Sambar recipe

Sambar is a popular south indian stew which is either served with steamed rice or as a side dish with idlis & dosas. Sambar is made with lentils, mixed vegetables like (brinjal, ladyfinger, bottle gourd, pumpkin, drumstick, onion) tamarind, herbs, spices and a special powder mix (Sambar masala). This dish is not only healthy and nutritious but also delicious. Lentils are good source of protein and mixed vegetables are rich in nutrients. So sambar provides complete nutrition to the body. Lets learn how to make it.

Preparation time : 20 mins

Cooking time: 40 mins

Servings :  4

Ingredients needed:
1.) Tur /Arhar dal -  1 small cup
2.) Tamarind - 2 tbsp
3.) Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
3.) Salt - As per taste
4.) Mixed Vegetables of your choice( quartered or diced in small pieces)

a.) Bottle gourd- 100gm

b.) Pumpkin - 100 gm

 c.) Carrot - 1 medium

d.) Eggplant/brinjal - 1 medium

e.) Tomato - 1 Large diced
5.) Sambar powder - 3 tbsp
6.) Water - 2 cups (to boil tur dal), 2-3 cups while cooking

7.) Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon

8.) Amchur/ Dry mango powder - 1 tablespoon

Ingredients for Tempering (Tadka)
1.) Onion - 1 small thinly sliced
2.) Curry leaves - few chopped
3.) Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon

4.) Dried red chilli - 2-3

5.) Garlic cloves - 2 finely chopped

6.) Asafoetida/hing - 1/2 teaspoon or a pinch

Method of Preparation -: 

 1.) Soak Tur dal in 2 cups of water, add 1 tbsp of salt and 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder in it. After soaked for 20 mins, pressure cook tur dal to 2-3 whistles. 

2.)  Soak tamarind in  1/2 cup of water and set it aside (you can also use tamarind paste at the time of cooking instead of using raw tamarind.) By the time, chop the vegetables of your choice quartered or diced into small pieces.

3.) Heat oil in a pan/kadhai. To it add mustard seeds, when it splutters add hing, curry leaves, dried red chillies and saute it for 1 min.

4.) Now add onion, saute till it becomes transluscent. Further add bottle guard, carrot, eggplant, pumpkin, tomatoes followed by all the powdered spices ( red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, amchur powder, 1tbsp of sambar powder. Mix all the spices with the vegetables well and cook it for 5 mins on medium flame. Do not overcook the veggies in pan, let it be half cooked for now.

5.) Now add vegetable mixture and boiled tur dal in pressure cooker. Add 2 tbsp of Sambar powder and let it simmer for 20 - 30 mins. Adjust the consistency of Sambar with water, if you find it too thick add 1-2 cups of water accordingly. Sambhar should neither be too thick nor too runny.

3.) Add tamarind water which we got after soaking it to get that extra tangy sour taste.
5.) Serve it hot with steamed rice/idlis/dosas. Enjoy 😋.

Note -: 1.) The taste of the sambar may varies depending upon the sambar powder used.

             2.) If you want your sambar to be more sour, you can add more tamarind water & also adjust salt accordingly.

3.) You can even add 1-2 tbsp of jaggery powder if you want your sambar to be sweet and sour, I like sour taste of sambar, So didn't added.

Thank you for reading. Enjoy more recipes on my blog and please comment below each recipe for feedback/suggestions. Till then happy cooking 👍.