Muli Sambar/Huli (Radish Curry)

# of servings:  4
Preparation Time:  10 mins	Cook Time:  25 mins

Radish (Muli) is a vegetable with a distinct flavor that doesn't blend well with many other vegetables.  With this unique combination of accompanying elements and spices, it becomes very delectable.  It is a great entree to relish with rice or any kind of mudde (ragi or menthe) as well.

Ingredients:

• Diced radish - 3 cups
• Cubed onions - 1 cup
• Garlic - 10 pods
• Tur daal - 0.5 cup
• Turmeric - 0.5 tsp (or) Turmeric root - 1.5 inch
• Grated coconut - 0.75 cup
• Sambar powder - 2 tsp
• Salt - 2 tsp
• Tamarind - 1 lemon sized
• Jaggery (or) brown sugar - 1 lemon sized
• Oil - for seasoning
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Fenugreek (methi) seeds - 0.5 tsp
• Asafoetida - 2 pinches
• Curry leaves - 2 stalks

Method:

• In a cooker vessel, heat a little oil ('Saute' mode in IP)
• Season mustard seeds, cumin, asafoetida and curry leaves
• Add the methi seeds and immediately add the chopped garlic
• Add the onions and saute for 2 mins
• Add the diced radish and saute till the raw smell goes away
• Wash the tur daal and add it to the cooker vessel
• Add 2 cups of water and turmeric to it
• Sprinkle half of the salt on the veggies and sprinkle half a cup of water over it 
• Close the lid and pressure cook this  (3 to 5 mins 'Pressure Cook' mode in IP, depending on the vegetable)
• Grind coconut, turmeric root (if using) sambar powder, salt, tamarind and jaggery into a fine paste 
• When the radish and daal are cooked, add the ground paste and bring to boil ('Soup' mode in IP)
• Serve with hot rice and a dollop of ghee (optional) or along with any mudde (Ragi or Menthe)

Tips and Tricks:

• Adding the garlic immediately after adding the fenugreek seeds avoids roasting them red.  Toasted fenugreek seeds will make the sambar taste bitter.  Otherwise, they add a lot to the taste and are benficial as well! 
• Turmeric in the water makes sure the daal cook softly
• Adding half the salt on the vegetables ensures even taste in the sambar.  Otherwise, the gravy will be too salty and the veggies will remain bland
• Sprinkling some water on top dissolves the salt and spreads it evenly among the vegetables during cooking

Pictures: 

Final Outcome: