Ekadasi 21 vegetable sambar ( gravy)

Vaikunta Ekadasi is a festival that falls on the eleventh lunar day in the Tamil month of margazhi ( dec - january ). This year it fell on Christmas Day. On this day it is believed that the abode of lord Vishnu ( vaikuntam - similar to English concept of heaven) is open. People fast on this day ( eat nothing at all to perhaps just eating fruits and vegetables and avoiding grains) and it is thought to be equivalent to fasting on every ekadasi of the year ( there are many ‘regular ekadasis in a year). 

On the next day — dwadasi we usually make a nutritious and filling meal which features  this sambar made out of 21 vegetables and Dal. In addition to being nutritious it is very tasty as well. This is eaten with rice.

To read more about ekadasi click this Wikipedia 

link

This is a post on what people eat on dwadasi

A video  on all the things people eat on this day with instructions on how to make them  (in Tamil with ingredients listed in English )

Here is a video on YouTube by Gowri , the video narration is in Tamil but there is an English description written out where additional information is listed on YouTube 

dwadasi sambar YouTube video

Ingredients: 

You can use as many or as little of each vegetable ( you can substitute other vegetables as well). You can make it your own! You just need 21 vegetables.

Bottle gourd ( sorakkai) - small ( half) - remove the seeds and cut into cubes 

Ridge gourd ( peerkangai) - 1/4  take the peel off and chop into small pieces 

Okra ( vendaikai) - 3 - take the tip and top off and cut into three large pieces each 

Plantain- 1 cut the tip and top off and peel it and cut into strips 






Radish / daikon - 1/4 cup - peel and cut into small thin slices 


Butternut squash - cubed 1/4 cup

Broccoli - three florets with stems 


Asparagus - thin - 3 

Green beans cut - 1/4 cup 

Peas - a few 

Carrot - cubes - 1/4 cup 

 Spinach - handful 

Indian gooseberry - large - 1 cut into eighths 

Purple yam - a few cubes 

Green eggplant - 2 small cut into 6 to 8 pieces 

mochaikai- Lima beans - a few 

Sweet potato - cooked and cut into strips -1/2 



Medium sized Potato - boiled, peeled and cubed - 1 
Taro - 1/4 boiled, peeled and cubed 


Cabbage - strips small handful 

Tomato - 1 cubed 

Ingredients:

Cooked toor dal (split pigeon peas)- 1 cup 

Tamarind paste - a small blueberry size ( the paste is concentrated - if you use fresh tamarind then you would soak a plum sized amount in a cup of water and use the tamarind water)

Sambar powder ( sold in stores premade, but can be made from scratch if so inclined ) - 2 to 3 tsp 

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp 

Coriander powder - 1 tbsp 

Besan flour - 1 tbsp 

Brown sugar- 1 tbsp 

Salt- to taste 

Vegetable Oil - 2 tbsp 

Green chilly - 1 ( deseeded and cut into a couple of pieces )

Cilantro leaves- handful 

Coconut paste ( grind these three ingredients and set aside )

Coconut shredded - 2 tbsp

Cumin- 1/4tsp

Coriander seed - 1/4 tsp

Seasoning : 

Coconut oil / vegetable oil- 1 tbsp 

Black Mustard seeds- 1 tsp 

Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp 

Curry leaves - 5 to 6 leaves 

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Instructions : 

First cook the dal- Soak the dal in water until the water covers it. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and pinch of asafoetida and also 1 tsp of oil to it and cook it in an instant pot on the beans setting ( or cook it on the stovetop for about thirty minutes on medium to high heat until the dal is soft). Set aside 

Place a deep saucepan on the stove on medium heat. Add a tbsp of vegetable oil and let it heat up but not smoke. Add the green chilly and sauté it .Now add the cut vegetables ( daikon, okra first) and sauté it . Now add in the other vegetables and add another tbsp of oil and sauté . 

Add sambar powder and turmeric powder to the oil and sauté it very well to get the raw flavor out 

Add a tbsp or two of dal mixed well with one cup water ( to make a dilute dal water) and add this water to the vegetables and let it cook for about 10-15 min

Once vegetables are cooked add 2 cups of water and dissolve the tamarind paste in it. Now add one cup of the cooked dal and salt to the vegetables. Continue to cook until the raw tamarind smell has gone out. 

At this juncture add in the coconut paste to the sambar, mix it in and let it boil for a few minutes 

Mix the besan flour and coriander powder with some water and add this to the sambar until mixed in well. 

Add brown sugar 1 tbsp ( or to taste ) and mix it in with the sambar until it dissolves. Let the sambar cook on medium heat for a few minutes 

In a separate small pan heat up the coconut oil and add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and let it sputter , add asafoetida, curry leaves. This is the seasoning.Add the seasoning with the oil into the sambar , add cilantro leaves and now sambar is ready to serve 

Toffee topped with cashews

My dad usually gets toffee for Christmas from a company he works with and he loves it , but this year the person that sends them retired ! So he had no toffee. I set out to make toffee and looked for recipes and found this one I modified it a little bit and I had awesome toffee. Even my sister (who is not easily impressed ) was impressed . Try it out and let me know what you think 

Ingredients 

Unsalted Butter - 2 cups ( 4 sticks ) 

Sugar - 2 cups 

Salt - pinch 

Semi sweet chocolate chips- 2 cups 

Unsalted Cashews chopped in to small pieces - 1 cup 

Candy thermometer 

Instructions :

Have a baking sheet lined with buttered parchment paper ready on a flat surface. 

1. Place a heavy bottomed saucepan on medium heat . Add the butter, sugar and salt . Let the butter melt and stir occasionally once the butter is melted place a candy thermometer on the side to measure the temperature of the mixture.
   
   
   
   
2. Let the mixture come to a boil and cook until it turns a beige/ light brown color. Stir occasionally with a wooden spatula to ensure the mixture doesn’t stick to the pan.
   
3. Let the mixture come to 290 F ( also known as the hard crack stage ) . If you drop a little ball of the mixture into cold water you will get a brittle mixture 
4. Once this happens take off  the stove immediately and pour the mixture on pan lined with the parchment paper and let it get evenly spread and let sit for a couple of minutes. 
   
5. Immediately evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the warm mixture so that they melt and spread the melted chocolate evenly over the mixture with a silicone spatula 
   
   
   
   
   
6. Now sprinkle the chopped nuts on top evenly 
   
7. Place the pan in the refrigerator for atleast 2 to 3 hours or until completely set. To break the toffee lift up the parchment paper and drop from a few inches height over a hard clean flat work surface. Do this a few times and it will have broken into uneven pieces. Toffee is ready to serve. Here is a  popular video on YouTube showing all the steps ( there is some variation from my recipe ) for visual learners. Enjoy !