“Gosale- Piyavu- Tomato Kolumbo (Ridge Gourd- Onion- Tomato Sambar)” … Kolumbo or Sambar as is referred worldwide is a simple dish from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine prepared either to be served with idly/ dosa or rice … there are plenty of variations to this delicacy when it comes to addition of pulses and veggies … these days health issues take top most priority in every home and those of you who are worried on uric acid front, switch from tuvar dal to moong dal while preparing dal based curries or for sambar, like the one shared here, it’s healthier and tastes almost 90% same … Yummilicious …
** Kolumbo is a very famous dish prepared with lentils and veggies that is famous in GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine. Frankly sambar as known in southern parts of India and worldwide is a dish heard by almost everyone and I am sure atleast 80% of Indians must have relished it at some point of their life as it is always served with Idly/Dosa in restaurants. The dish is usually prepared with addition of ground masala, but can be easily prepared using good sambar masala powder available in stores or with masala prepared at home too.
** Kolumbo/ sambar prepared with ground masala is tastier as it turns out thicker in texture and suits well when needed to be served with rice than the one prepared using masala powder. However, many a times when we need lesser quantity it’s best to use the powder than ground masala to avoid leftovers/ wastage. Again, if to be served with idly/ khotto/ dosa/ appo etc. I always use sambar powder as here the thinner version of kolumbo/ sambar serves the purpose better. So, prepare accordingly depending upon what you serve it with.
** Now, coming to dals, I have shared plenty of recipes wherein I have prepared them with addition of different pulses/ grams/ dals etc. However, I must confess tuvar dal (split pigeon peas) that is largely used to prepare kolumbo/ sambar by almost every south Indian/ amchigele makes the best and tastiest kolumbo/ sambar. Having said that sometimes change becomes the necessity in life especially when it comes to health and that is the time when we have to go that extra mile to compromise on family favourite’s be it for any reason, isn’t it??? I am sure you agree.
** There are many who face uric acid and protein issues in advanced age, this is due to either faulty lifestyle or consumption of wrong combo foods, whatever be the case, the issue is when the blood tests show it, you need to make changes to bring them back to normal. The first asked to cut out on consumption are high protein dishes and when it comes to dal its tuvar dal that's top most (off course there are many more). Well, to cut short I thought of replacing it with masoor dal and though I did not much like the outcome, I reluctantly went ahead preparing it a few times.
** I read a lot, be it food related topic or otherwise, I can just go on and on. I came across an article which mentioned the benefits of some of the pulses and some of them were nachani (which of course I have been using extensively for ages), then it was moong (green gram) and kulith (horse gram). With kulith off course, the hitch is it creates heat in body, so you need to adjust that the next few days. I decided to try out sambar with moong dal and though I have tried it a few times ages back, I made a few changes and it turned out fantastic, almost 90% close to tuvar dal, that’s great, Isn’t it.
** Here is my simple method of preparing “Gosale- Piyavu- Tomato Kolumbo (Ridge Gourd- Onion- Tomato Sambar)” … My Style …
** Ingredients :
Moong Dal/ Mooga Dali/ Split Green Gram Dal : 1 cup
Gosale/ Ridge Gourd/ Turai / Hirekayi : 500 gms
Piyavu/ Onion/ Kanda : 2 large sized
Tomato : 2 large sized
Hinga Uddaka / Water prepared out of Asafoetida in gummy form : 1 tblsp
(Check how to prepare hinga uddaka at the bottom of this recipe)
OR
Hing/ Asafoetida Powder : 1tsp
Tamarind/ Imly/ Chinchama : a small marble sized ball
Sambar Masala Powder : 3-4 tblsp (I used store bought)
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder/ Mirsange Pitti/ Mirchi Tikkat : 1 tsp
Haldi/ Turmeric Powder : a pinch
Hing / Asafoetida Powder : 1tsp (If adding powder only)
Coconut Oil/ Nariyal Tel/ Narlel Tela : 1 tblsp
Salt/ Meeta/ Namak : to taste
Coriander Leaves/ Kottambari Pallo/ Dhania : one handful finely chopped.
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka :
Coconut Oil/ Nariyal Tel/ Narlel Tela : 1 tblsp
Mustard Seeds/ Rai/ Sasam : 1 tsp
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 10-12 fresh ones.
Whole round red chillies or any other : 2-3 (Optional)
** Wash and soak moong dal for 20-30 minutes in plenty of water. Drain off the water, wash changing water 2-3 times and drain well. Add into a pressure cooker pan along with 2 cups of water and pressure cook on medium heat to 3-4 whistles.
** Let the pressure in cooker fall on its own, open the lid, do so and check if the dal has been cooked well, if not cook for another whistle or two. The dal should have been cooked very soft and mushy, churn it well and keep it aside ready.
** Peel off only the ridges of ridge gourd/ gosale after cutting both side edges. Cut it vertically lengthwise into four pieces and then cut horizontally to get about ½ inch sized evenly cut pieces, put in water and keep it aside ready.
** Note : You can also cut the ridges or ridge gourd/ gosale carefully with a sharp knife. Do not discard them, store them in an air tight container to be prepared into delicious chutney/ gooli when time permits. Check out in Blog for recipe.
** Peel off the skin of onions and cut them into ½ inch sized quarter pieces and keep them ready aside. Wash the tomatoes, wipe dry and cut them also into small pieces of say ¼ inch in size and keep them also separately aside.
** Soak the tamarind piece in a bowl with half a cup of warm water to soften it. (If using ready tamarind paste skip this step). After 15 minutes, gently squeeze out the paste removing any thread portions if any and keep it ready aside.
** Drain and add ridge gourd pieces into a thick bottomed vessel with about a cup of water and bring to boil. Lower the heat to medium and cook until gosale is cooked to 60%. Now add the onion and tomato pieces and continue cooking.
** Meanwhile in a small pan heat coconut oil, when hot add haldi, hing, chilly and sambar powder and fry for a few seconds, do not let it burn, if you find it being burnt, immediately add a teaspoons of water and mix well.
** Add fried masala powder to cooking veggies along with tamarind paste, churned dal, salt to taste and mix well. Check and add water to bring to a thick sambar consistency. If adding prepared gummy hing water then do so now.
** Note : Despite adding tomatoes I always add a little bit of tamarind paste or kokum petals to balance the tart flavor as the tomatoes available in Mumbai are not tangy enough. You may chose otherwise or add any other tart veggie too.
** Bring the sambar to a rolling boil on high heat stirring often in between. When you see bubbles appearing, lower the heat to medium/ minimum and continue to cook for another 10 minutes until the masala has been thoroughly cooked.
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka : Heat coconut oil in a small pan, when hot add mustard seeds, when they begin to splutter, lower the heat and add curry leaves and red chilliy (cut to pieces if large and fry it for a few seconds only.
** Pour tempering over simmering curry, garnish with finely chopped fresh coriander leaves (I did not add as I ran out of stock) and remove from heat. Keep it aside covered for about 20 minutes for the flavours to infused into the curry.
** Note : Addition of dal to curries always tend to thicken them up on resting. Just before serving the sambar/ kolumbo, check the consistency, if too thick, then add hot boiling water as required, salt if necessary, mix well and serve it.
** “Gosale- Piyavu- Tomato Kolumbo (Ridge Gourd- Onion- Tomato Sambar)” is done and ready to be served. Sambar/ Kolumbo prepared with powder always tastes best served with idly, dosa, appo, shevai etc. while that prepared using ground masala goes well with rice. However, when it comes to nuclear families or when the quantity required is little for any reason then it is best to be prepared with addition of sambar masala powder to serve with rice too, so as it avoid wastage of leftover food. Either way kolumbo/ sambar is a tasty dish every GSB saraswats loves to relish during meals.
** Note : In my vicinity I get good sambar masala powder from reliable source, hence I have never bothered to prepare the same. Though you can use any sambar powder, I recommend you try to find out a good Mangalore stores for the same. They do stock up on reputed sambar powder from proper sources.
** Note : I always use COCONUT OIL/ NARIYAL TEL/ NARLEL TELA in preparation of sambar/ kolumbo as is tastes best when done so. You may chose to use any Oil of your choice if for any reason you want to avoid or do not prefer coconut oil. Having said that, I request you to try it out once and decide on the taste yourself, I am sure you will be surprised by the aromatic flavour and will do so always.
** Note : Please DO NOT ADD both Hing powder and Prepared Hing water to the curry even by mistake. It is either of the two or else it will be too strong and turn the curry slightly bitter in taste which will be a disaster. So be careful, as mentioned in the method of preparing the hing below we Konkani's follow that method but others can always follow the powder method successfully too.
** For Preparing of Hing/ Asafoetida Water From Gummy Hing : Hing water is prepared by putting a small marble sized gummy hing (available in South Indian Stores) into a glass bottle and adding about a small cup of boiled and cooled water to it. Within a few hours the hing will slowly melt and you will get a thick whitish liquid. This is hing water. You can keep this in the fridge and use sparingly as and when needed. We GSB / Saraswat Konkani people usually prepare the same and keep it in the fridge always and use the same for dal, patrado or any other humman etc. If you do not have the gummy hing, no issues, you can add hing / asafoetida powder in which case always add it into the hot oil while tempering to get a good aroma.
** Check out the link given below for “Kolumbo with addition of ground masala”, if you want to prepare kolumbo/ sambar with addition of ground masala ….
** Given below are common links to all “Kolumbo/ Sambar” recipes posted in the blog, do check out and try out those that you would like to relish ….
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