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Sambar is a famous dish which originates from South India. It is the perfect dish for those who are big fans of Indian cuisines. The main component of it is the broth; if the broth isn’t spiced correctly and isn’t flavourful, it might ruin the whole dish. What makes this dish so fun to make is that you can add as many vegetables as you want! No one is going to stop you.
Tips in Making Sambar
When making Sambar, you can buy the sambar powder from the supermarkets instead of making it yourself. You’ll save more time by doing so. Additionally, you have to make sure that you do not overcook your vegetables. Lastly, if you’d like the dish to be completely vegan – replace the ghee with oil.
Sambar Recipe
Craving for some spicy dish? Sambar is the right dish for you! This South Indian lentil stew made with various vegetables will completely blow your mind.
Difficulty: Medium
Details
8
10 minutes
30 minutes
238 kcal
Print
Ingredients
- To pressure cook the dal:
1 cup of arhar dal/toor dal
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of turmeric powder
3 cups of water
- Tamarind juice:
1/3 cup of hot water
1 tablespoon of tamarind piece
- For cooking the vegetables:
2 teaspoons of oil
½ cup of sliced eggplant
2 chopped medium carrots
7-8 pieces of drumsticks
½ teaspoon of salt
1 chopped medium tomato
3 cups of water
2 tablespoons of sambar powder
2-3 teaspoons of powdered jaggery
½ teaspoon of Kashmiri red chilli powder (optional)
- Tampering:
1 tablespoon of ghee
¼ teaspoon of hing (asafoetida)
¾ teaspoon of mustard seeds
Chopped cilantro (to garnish)
10-15 curry leaves
Directions
- For the pressure cooker, add in the rinsed dal, turmeric powder, salt and water. Leave it to cook for 5 whistles on a medium-high flame. Then, lower it to medium-low flame and allow it to cook for another 5-6 minutes. Open the cooker once the pressure releases naturally. Using a potato masher, mash the dal lightly. Leave aside.
- For the tamarind juice, soak the tamarind piece in hot water for 15-20 minutes. Using a strainer, strain the liquid. You will then get 3-4 tablespoons of tamarind juice. Put aside.
- Next, prepare a pan. Heat the oil in the pan at medium heat. Once hot, add in the eggplant and cook for at least 2 minutes.
- After that, add in the drumsticks, carrots and salt. Cook for another 2 minutes. Put in the tomato and cook for 1 minute.
- Add 3 cups of water and stir.
- Put in the sambar powder; adjust it to taste. Add in also the jaggery powder and the tamarind juice from earlier on.
- Stir in the cooked dal. You can put in the Kashmiri red chilli powder if you’re using it.
- Carefully stir everything together. At medium heat, leave the Sambar to simmer for 5-6 minutes.
- Moving onto the tempering – heat the ghee in a pan at medium heat.
- Once heated, put in the mustard seeds and leave them to pop. Then, add the hing and curry leaves. Stir for a few seconds until the leaves turn crisp.
- Pour in the tempering over the simmering Sambar.
- Serve and enjoy!
Ways to Enjoy Sambar
To enjoy Sambar to the fullest – make sure you eat it while it’s still hot. Eat it together with rice, dosa or idli! We can assure that your jaw will drop as soon as you take a bite.
For more recipes on tasty dishes, explore Lokataste Recipe!
