Monday, August 14, 2017

Onion Raita | Vengaya Sambol | Vengaya Thayir Pachadi

Onion Raita/ Vengaya Thayir Pachadi/Vengaya sambal , an easy accompaniment made from curd and onions in minutes. For me, it's the much needed accompaniment when it comes to biryani, pulao or even for chapathi also. In south Tamilnadu or more specify in Tirunelveli District, we used to call this onion raita as "Vengaya sambal' or simply "sambal/sambol(சம்பல்)" till now and i never knew the name "raita" until i was there in chennai for my job. Whenever i say "sambal",my hostel mates,colleagues and some times waiters at the restaurant gave me a weird look and later that i came to know that "sambal" has a new name "Raita" in chennai and in other parts of Tamilnadu.

Around 2 years back, when i had joined blogging marathon under the theme "condiments from other countries", i searched a lot for that theme and came to realize that sambol was the famous condiments from Srilanka and there are lot of varieties of sambol in their cuisine. May be the name came from their cuisine or vice versa. But that was very really interesting things to know. Ok..Enough with sambol stories, let see today's recipe.

Onion Raita/Vengaya Sambol

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 0 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Accompaniment | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Onion(small) - 1
Green chili - 1
Curd - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Coriander leaves - few

Procedure

Cut the onions into thin slices and separate them. Chop the green chilies into small pieces.

Take the curd in a bowl, add salt and mix it well till it becomes creamy.

Add the onions & green chilies, mix it well. Let it rest for minimum 30 mins before serving. Add few coriander leaves on top while serving.

Tada, Your onion raita is ready.

Notes:

Use fresh curd for better taste.
If you're making this for lunch box or later use and you're in hot place, add few tsp of milk into it, it will help to avoid the curd becomes sour too much.
Atleast rest it for 30 mins before serving.

Friday, September 18, 2015

Seeni Sambol | Sweet Onion Relish | Srilankan Condiment

Seeni Sambol(Sugar Sambol) is a combination of sweet,sour & spicy condiment from Srilanka. It is mostly served with String hopper or with yellow rice in Srilanka.After i tried lunu miris( a another sambol variety from srilanka), i'm very much interested in their sambol. Only very few ingredients are needed and it took less than 15 mins to prepare the sambol recipe.Don't underestimate this sambol by its ingredients. It's one of the most tastiest dish i have tasted so far.The perfect balance of sourness, hotness & sweetness make the dish into whole new level.

In our native(Tirunelveli),we used to call the onion raita(which used as accompaniment for biryani/Pulao ) as Sambol(சம்பல்). During my hostel days in chennai, when i said Sambol , none of my roomates understand what it means, then i realised , that name is never used in any part of tamilnadu other than Tirunelveli District(i dont know whether it's used in other district).Now i realized, probably the name comes from Srilanka.

Seeni Sambol

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Condiments | Recipe Cuisine: Srilankan

Ingredients

Red Onion - 1 (medium)

Cinnamon - a small piece

Cloves - 2 nos

Cardamom - 1 no

Sugar - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Tamarind - a small gooseberry size

Red Chili Crushed - 1 tsp or to taste

Oil - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Procedure

Soak the tamarind in 1/4 cup of water. Cut onion into small pieces and keep everything ready. Heat the oil in a kadai.Add cinnamon, cloves & cardamom, let it splutter, then add onions & curry leaves.

Saute it for few seconds, then add salt & sugar, crushed chili and saute it until the onions become translucent.

Extract the tamarind juice from the tamarind and add into the onions, cook the onions for around 5 mins. At that time, all the moisture will evaporate & sambol looks glossy.