Sambar is a South Indian lentil and vegetable soup made with pigeon pea lentils, tamarind and a unique spice blend called sambar powder. Sambar powder can be made at home, but you can find readymade sambar masala from different brands.
Sambar goes well with white rice, idli, dosa, medu vada, or uttapam.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup toor dal (pigeon pea lentils)
- Lemon sized tamarind or 2 tbsp tamarind paste
- Jaggery as per taste
- Salt
- Oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp hing
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 3-4 tbsp sambar powder (I used MTR sambar masala)
- 7-8 curry leaves
- 2 tomatoes
- 2-3 dried red chilies
- 1/3 cup onion slices or baby onions
- 2-3 cups of cut veggies of your choice: carrots, potatoes, green beans, snake gourd, egg plant etc
- Drum sticks, okra and bottle gourd are commonly added to sambar
Method:
- Wash toor dal, add 1:2 water, turmeric powder to it
- Pressure cook it
- Once cooked and cooled down, mash it with a spoon or whisk and keep it aside
- Take a pot, add oil to it and heat it
- Add mustard and cumin seeds and let them crackle
- Add hing, dried red chilies and curry leaves
- Then add onions and saute until they turn pink
- Add all cut veggies
- Add salt and turmeric powder and mix well
- Cover it and on medium heat let them cook for 2-3 minutes
- Then add tomato pieces, mix and continue cooking
- After another 2-3 minutes, add water to it and continue cooking until all veggies cook well
- Add tamarind pulp and sambar masala to cooked veggies
- If you like, add jaggery to it at this point and mix well
- Lastly, add cooked toor dal, adjust water, add salt
- Let this whole mixture cook until all ingredients blend well and it starts boiling
- Garnish with cilantro if you want
- Turn off the stove and enjoy sambar! Some people add tempering to it at the end.
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