Sambar Recipe | Authentic South Indian Sambar Recipe

For making sambar, you have to start by cooking dal. I used toor dal in this recipe. But you can use half toor dal and half yellow moong dal. Wash toor dal in several changes of water. Take washed dal in a pressure cooker and cover with water. Add some turmeric powder and pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistle. Let the pressure release by itself. Open the cooker and mash the dal slightly using back of a spoon and set aside.

Heat ghee or oil in a pot. Add in chopped onions, tomatoes and slit green chillies. You can add peeled whole shallots of taste and texture. Saute the onions and tomatoes for 2 minutes. Add in your chopped mixed vegetables. In this recipe for sambar I used pumpkin, potato, cucumber, carrots, raw mango, beans and brinjal. You can add whatever vegetables you have or prefer. Saute the vegetables for 3 to 4 minutes till the raw smell leaves from it.

Cover the vegetables with water. You can add some salt to the vegetables. Bring it to a boil. Cover the pot with lid and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes till vegetables are almost cooked. Once vegetables are cooked, add in the cooked toor dal. Add in sambar powder, tamarind pulp, salt and jaggery and mix well. Simmer this whole thing for 10 minutes.

For tempering sambar, heat ghee or oil. Add in mustard seeds, urad dal and cumin seeds. Let them sizzle for few seconds. Add in broken dry red chillies and mix well. Add a dash of asafoetida and curry leaves in hot oil and mix well. Pour this into the sambar and mix.

Add lots of finely chopped coriander leaves into the sambar and mix well. This coriander leaves adds so much aroma to the sambar. Serve sambar with idli, dosa or rice.