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Chennai sambar

Sambar is a lentil based vegetable stew cooked with tamarind pulp. It is popular in South Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil cuisines. A typical south Indian sambar recipe calls for lot of vegetables like pumpkin, bottle gourd, drumstick, okra, onions and tomatoes. This is the most important dish in southern states of India and the meal is not complete without sambar. The recipe shared here is my mom’s recipe. It makes for a great side dish to pair with breakfast or a meal. In this recipe, I have used ready made sambar powder which is available in any grocery shop or super market.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Cuisine: Indian
Calories: 1234
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • ¾ cup split yellow lentils
  • 1 cup cut vegetables of your choice as mentioned in the brief
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • 6 to 7 curry leaves
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 pinches asafetida
  • ½ cup chopped tomatoes
  • 1 medium size onion cut into big pieces
  • 2 Tbsp tamarind pulp
  • 3 Tbsp sambar powder
  • Pinch of turmeric powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 Tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Method
 

  1. Wash the lentils and cook in pressure cooker by adding 2 cups of water.
  2. When done remove from the cooker and blend the cooked lentils using a hand blender till it is smooth and keep aside.
  3. Cook the vegetables in a deep bottomed pan with one cup of water on a medium flame till the vegetables are soft. Remove from the pan and keep aside.
  4. Heat oil in the same pan, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafetida and sauté for few seconds.
  5. Add the tomatoes, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 2 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
  6. Add the cooked vegetables, cooked dal, tamarind pulp, turmeric powder, onions, salt and ¾ cup of water and cook on a medium flame for 5 minutes.
  7. Add coriander, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 2 minutes.
  8. Serve hot with steamed rice or breakfast items like idly, dosa or vada.