Spinach/Cranberry/Bottle Gourd Sambar

This is a very heart healthy,fibrous dish.Spinach,Cranberries and BottleGourd make a tasty ,nutritious and pretty combination for a sambar.You can call this a soup too as you can eat it just by itself.It's a complete dish on it's own.

Main Ingredients:
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Toor Daal...............1/2cup
Spinach...................10oz
Cranberries.............1cup
BottleGourd............1cup
Water......................4cups
Green Chillies..........2

Seasoning:
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Turmeric................1tsp
Mustard ...............1tsp
Cumin...................1tsp
Asafoetida.............pinch
CurryLeaves.........1 sprig
Red Chilli..............1
Garlic....................2cloves
Sambar Powder.....1tbsp
Ghee/Oil................2tsp
Salt.......................to taste

Preparation:
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Rinse the toor daal very well and let soak for 30 minutes.
 
While the daal is soaking ,take spinach and rinse it well and chop it and keep it aside.

Peel the bottle gourd and cut into small cubes.Now take fresh cranberries and wash them and keep aside,also take 2 small green chillies and slit them open(deseed if you don't like it spicy).
 
Take a steel vessel that can be placed in the pressure cooker and fill it with the soaked toor daal,chopped spinach,cubed bottle gourd,cranberries,greenchillies and also add 1tsp turmeric to them.Now add 4cups of water and place the vessel in the pressure cooker and cook for 3 whistles.
 
While the pressure in the cooker is settling down, take a pan for seasoning.Add ghee/oil to the pan,once it is hot add mustard seeds,cumin seeds,asafoetida,chopped garlic,red chilli and curry leaves.
 
Now open the pressure cooker and take out the vessel with the main ingredients and add the fried seasoning  sambar powder and salt(as per your taste).Give it a nice stir and let the sambar simmer on the stove for 15 more minutes so that all the ingredients mix well.

Finally pour the smabar into a serving dish and it is ready to serve with hot rice or roti.

Note:
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1)This sambar can be served as a mian dish too.You can serve it as a soup.
2)We do not add tamarind to this recipe as cranberries give the sour taste to the sambar.
3)You can add onion to this recipe if you like(onion adds sweetness to the dish).
 
  This sambar is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals and one more heart-healthy dish.

I am sending this recipe for the Healing Foods Event:Spinach being guest hosted by Divya  and started by Siri .

I am sending this recipe to Think Beyond The Usual : Fruit event started and hosted by Nithu.