putting the tamarind water with the dal for boiling. The dal takes much longer to cook if you put tamarind along with dal. Put tamarind after the dal is cooked.

[Holysmoke]

I tried this thing called vattayyappam today. Hated it.

[Ram]

Success ! Success ! Vetri ! Vetri ! For the first time in 14 months , my sambar actually looked and tasted like...err.. Sambar ! Great achievement for me , thanks to Yoda's tips. Now to try F'legs recipe ! :two_thumbs_up: