Mooli Huli or Sambar is a mildly spiced south Indian flavored lentil stew, with fresh white radish, coconut and some simple but aromatic Indian spices. Paired with hot steaming rice, it is an ultimate comfort food for us.
"Huli" means "sour" in Kannada; a language from the southern state of Karnataka. Tamarind is the ingredient that lends the sour taste to this simple but divine curry.
The first time I had tasted huli was in a south Indian temple in Delhi where we were served hot Karnataka Brahmin style food. One spoonful of this, mixed with hot steaming rice and a dollop of ghee, served on a fresh banana leaf was enough to make me want more! Huli made with various vegetables is a staple dish in most Brahmin south Indian temples, especially in Karnataka.
After that, once I had got the recipe from various blogs, I made my own version to enjoy regularly. I have made huli/sambar with pumpkin (yellow and white), with combination of vegetables and sometimes, just with onions. Of course, this version is a completely no onion-no garlic dish.
This particular recipe of Huli, I had come across on a food show on TV where authentic Udupi cuisine was being explained. Of course, the recipe was made with baingan/eggplant, but I wanted to make this with fresh white radish which normally sometimes is too bitter or pungent to eat raw.
Just boil peeled and sliced radish until just tender, mix it with cooked yellow lentils and spiced coconut paste along with tamarind and some water. Add salt to taste along with some jaggery (for a mild sweetness; you can choose to omit this, but we love it with a tinge of sweetness). Give it a tempering or “tadka” of mustard and curry leaves along with asafetida (you can use coconut oil or ghee for the tempering.).
Mix well and serve piping hot with rice and a dollop of ghee on top. We love to enjoy a large bowl of this with idlis (steamed rice-lentil cakes) as well as dosas (rice-lentil savory crepes) also.
Try this easy dish using any vegetable you have, be it eggplant, potatoes, pumpkin, drumstick, carrots, green beans etc. or a combination of any of these and more.
For more similar south Indian dishes. you must try these amazing dishes:
Mooga Ghushi/Konkani Style Mung Bean Coconut Curry
Alasande Saaru Upkari (Konkani Black-eyed Beans Curry)
Step-by-step method to make Radish or Mooli Huli/Sambar:
Add toor dal and water up to at least 1 inch above the dal and cook in a pressure cooker or in a large saucepan until soft, tender and well cooked.
Wash, peel and slice radish into small roundels.
To make the huli/sambar coconut paste:
Heat oil in a saucepan; add the spices; methi, chana dal, urad dal and coriander seeds; fry on medium heat for a minute.
Add the curry leaves, dry red chilies and hing and fry again for another minute, taking care not to burn the chillies.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Blend the roasted spices along with grated coconut and tamarind/tamarind paste to a fine puree; set aside.
To make the sambar/huli:
Boil sliced radish in 2 cups of water until just tender.
Add cooked and mashed tuvar dal and mix well. Bring to a boil.
Lower heat and add the huli paste along with turmeric powder, salt to taste and some gur or jaggery.
Mix well and bring to a boil; adding more water as needed, lower heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Keep stirring occasionally to make sure it does not stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
Meanwhile, prepare the tempering:
Heat ghee in a small saucepan and once it becomes hot, add mustard seeds.
As soon as the seeds start to crackle and pop, add the curry leaves, hing and red chlliy, sauté for a few seconds.
Remove from heat and add to the simmering radish huli. Mix well, garnish with chopped cilantro (optional) and serve with hot steaming rice and a dollop of ghee!
With a side of freshly stir fried green vegetables like or even a salad like, you have a complete satvik (no onion-no garlic), comforting meal to enjoy for lunch or dinner!
Enjoy and Happy Cooking!
A mildly spiced south Indian flavored lentil stew with fresh white radish, coconut and some simple but aromatic Indian spices. Paired with hot steaming rice, it is an ultimate comfort food.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup toor/tuvar dal or split pigeon peas/yellow lentils
- 2 medium sized white radish; peeled and sliced
- ¼ tsp methi seeds/fenugreek seeds
- 1 tbsp chana dal (split bengal gram)
- 1 tsp urad dal (split black lentils)
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- ¼ tsp hing/asafetida powder
- 7 to 8 dry red chilies
- Few curry leaves
- ¼ cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen)
- Small marble-sized tamarind/1/2 tsp tamarind paste
- 1 tsp coconut oil (or any cooking oil)
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder (optional)
- 2 to 3 tbsp gur/jaggery (unrefined cane sugar)
- Salt to taste
- 2 tbsp ghee/clarified butter
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- Few curry leaves
- ¼ tsp hing/asafetida powder
Instructions
- Add toor dal and water up to at least 1 inch above the dal and cook in a pressure cooker or in a large saucepan until soft, tender and well cooked.
- Wash, peel and slice radish into small roundels.
- Heat oil in a saucepan; add the spices; methi, chana dal, urad dal and coriander seeds; fry on medium heat for a minute.
- Add the curry leaves, dry red chilies and hing and fry again for another minute, taking care not to burn the chillies.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
- Blend the roasted spices along with grated coconut and tamarind/tamarind paste to a fine puree; set aside.
- Boil sliced radish in 2 cups of water until just tender.
- Add cooked and mashed tuvar dal and mix well. Bring to a boil.
- Lower heat and add the huli paste along with turmeric powder, salt to taste and some gur or jaggery.
- Mix well and bring to a boil; adding more water as needed, lower heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Keep stirring occasionally to make sure it does not stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
- Heat ghee in a small saucepan and once it becomes hot, add mustard seeds.
- As soon as the seeds start to crackle and pop, add the curry leaves, hing and red chlliy, sauté for a few seconds.
- Remove from heat and add to the simmering radish huli. Mix well, garnish with chopped cilantro (optional) and serve with hot steaming rice and a dollop of ghee! With a side of freshly stir fried green vegetables like or even a salad like, you have a complete satvik (no onion-no garlic), comforting meal to enjoy for lunch or dinner!
- Enjoy and Happy Cooking!
Notes
If you like onions, cook a small onion (cubed or sliced) or better yet, shallots or “sambar onions” as they are sometimes called, along with the radish slices and proceed with the recipe.
Instead of radish, you can use eggplant/brinjal/aubergine(cubed), potatoes, carrots, green beans, cauliflower etc. or even a mixture of some of them.
Adjust the consistency of the dish along with spices according to your own taste or preference.
Make it vegan by using oil (preferably coconut oil) instead of ghee.
To make huli more often, you can make the spice powder in large quantities ahead of time and store in air-tight containers. Use this sambar or huli powder to make a paste with coconut and tamarind when making the sambar or huli.
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give measurements for sambar powder in large quantities
I always use my Mom's recipe or store bought. I will share recipe soon 🙂
Udpu style Authentic sambar and chutney recipe pl