UDUPI SAARU

 UDUPI SAARU 

All over India, if not in many parts of the world, people talk about the Udupi cuisine, a town in my Home State of Karnataka. In most cities, especially in South India we find the ubiquitous vegetarian "Udupi Restaurant "

Elsewhere in this blog, you will find recipes for dishes from this area such as:-

• Pineapple Menaskai
• Matti Gulla Podi
• Ashgourd Coconut Curry
• Hayagreeva Maddi

Today's recipe is for an aromatic and delicious saaru from Udupi. For those who may not be familiar with the term, a "saaru" in Kannada is a rasam-like accompaniment  for hot steamed rice made with thuar dal, tomatoes, and Udupi Rasam Powder/Udupi Saarina Pudi. 

I shall share the recipe for Udupi Rasam Powder/Udupi Saarina Pudi in my next post

This recipe has been adapted from Udupi Rasam or Udupi Style Saaru from the Kannada YouTube video from Swayam Paaka.

Tips:-

1. Use sour variety of tomatoes for this dish

2. Use ghee for seasoning for best results

We loved this with hot steamed rice, Beans Palya and happala (rice pappad) and I am sure you will love it too! You can even drink this- and it tastes super!! 

Ingredients:

• Thuar Dal, 1/4 cup
• Turmeric Powder, 1/4 tsp
• Oil, 1/2 tsp
• Medium-sized Tomatoes, 2
• Tamarind, size of a small lemon
• Jaggery, grated, 1 tbsp
• Curry Leaves, 1 sprig 
• Udupi Rasam Powder, 1 tbsp
• Salt, to taste
• Coriander Leaves, finely chopped, 2 tbsp
• Water, 3-4 cups or as required

For Seasoning:-

• Mustard Seeds, 1/2 tsp
• Cumin Seeds,1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida ( Hing), 1/8 tsp 
• Ghee, 2 tsp

Method:-

Wash the Thuar Dal and pressure cook in 1 cup of water along with tomatoes, turmeric powder, and 1/2 tsp of oil 

Allow this to cook for 3 whistles or until the thuar dal gets fully cooked

Once the cooker cools, remove the cooked dal, mash the dal and keep aside

In a mixer jar, make a puree of the cooked tomatoes. Keep aside

Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of lukewarm water for about 10-15 minutes and extract the juice

Heat the tamarind juice, salt, and jaggery in a vessel, adding 1 cup of water and bring to a boil 

To this add the cooked and mashed thuar dal and the tomato puree, mix well and bring to a boil

Add the torn curry leaves and 1 tbsp of Udupi Rasam Powder ( Saarina Pudi), mix well

Check for salt and add if required

Bring to a boil adding water as required to get a saaru/rasam like consistency 

Next add the finely chopped coriander leaves and switch off the gas

In a small pan, heat ghee and on medium heat add the mustard seeds and when they splutter add the cumin seeds

Let them sizzle then add the asafoetida ( Hing) and saute for a few seconds

Pour this seasoning on to the Udupi Saaru

Serve the Udupi Saaru with hot steamed rice and happala