Sambar

Sambar is a delicious South Indian dish that goes along well with South Indian snack items like Idli, Dosa etc. as well as with rice. It tastes best when served hot. The addition of vegetables to it makes the dish a healthy one. Let us have a look at its recipe.

Ingredients (5-6 Servings) :

Tur Dal - 1/3rd cup
Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp
Fenugreek (Methi) Seeds - 1 tsp
Chana Dal - 1 tsp
Rice - 1 tbsp
Asafetida - 2-3 pinches
Cloves (Laung) - 2
Green Cardamom (Chhoti Elaichi) - 1
Ginger Paste - 1 tsp
Garlic - 5-6 Cloves
Coconut - 3 inch piece
Curry Leaves - 3 stems
Kashmiri chillies - 5-6
Powdered Spices - Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp, Kashmiri Chilli powder - 1 tsp, Dhanajeera powder - 1 tsp
Onion - 1
Green chillies - 2
Bottle Gourd - 1/4th - 1/2
Pumpkin - 100 g
Drumstick - 1
Tomato - 1
Salt to taste.
Tamarind - 2-3
Jaggery - 2-3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
Oil for frying

Method :

Soak tur dal in 1 cup water for an hour.
To make sambar masala, add 2-3 tbsp oil in a non-stick utensil, heat it a bit and add cumin seeds, methi seeds, chana dal, rice, asafetida, cloves, green cardamom, ginger paste, garlic, roughly sliced coconut and 2 stems curry leaves, and fry them on low flame for 2-3 minutes.
Now add 4-5 Kashmiri chillies and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add Turmeric powder, Kashmiri chilli powder, Dhanajeera powder, roughly sliced onion and fry them for 2-3 minutes.
Turn off the stove and let it cool.
Now, add it to the mixer and make a smooth paste by adding a little water to it.
Heat 3-4 tbsp oil in a cooker and add finely chopped green chillies, bottle gourd, pumpkin, drumstick chopped into pieces, finely chopped tomato and salt and let it fry for 2-3 minutes.
Now, add the ground paste to it and let it fry for a minute.
Add the soaked tur dal to it and mix well.
Add 2-2 and a 1/2 glasses of water to it, mix well and give it a boil.
Pressure cook it for 4 whistles and 20 minutes on low flame.
In the meanwhile, add tamarind to a cup of water and soak it for 15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind thoroughly into the water and throw away the seeds.
Once the pressure from the cooker is released, add jaggery and tamarind water to it and mix well.
In a small utensil, add 2 tbsp oil, let it heat, add mustard seeds, let them splutter, add 1 Kashmiri chilli broken into small pieces and 1 stem curry leaves to it. Fry it for half a minute and add it to the sambar, mix well and bring it to a boil. Now, you can turn off the stove.