Thatta Payaru Sambar | Black Eyed Beans Lentil Curry

Thatta Payaru Sambar – Black Eyed Beans/Cowpeas cooked along with lentils in tamarind based gravy

Hello all,

It’s Friday. Everyone has their own way of celebrating Friday. Some prefer to have dinner out while some have a ritual of watching a movie on Friday night. In South India, Fridays are considered as auspicious and a day for Goddess. In Tamil Nadu, it is a way to celebrate Friday with their authentic flavorful Sambar with vegetables.

I remember when I and my friends used to hate Friday lunch as everyone’s dabbas (lunch boxes) are packed with Sambar lunch. Once I am away from home for college, I missed homemade sambar. Now, Sambar is the one comforting food I love and I prepare it for no reason.

Sambar is a South Indian delicacy usually prepared by cooking vegetables and lentils together in a tamarind-tomato based gravy. The preparation of sambar varies from place to place. One of my friends never prefers to add tamarind to sambar. My grandma prepares sambar with homemade sambhar powder. Now, I have made it a habit of preparing sambhar on Fridays. Today’s menu is a Simple delicious sambhar prepared with Black Eyed Beans. This is not the traditional sambhar but it is widely known in Chettinad Cuisine. Here you go,

Black Eyed Beans also known as Cowpeas are the most nourishing in the legume family. Their name comes from the prominent black spot on their creamy skin. Black eyed beans are high in Vitamin A, vitamin B, and digestion-friendly fiber. When picking up Black Eyed Peas, look for ones that have healthy looking skin with some shine. Thatta Payaru Sambar is an authentic vegetarian curry in which beans are cooked along with spices in a creamy dhal base. This dish is the best way to include plant-based proteins in your diet. Serve with rice and Chettinad urulai roast. Add a spoon of ghee to the sambar rice to make it more delicious

Ingredients

• 1 cup Black Eyed beans/Thatta Payaru/Cowpeas
• ¼  cup Toor Dal/Pigeon peas split and skinned
• 1 Large onion Finely chopped
• 1 large Tomato, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoon Sambhar powder
• 1 teaspoon Chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon + ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Garlic cloves
• ¼ cup fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
• For Tempering:
  • 2 tablespoon Oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon asafetida powder
  • 2 dried red chili
  • ½ teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon urad dal

Method:

• Wash the toor dal with water twice and drain the excess water from the dal.
• Add ¼ teaspoon of turmeric to the toor dal and cook the dal in pressure cooker for three whistles.
• Set the cooked dal until the pressure releases.
• In a large pot, add about 3 cups of water and bring it to boil over high heat.
• Add black eyed beans and ¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder to the boiling water.
• Cook the beans with lid uncovered until the beans become soft and tender.
• Drain the excess water from the beans and set aside
• Heat a medium sized pan on the stove over medium heat.
• Add oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot, add the ingredients mentioned under Tempering. Fry them for few seconds, till the mustard seeds splutter and urad dal turns golden. This might take 30 to 40 seconds.
• Add chopped onions and tomatoes and saute till the onions are transparent.
• Now, add sambar powder, chili powder, and salt. Stir well.
• To the spice blend, add cooked dal and 2 cups of water.
• Bring the mixture in the pan to boil. Once the mixture starts boiling, add cooked beans and combine them well
• Cook until the raw smell of spice powders goes off. At the end, add minced garlic and give them a stir
• Simmer the curry for few minutes
• Switch off the stove and add freshly chopped coriander leaves to sambhar. Leave it undisturbed till serving
• Serve with hot rice and add a spoon of ghee to the curry for a delicious wholesome meal.

If you try the recipe, do let me know how they tasted in comments. If you like space, do like and follow my profile at here –
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Yours Truly

Karthi