Vada Sambhar with coconut Chutney

Believe me there are thousands of ways of making Sambhar! And all are delicious. My Sambhar recipe is a quick sambhar recipe and probably not the most authentic one. For more traditional and authentic sambhar, I will rely on my good south Indian friends like Ravali and Jayasri. But this sambhar is quick and goes well with Vada. So here is the recipe for all three:

Vada:
1 cut urad wash
A pinch salt
A pinch black pepper
1 tbsp coconut pieces chopped in small sizes
1/2 onion chopped finely
1 green chilli chopped
Water at room temperature
Oil to fry

Soak urad wash in lots of water overnight. In the morning, grind it with minimum amount of water (I put little more water so my vadas are not in great shape, as you will see image below). Once grinded all the urad daal, you need to do this most important step (which will make vadas light and very crispy). Take little water in a bowl. Put just a drop of grinded urad daal, it will sink in water. Now take the grinded mixture and mix it with hands vigorously to make it very fluffy and aerated. Now if you put a drop of this in water, it will float! Now add all other ingredients (except oil and water). Heat oil for frying in a pan. Wet your hands with water. Take a table spoon of this mixture, flatten it a bit and make a hole in the center and carefully put it in the pan. Similarly fry all the vadas.

Sambhar:
2 tbsp oil
1 drum stick cut in 2 inches pieces
10-12 shallots ( mini onion )
1 onion chopped
2 green chillies chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp MDH sambhar masala
1.5 inch tamarind soaked in water (or 2 tbsp tamarind paste)
few curry leaves
1/2 cup toor daal
salt to taste
A pinch asafoetida
2-3 whole red chillies (dry)

In a pressure cooker cook toor daal with turmeric powder and salt. In a deep pan, heat 2 tbsp oil. When hot, add mustard seeds and asafoetida. Add curry leaves and red chillies. Now add chopped onion and green chillies. When onion becomes transparent, add shallots, drum sticks, tomatoes. Add 2 cups of water and salt and cook for 10 minutes. Once cooked, add tamarind paste. Add sambhar masala and let it cook for 5 more minutes. Now add the cooked toor daal and add more water to require desired consistency and cook for 10 more minutes. Serve sambhar hot with vadas. You can add as many veggies as you want in it!

Coconut chutney:
1 fresh coconut peeled and grated
1-2 green chillies
2 tbsp roasted chana daal
1/2 inch ginger
a pinch salt
1 tsp tamarind paste

For tampering
1 tsp clarified butter
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp urad wash
5-6 curry leaves
2-3 red chillies whole

Grind all the ingredients listed above except for the ones listed under tampering. Now transfer it in a bowl. Heat oil in a shallow pan. Add all the ingredients listed under tampering. Fry for 1-2 minutes and put it in the same bowl where chutney is. Mix it with a spoon. Serve Vadas with sambhar and chutney.

Here I really apologize to my south Indian friends who can make this much better and more authentic and your inputs are always welcomed.