Sambar Recipe - South Indian lentil vegetable stew

Name: Sambar Recipe - South Indian lentil vegetable stew
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: ¾ cups Toor dal; 1–2 tbsp Tamarind; 1 tbsp Jaggery; ¾ tbsp Salt; ¼ tsp Turmeric; ½–¾ tsp Chili powder; ¼ cups Cilantro; 1 Onion, diced; 1 Tomato; 1 Carrot, diced; 1–2 Vegetable drumsticks; 2–3 Bhindi; 1 + 1–2 Chili pepper, dried; 1 tbsp Ghee; 1 sprig Curry; 1 tsp Cumin; ½ tsp Mustard seed; 1 pinch + ¼–½ tsp Fenugreek; 0.13 tsp Asafoetida; 1 tbsp Coriander seed; 1 tbsp Chana dal; 1 tsp Urad dal; 4–5 Dried chili

By Swasthi's Recipes · 45 min

Ingredients

Toor dal¾ cups
Tamarind1–2 tbsp
Jaggery1 tbsp
Salt¾ tbsp
Turmeric¼ tsp
Chili powder½–¾ tsp
Cilantro¼ cups
Onion · diced1
Tomato1
Carrot · diced1
Vegetable drumsticks1–2
Bhindi2–3
Chili pepper · dried1 + 1–2
Ghee1 tbsp
Curry1 sprig
Cumin1 tsp
Mustard seed½ tsp
Fenugreek1 pinch + ¼–½ tsp
Asafoetida0.13 tsp
Coriander seed1 tbsp
Chana dal1 tbsp
Urad dal1 tsp
Dried chili4–5

Instructions

Wash the toor dal several times until the water runs clear. Pour in 2 cups of water and pressure cook for 2 to 4 whistles, depending on your cooker. In an Instant Pot, pressure cook for 9 minutes. Without a pressure cooker, cook in a pot until soft, adding more water as needed.
Scrape and rinse the drumsticks, then cut them into 2-inch pieces. Peel and rinse the shallots. Dice the tomatoes and cut the okra into 1-inch pieces. Set all the vegetables aside.
If you are not using ready-made sambar powder, dry roast the red chilies, urad dal and chana dal until golden and crunchy. Add the coriander seeds and fry until aromatic, then transfer to a plate. Saute the methi seeds until slightly dark, then add the cumin and fry for a minute. Cool everything and grind to a fine powder.
Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a pot and saute the onions for 1 minute. Add all the vegetables and saute for 2 minutes.
Stir in the chili powder if using, then pour in 4 cups of water.
When the water turns hot, ladle ¼ cup of it into a bowl. Add the tamarind and jaggery if using, and set aside to soak.
When the vegetables are cooked al dente, add the turmeric, sambar powder and salt. Squeeze the tamarind and pour in the tamarind water, filtering it as you pour.
Cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Once the pressure releases, mash the dal smooth with a masher or ladle, then stir it into the boiling sambar.
Adjust the salt and tamarind to taste. If it is too thick, add a little hot water. Bring to a gentle boil and stir in the coriander leaves.
Heat a small pan with ghee and add the mustard seeds, cumin, methi and red chilies. When they pop, add the curry leaves. Once they crisp, add the asafoetida and pour this tempering into the simmering sambar.
To refrigerate, portion the sambar into smaller containers, cool completely and refrigerate within two hours. It keeps for about 2 to 4 days. Reheat by bringing to a boil and making a fresh tempering.

Summarized from Swasthi's Recipes's video. Watch it for the details.

Watch the recipe video Open the official recipe

More recipes with

Onion Tomato Carrot Tamarind Urad dal Okra Toor dal

Cook with what's in your fridge

Empty My Fridge shows the recipes you can make with the food you already have, and reminds you before it goes off.

Get it on Google Play Open in the web app