Kosambari -A very simple ,healthy and easy to make soaked lentil and fresh vegetable salad.
Kosambari is a healthy and easy to make salad and then main ingredients is soaked lentil/ daal. Kosambari is a traditional recipe from South India and made on all festival and wedding there. It is also made on the occasion of Ram Navmi festival.
Kosambari can be made with either soaked chana daal, Yellow moong daal or with sprouts also. But the most popular is soaked yellow lentil/ moong daal as it is easy to digest in all seasons. You can make it with a single vegetable or mix a few , depends on individual choice or availability of ingredients.
In south it is popular as Kosambari or Koshambari and in Marathi it is popular as Koshambir.
Kosambari can be made with different vegetables but carrot and cucumber are the most favorite ones. Some prefer to add freshly grated coconut which gives a nice texture and taste . After mixing the lentil and grated or chopped vegetables a flavorful tadka of mustard seeds , asafoetida and curry leaves are added in the kosambari which gives a very nice flavor and taste to it.
Kosambari is very healthy and can be served as a side dish or salad with your meal. It is very nutritious because lentils are rich in protein and the vegetables are also added raw so all the nutrition are retained in them. Carrots and cucumber are high in fiber and minerals so good for digestion and aids in weight loss too. It is almost oil free as very little oil is used in the tempering or you can skip the tadka if you wish too.
There is no fixed proportion of lentil and vegetables so you can adjust according to your taste preference . I often make it with carrot and cucumbers but this time some pomegranate pearls are lying in the refrigerator so added them too . You can mix lentils and vegetables and keep refrigerated but add the seasoning just before serving else it become soggy and watery after adding salt.
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