Name: Coconut-Smothered Pigeon Peas with Pumpkin (Arrachay Uttu Sambhar)
Yield: Makes 8 cups
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 1 cup cut-up cauliflower (2-inch florets); ½ teaspoon ground asafetida; 2 teaspoons Sambhar masala; ½ cup oily or unoily skinned split yellow pigeon peas (toovar dal), picked over for stones; 15 to 20 medium-size to large fresh curry leaves; 2 tablespoons unrefined sesame oil or canola oil; 4 dried red Thai or cayenne chiles, stems removed; 1 tablespoon coriander seeds; ¼ cup raw cashew nuts; 4 ounces fresh pumpkin, cut into 1-inch cubes; 1 cup shredded fresh coconut; or ½ cup shredded dried unsweetened coconut, reconstituted (see Note); 1 walnut-size ball dried tamarind pulp, or 1 teaspoon tamarind paste or concentrate; 1 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds; 10 to 12 pieces frozen “drumsticks” (each 3 to 4 inches long; no need to thaw; see box); 1½ teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt

Preparation info

Makes
8 cups

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

660 Curries

By Raghavan Iyer

Published 2008

About

When my mother made steamed rice cakes, she usually prepared this legume curry to go along with them, altering the vegetables to fit the season (as you should). Any vegetables will fit the bill, especially if they are the root variety. We all loved the vegetable called “drumsticks,” but it was my brother Bhaskar who always ended up with the biggest pile of fibrous sticks on his plate. We teased him about being as slender as a drumstick.