Kosambari Recipe – Kosambari is a simple and easy to prepare South Indian salad. Its also called as koshambari. Interestingly in the Marathi language, salads are known as koshimbir.
Koasambari salad is usually made with lentils. Two commonly used lentils are moong and Bengal gram (chana dal) lenses. Vegetables like carrots or cucumber are also added. The addition of fresh coconut is one of the highlights of kosambari and it makes a lot of difference in the final dish. A final tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves is also carried out. However, the tempering part can be ignored.
On the occasion of Ram Navami, Kosambari made from moong lentils is served to Lord Rama with kosambari, Panakam and neer mor / majjige also.
Kosambari is a really light and refreshing salad and can be prepared for any occasion. You can also serve it as a side dish with your regular meals.
Ingredients
Main ingredients for the Kosambari recipe
▢ 0.06 moong dal cup
▢ enough water to soak moong dal
▢ 0.38 cup finely chopped cucumber
▢ 0.75 tablespoons grated coconut
▢ 0.25 green chili, chopped
▢ 0.5 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
▢ 0.13 teaspoon lemon juice or add as needed
▢ salt as needed
To temper the Kosambari salad
▢ 0.5 teaspoons of oil
▢ 0.13 teaspoon of mustard seeds (rai)
▢ 0.25 pinch of asafoetida (hinge)
▢ 1.25 to 1.5 curry leaves (kadi patta) – chopped or kept whole
Instructions
Make Kosambari salad
- First, rinse ¼ cup of moong lentils several times in water. Then for 1 to 2 hours soak the lentils. If you are in a hurry, you can soak moong lentils in hot water for 30 minutes.
- Later, drain all the water very well and add the soaked moong lentils to a bowl.
- Add 1.5 finely chopped cucumber, 3 tablespoons of fresh grated coconut, 2 tablespoons of cilantro leaves and 1 green pepper (chopped). Instead of green peppers, you can use black pepper powder.
- Squeeze some lemon juice. You can add less or more lemon juice as needed.
- Mix everything very well.
To temper the Kosambari salad
- Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a small saucepan, then add ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Keep the flame at a low level. You can also add red chilli in tempering.
- Once the mustard seeds have crackled, add 5-6 curry leaves and a pinch of asafoetida. Stir and then extinguish the flame.
- Pour the tempering mixture into the salad. Mix very well. If it’s for the family, you can refrigerate the salad and serve it later. Add salt before serving as if it had been added earlier, the cucumber releases water.
- Add salt as needed. Mix very well.
- Serve the kosambari salad as a side salad with your meals.
