"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free, Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls.....Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake" Rabindranath Tagore 
I am grateful to be free today and not shackled by terror and fear, pain, disease, anxiety, guilt, and hunger. While celebrating freedom, and everything Indian that I love and hold dear today, being India's 64th Independence day I decided to post a very simple recipe for Sambar and Coconut Cilantro Cutney as an accompaniment for morning idlis. Sambar a typical Tamilian dish, is a simple lentil stew with vegetables and spices is one of the most well known and common everyday dishes, not just in the south but thanks to the popularity of masala dosa and idlis, everywhere in the country. Truly, sambar, idli and dosa makes the nation come together!
When I was studying I lived in our college hostel in Tamil Nadu and what started off as dhal or parripu in the afternoon, would sometimes turn into rasam at night or sambhar in the morning! Perhaps not the best place to develop a love affair with Sambhar, but I blame that daily morning dose or (rather dosa! ) for my lifelong obsession with Sambhar and with lentils. One time during the rainy season while we were all gathered in the mess hall for breakfast, the usual morning chatter of over a hundred hostelites was broken by a loud shriek. What happened was this: one of the girls was eating her dosa and sambar and took a dab at a curry leaf and to her shock, it moved! turned out the "curry leaf" was actually a small slug that had fallen into the sambhar! Not the nicest story to associate with sambhar, but everytime I eat sambar, I remember that rainy morning, and the many meals made better because it was shared with large groups of chattering girls. How I miss them all!
Here is a more delightful little story entitled I love him and he does not like sambhar over at mylittlemagazine that I chanced upon today which I really identified with, being a Madrasi ( actually Malayali from Kerala) in Mumbai for two months, I was asked hilarious questions like " Is Bangalore in Madras?" No, they are two cities in two different states, I would patiently reply to much nodding for anything south of Mumbai is termed South India and loosely Madras! I sought to explain how each state has its own distinct identity, language, culture and food. And seriously, it never ceases to amaze me.
