Kosambari
A salad from Karnataka in southern India, served at festive meals on a banana leaf. Soaked yellow moong dal, finely diced cucumber, grated carrot and coconut with lemon juice, finished with a sizzling tadka — oil with mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves. The dal is soaked but not cooked, so it stays crunchy. It is a light, fresh salad that balances a spicy curry nicely. It takes a quarter of an hour once the dal has softened.
Your own work in that: 5 min.
- Soaking the dal 120 min
- Chopping 15 min
- Tadka 3 min
- Combining 5 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneSoak the dal
Rinse the dal several times until the water runs clear and cover with cold water for 2 hours. The grains plump up and soften but stay crunchy.
Ingredients: 100 g split yellow moong dal · 1 pcs cucumber · 1 pcs carrot · 30 g desiccated or fresh coconut · ½ bunch coriander · 1 pcs green chilli · 1 pcs lemon, juice · ¾ tsp salt
Plump, but still crunchy.Drain the dal
Drain the dal in a sieve and let it drain thoroughly. In kosambari the soaked moong dal is eaten uncooked; if you prefer, scald it with boiling water for 2 minutes and rinse under cold water.
Ingredients: 100 g split yellow moong dal · 1 pcs cucumber · 1 pcs carrot · 30 g desiccated or fresh coconut · ½ bunch coriander · 1 pcs green chilli · 1 pcs lemon, juice · ¾ tsp salt
Chop the vegetables
Cut the cucumber into very fine dice, grate the carrot finely and chop the coriander and chilli. Sprinkle the desiccated coconut with a spoonful of water to soften it.
Ingredients: 100 g split yellow moong dal · 1 pcs cucumber · 1 pcs carrot · 30 g desiccated or fresh coconut · ½ bunch coriander · 1 pcs green chilli · 1 pcs lemon, juice · ¾ tsp salt
Finely — everything in every spoonful.Mix the salad
Mix the dal with the vegetables, coconut, coriander and chilli.
Ingredients: 100 g split yellow moong dal · 1 pcs cucumber · 1 pcs carrot · 30 g desiccated or fresh coconut · ½ bunch coriander · 1 pcs green chilli · 1 pcs lemon, juice · ¾ tsp salt
Make the tadka
Heat the oil in a small pan, add the mustard seeds and cover — they start popping within seconds. When they quieten, add the asafoetida and curry leaves, stir and take off the heat.
Ingredients: 1 tbsp oil · 1 tsp black mustard seeds · 1 pinch asafoetida · 8 pcs curry leaves
Mustard seeds pop — keep the lid on.Pour over the salad
Pour the hot tadka over the salad and mix.
Ingredients: 1 tbsp oil · 1 tsp black mustard seeds · 1 pinch asafoetida · 8 pcs curry leaves
Season just before serving
Just before serving add the lemon juice and salt. Salt added earlier draws water from the cucumber and makes the salad soggy.
Ingredients: 100 g split yellow moong dal · 1 pcs cucumber · 1 pcs carrot · 30 g desiccated or fresh coconut · ½ bunch coriander · 1 pcs green chilli · 1 pcs lemon, juice · ¾ tsp salt
Serve
Serve at once, alongside curry, dal and rice, or as a light snack.
Ingredients: 100 g split yellow moong dal · 1 pcs cucumber · 1 pcs carrot · 30 g desiccated or fresh coconut · ½ bunch coriander · 1 pcs green chilli · 1 pcs lemon, juice · ¾ tsp salt
Before you start
Where to buy
Moong dal, curry leaves and asafoetida are sold in Indian shops. Curry leaves freeze well and keep their aroma.
With sprouts
A popular variation uses mung bean sprouts instead of dal, or adds pomegranate seeds for a sweet-sour note. Blanch the sprouts in boiling water for a minute and rinse under cold water — raw sprouts can carry bacteria (salmonella, E. coli).
Storage
The salad is best eaten at once. Without salt and lemon it keeps a few hours in the fridge — season before serving.
