Sambar is a traditional South Indian lentil dish similar to a stew. It is made with Toovar dal, and a mix of vegetables with a unique spice blend called sambar powder. It is tempered with some whole spices, curry leaves and dried red chilies. It is an accompaniment to many other dishes like Dosa, Idli, Uthappam to name a few.
A good tasting Sambar is very important component to any South Indian dish or meal. It should be flavorsome and hearty in taste.
Sambar is a South Indian spicy lentil and vegetable stew. Sambar recipe usually can have 2 or more vegetables, and you can customize based on your family preference.
Lot of people make their own Sambar powder or spice blend at home; I prefer to use store-bought one most day. It gives that perfect taste every time. This recipe includes store-bought one, honestly it saves time and efforts with same flavors.
While My recipe uses one pot method once the lentils are boiled. There are many ways you can make it, boil the lentils, cook veggies, ad boiled lentils and then do a tadka. I find it a little time consuming, so once lentils are boiled separately; I like to make everything in one pot.
My favorite veggies to add in Sambar are drumstick, pumpkin or squash, carrots, shallots or pearl onions.
I grew up eating Kerala style Sambar but as I grew older, I realized there are so many ways it can prepared based on different family recipes, different ethnic groups within South India. So, you will never find exact same taste. Even the vegetables used could be very different.
Ingredients needed to make a good tasting Sambar
Toor Dal or Toovar Dal: It’s also known as pigeon peas in English. It is dried yellow looking lentil, split in half. It is very important to use this dal.
Veggies: You can add so many different vegetables. I have used shallots, drumstick or moringa, squash, carrots. Extra veggies you can add – Okra, Eggplant, potatoes, French bean, pumpkin.
Spices: Sambar powder is a must. I use MTR brand Sambar masala. Other spices used are turmeric, red chili powder, salt
Few other important ingredients: tamarind water, it gives it a nice tangy taste and very important to round up flavors in my opinion.
Tempering spices like mustard seeds, dry red chili, and curry leaves are also important.
How is it prepared:
Boil dal in pressure cooker (easiest and quickest method) or you can cook it in the Instant pot or regular pot too. It just takes some extra time. However, you decide to cook make sure the lentils are cooked thoroughly and mushy. I personally like to use hand blender to mush the lentils once they are boiled and cooled down. That gives a very smooth Sambar.
In a deep pot, start with tempering, then followed by cooking all vegetables one by one depending on their thickness.
Then I add boiled lentils, followed by spices. Let it simmer until it smells amazing and has good consistency.
At times, I add some finely ground coconut as well. Just a small amount gives a nice flavor. Enjoy it with Utappam.
Storage:
Leftover Sambar should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It will thicken as it sits, you can always add some water to adjust for consistency.
Sambar
Ingredients
- ½ cup Toor Dal, boiled and mashed
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp Hing/Asafoetida
- 5-6 Curry leaves
- 2 Dry Red chilies whole
- 1/2 cup Onions/shallots chopped medium
- 1/2 Tomato
- 1/2 cup Dudhi chopped medium
- 1 Drumsticks 4 pieces
- 1 Carrots chopped medium
- 1 small Eggplant chopped medium, optional
- 1 tbsp Tamarind pulp if you use paste, use half
- 2 tbsp shredded fresh Coconut
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Red chili powder
- 2 tbsp Sambar powder
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Prep Work
- Prep: Wash lentils with water and soak them for few hours before boiling them. Boil them in fresh water. Discard the water it was soaked in.
- Chop vegetables in medium big chunks. Not too big, nor too small.
- Take lentils with 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker on medium heat. Boil it for 6-7 whistles. Let the pressure cooker cool down. Mash the dal with either a hand blender or with a whisk. It should look like a puree.
Cook the Sambar
- In a deep pot, on medium high heat add some oil. Let the oil heat up; add mustard seeds and let them crackle. As soon as it crackles, add asafoetida, curry leaves and dried red chilies.
- Add all the vegetables and cook them until they are slightly soft. Some vegetables will need more time, so I prefer to add them first and then add the rest that needs less time. Once the veggies look cooked, they should still have a bite and texture.
- Add spices like turmeric, red chili powder, salt, followed by Sambar powder. Give it a stir. Spices should not burn, if so, you can add some water.
- Add mashed lentils or dal. Add tamarind pulp.
- Add some water about 1 cup to adjust the consistency. Sambar is usually thick consistency or slightly thin based on personal preference. But it is not extremely runny consistency. Let it simmer for few minutes and it's ready.
- Serve it warm or piping hot with some idlis, dosa or Uthappam or Paniyaram. Sambar can be enjoyed with rice too.
Notes
- Boil dal until its mushy and make sure mash it.
- I use frozen drumsticks aka moringa. It does not need to be cooked. It gets cooked in the hot sambar.
- Do not overcook the vegetables.
- If Sambar turns out to be too tangy or spicy, add a tsp of jaggery or sugar to balance out. I do not add any sweetener.
- If you have gluten tolerance, then avoid asafoetida.
