Mysore Sambar

          Mysore Sambar, just like Mysore Rasam or Mysore Pak I really don't know why we have 'Mysore' in the name of this dish. This a recipe from the cookbook Dakshin by Chandra Padmanabhan, I can say that, this is one of the first cookbooks that I started following after my marriage. Back then, I had written down all the recipes from this book, which I had borrowed from the library,  and to this day, I follow many of her recipes for day to day cooking. I have made this sambar so many times and it had always received good reviews from all those who had tasted it. The sambar is very simple to make and it gets its unique flavor and taste from the ground paste that we add to it. It goes well with plain rice and can also be served with idlis and dosas too, do try this when you want to have a change from the regular sambar..

Need To Have

• Tuvar Dal/ Split Pigeon Peas - 1/2 cup
• French Beans - 20, chopped into 1" pieces
• Potato - 1 medium, diced
• Fresh Green Peas - 2 tablespoons
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 3/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 15
• Salt to taste

To Grind

• Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
• Coriander Seeds - 2 teaspoons
• Rice Flour - 1 teaspoon
• Dried Red Chillies - 4
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Method 

          Pressure cook the dal with 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, remove and keep. Grind together all the ingredients given under ' to grind ' into a fine paste and keep.

          In the meantime, cook the potatoes, beans and peas with a little salt and water till done. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the dal, ground paste, turmeric powder and some water. Mix and cook the mixture for about 5 to 7 minutes and remove.

          Heat some oil, add the mustard and cumin seeds, when it starts sputtering, add the curry leaves and switch off and add it to the cooked vegetable-dal mixture. Mix and serve with rice and vegetable curry.

Note
The red chillies that I have right now are very spicy, so I have used only 4, depending on your spice level add more or less.
If you like you can 1 or 2 tomatoes along with the vegetables.