Sambar is a core of South Indian cuisine. It goes well with multiple dishes and a good Sambar can make or break the meal you are having. I love eating mix vegetable Sambar with my Idlis, Dosas, Rice, and Ragi Mudde. I also very well pair it with Upma and Vermicelli Upma.

CHOICE OF VEGGIES:

I use all the types of veggies in my refrigerator for sambar. You can actually a lot of veggies in Sambar, I can add whatever is available. Here’s the list of veggies that go really well in Sambar – onions, carrot, pumpkin, bottle gourd, brinjal, beans, raw banana, radish, ridged gourd (tori), apple gourd (tinda), drumsticks, ladyfingers, etc. People also make sambar with a single veggie like small onions, radishes, etc. Some veggies like bell pepper,  beetroot, etc. don’t go well in Sambar. Also, if you add ladyfingers, don’t add them while boiling the dal because it will turn the whole mix sticky. Add ladyfingers once the dal is cooked and let it simmer for a few minutes until the pieces are cooked.

PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes
COOKING TIME: 30 minutes
SERVINGS: 1 bowl
DIFFICULTY SCALE: Medium

INGREDIENTS:

  1. Toor Dal – 1 cup
  2. Brinjal – 1
  3. Pumpkin – 1/2 cup
  4. Carrot – 1
  5. Beans – 10-12
  6. Bottle Gourd / Lauki – 1/2 cup
  7. Raw Banana – 1
  8. Drumsticks – 1
  9. Onion – 1, medium
  10. Tomatoes – 2, large
  11. Tamarind – small piece (of a small lemon)
  12. Curry Leaves – 10-12
  13. Coconut oil – 2 tablespoon
  14. Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon
  15. Sambar powder – 1 teaspoon
  16. Coriander powder – 1 tablespoon
  17. Dry red chilies – 2-3
  18. Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon
  19. Salt – 1 tablespoon

UTENSILS/EQUIPMENT:

  1. Pressure Cooker
  2. Cooking pan
  3. Grinder

RECIPE:

Boiling the dal and veggies –
  1. Wash and soak Toor dal for 15-20 minutes before cooking it.
  2. Add the soaked Toor dal in the pressure cooker along with 3-4 cups of water. Add salt and turmeric powder in the pressure cooker
  3. Now roughly chop all the veggies and add them to the cooker and close the lid and place it on high heat.
  4. We need to place it on high heat until you hear a whistle and then keep in low heat for another 12-15 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat and let the steam release.
For the tempering/tadka –

6. Soak the tamarind piece in hot water for 10-15 minutes.
7. Take a pan and add coconut oil to it. Add some mustard seeds and dried red chillies.
8. Finely chop an onion and add it to the pan along with the curry leaves.

Add onion and curry leaves to the tempering
Add onion and curry leaves to the tempering

9. While the onions are caramelizing, add 2 tomatoes in a blender and grind them to a smooth paste.
10. Add the tomato paste to the pan once the onions start turning brown.
11. Cook the tomato paste until it starts leaving the sides of the pan.
12. Strain the tamarind pulp with a sieve and add it to the pan. Cook until it boils properly and turns thick.
13. Mix coriander powder and sambhar powder.
14. Add this tempering to the boiled veggies and dal mix and give it one final boil.

Serve this Mix vegetable Sambar hot with hot ragi idlis, dosa or rice.

South Indian Style Sambar
South Indian Style Sambar