Vatana Ambat

When Asha made her Wadi Ambat, I knew I wanted to make some ambat for myself. So I did. And I forgot all about it as it sat in my drafts.

1 cup Yellow Peas, soaked overnight and cooked
¼ cup Coconut, scraped
1 tbsp Tamarind Paste
2-3 Red Chillies
1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
¼ tsp Oil
Salt to taste

For Tempering
1 tbsp Oil1 tbsp Onion, finely chopped

Heat the quarter teaspoon of oil and fry the fenugreek seeds for a minute or two. Grind the coconut, tamarind, red chillies and the fenugreek seeds to a fine paste.

Mix this paste with the cooked peas and add salt and a little water.

In a small kadhai, heat the oil and add the onions. Fry for 2-3 minutes and add this to the boiling mixture. Serve hot with rice.

If you're looking for a no onion/garlic version, you could use this tempering:

1 tsp Cooking Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
½ tsp Asafoetida (Hing)
7-8 Curry Leaves

In a frying ladle, heat the oil and add the mustard. When the mustard splutters, add the asafoetida and turn off the flame. Add the curry leaves. Fry for a minute and add this to the boiling mixture.

I used leftovers from this to make Ragda Patties. I'd made this a long time ago and waited for the RCI event so I could send this to send to dear Asha for the RCI Karnataka event. I nearly forgot about it.