SAMBAR RECIPE

Sambar, also spelled sambaar is a lentil-based vegetable stew, cooked with tamarind broth, originating from Maharashtra. It is popular in South Indian and Sri Lankan cuisines.

History:

Legend states that sambar was first prepared in the Thanjavur kitchen of a Marathi King known as “Shahaji Bhonsale”, son of Ekoji, and founder of the Marathi rule of Thanjavur. On one particular occasion, Shahaji who used to enjoy cooking a bit was trying to prepare amti (A Maharashtrians dish), which included kokum as it’s main ingredient. But, during that moment, kokum was out of supply. So, in replacement of kokum, the cooks or Shahaji himself decided to experiment by replacing kokum with tamarind. In this scenario, the dish known as amti was prepared using vegetables, lentils, and tamarind. It was then first served to Shivaji’s son “Sambhaji” who had come in Tamil Nadu, Thanjavur to meet his relative “Shahaji Maharaj”. The dish was loved by Sambhaji and thus it became popular that way. The experimentation turned out to be good and everybody liked it so much, that the dish was named as “Sambar” after Sambhaji’s name.

Preparation:

Sambar is made either exclusively with any one of these (okra, moringa, carrot, radish, pumpkin, potato, tomato, brinjal, whole or halved shallots or onions) vegetables or a combination of them. The vegetables, tamarind pulp, sambar powder (a coarse spice mix, made of roasted lentils, dried whole red chilies, fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds and sometimes asafoetida and curry leaves, cumin, black pepper, grated coconut, cinnamon, or other spices), turmeric, salt, and asafoetida are boiled together until the vegetables are half-cooked. Then the cooked lentils (most often the split pigeon pea) are added and allowed to cook until the vegetables are done. A spice-scented oil is added to the cooked sambar for extra flavor and tempering, and the dish is served garnished with fresh coriander leaves or curry leaves.

Variations:

Sambar is reflective of a broad and ancient tradition of lentil-based vegetable stews in southern India. 

In regions that grow coconuts, notably some areas of Tamil Nadu, coastal Karnataka and Kerala, Sambar is made with a paste of fresh, grated and roasted coconuts and spices, instead of sambar powder.

In Andhra Pradesh, it is called as Pappu chaaru. Apart from dal and tamarind, vegetables used in preparing is few.

Sambar without lentils (but with vegetables, or dried or fresh fish, or meat) is called kuzhambu in Tamil Nadu.

Some foreign restaurants describe Sambar as lentil soup.

Depending upon the type of vegetables used there are a number of varieties of samber are available. Some of the varieties are:

• Ladiesfinger samabar
• Brinjal sambar
• Potato, tomato and carrot sambar
• Carrot and beans sambar
• Arachuvitta sambar
• Udupi sambar
• Varutharacha sambar
• Andhra sambar
• Tiffin sambar
• Bitter gourd pitlai
• Sambar for idly/dosa/pongal
• Mango Sambar
• Mixed Vegetable Sambar
• Vendhaya Keerai sambar (methi sambar)
• Brinjal Sambar
• Onion Arachu vitta Sambar
• Drumstick Sambar Iyer style (without onions)
• Pasi Paruppu Sambar (tiffin sambar)
• No Onion No garlic Carrot Sambar
• Keerai Thandu Sambar
• Mor Sambar/Curd Sambar

Serving:

The dish is a part of all major feasts in South India. Sambar is usually served with steamed rice as one of the main courses of both formal and everyday south Indian cuisine. It is also served with vada or idli or dosa for breakfast or an evening snack, not only in the south Indian states, but also all over India.

The preparation of this dish requires very less oil and the combination of different vegetables, lentils & spices makes it a nutritious and delicious accompaniment.

INGREDIENTS:

For Dal

• Toor Dal - 1/2 cup (100g appx)
• Water - 2 cups (or as needed)
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

For Veggies

• Drumsticks - 2 nos scraped & chopped into 3 to 4 inch stick
• Vegetables - 1 - 1.5 cups cleaned & chopped
• Onion - 1, diced
• Shallots (small onions) - 10, diced
• Tomato - 1, diced
• Salt - As per taste
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Water - 1 cup

For Sambar Masala

• Oil - 2 tsp
• Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Black pepper corn - 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds -1/4 tsp
• Chana dal - 2 tbsp
• Urad dal - 1 tbsp
• Curry leaves - 1 spring
• Dry red chillies - 3 to 4 nos
• Asafoetida (hing) - 1/4 tsp
• Coconut - 3 tbsp, grated 
• Jaggery - 1½ tsp
• Tamarind - lemon size

Other ingredients

• Salt as per taste
• Coriander leaves, chopped
• Ghee - 1 tbsp

For Tempering

• Oil - 1 tsp
• Black mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - 2 springs
• Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

PROCEDURE:

For Dal

1. Rinse ½ a cup of toor dal a couple of times in water. Drain out all the water and soak in 2 cups of water for 20 minutes. 
2. Pressure cook the dal with the water and turmeric powder for 6 whistles in medium flame. 
3. Remove from heat and when the pressure settles down on its own, use the back of a spoon or wired whisk to mash the dal. Set aside.

For Veggies

1. In another cooker add in the drumsticks, chopped vegetables, diced onion, diced shallots (small onion) and tomatoes. 
2. Add 1 cup of water, salt, kashmiri red chili powder and turmeric powder. Cook for 4 whistles or till vegetables cooked properly. Adding kashmiri red chilli powder is optional and can be skipped.
3. Remove from heat and wait for the pressure to settle down. Set aside.

For Sambar Masala

1. Heat oil in a pan and add in the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, pepper, fenugreek seeds, chana dal, urad dal. Fry for a minute. 
2. Once the chana dal is brown, add in the curry leaves, dry red chillies, asafoetida, coconut, jaggery and the tamarind. Fry for 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
3. Grind the mixture with half a cup of water to a slightly coarse paste. Set aside.

For the Sambar

1. Take a heavy bottomed pan and add in the ground masala and one cup of water. Let it come to a boil on medium flame. 
2. Once its boiling, add in the cooked vegetables along with the water used for cooking. Add in the salt. 
3. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes on medium flame. 
4. Add in the cooked dal and let it continue to boil for 2-3 minutes.

For Tempering

1. Heat oil in a kadai / tadka pan and add in the mustard seeds.
2. Add in the curry leaves and switch off the flame. 
3. Add in red chilli powder and immediately pour it on the sambar. 
4. Cover the pan with its lid for 4 - 5 minutes to let the aroma & flavour from the tempering get infused with the sambar.
5. Add in the coriander leaves and a tablespoon of ghee for garnishing and serve hot along with steamed rice, idli, vada, uttapam or dosa.

Note:

• You can make use of vegetables like brinjal, french beans, ash gourd, raddish, amaranth leaves, carrots, spinach, pumpkin, lady finger, sweet potato or any other vegetable of your liking. They help in increasing the nutrient quotient and enhance the flavour of the Sambar.
• Adding pumpkin lends a unique sweet flavor and thickens the sambar.
• Instead of only toor dal, mixture of toor and masoor dal or toor and moong dal can be used.
• The taste and aroma of sambar depends upon the sambar masala used. Sambar masala can be prepared in powdered form without adding water and can be stored for further use.
• While we have cooked vegetables separately in the above recipe, you can also add mixed vegetables with the dal and cook the sambar by adding ground masala & tadka to it for a quick one pot recipe.
• The oil used for tempering the Sambar varies from region to region. Authentic South Indian homemade Sambar makes use of ghee while sambar recipe in Tamil Nadu makes use of sesame oil and Kerala uses coconut oil
• Pressure cooking the dals is the easiest way to cook it but, you can even cook them directly on the stove top.
• By adding more or less water, you can change the consistency of sambar.
• If you find the taste of sambar more sour, you can always balance the taste by adding extra jaggery.