This is one of Tammy's favorite Indian dishes I make and she wanted me to share the recipe with you. Most of the ingredients can be found at an Indian Market or Ethnic Market.
Sambar is a lentil based dished common in Kerala, South India. This is my comfort food that I will always cherish. Growing up, I remember my Mom making Sambar whenever they wanted to get rid of vegetables they had in their fridge. They added every vegetable imaginable from potatoes, plantain, okra, beans, celery to pumpkin, squash and eggplant. This was also their way to make my brothers and I eat our veggies. There is no wrong or right way to prepare Sambar, but I always favored my Mom’s Kerala Sambar because of its fresh authentic flavor. I think partly because most of the vegetables were grown in our backyard.
Enjoy!
-Tini Baby
What is…..?
Toor Dal – yellow pigeon peas.
Curry Leaves - The fragrant leaf of the curry-leaf tree, a plant native to India, used as a seasoning in cooking.
Chana Dal -. split Chickpeas without the seed coat.
Urad Dal - black gram/black lentil.
Asafetida - Derived from a species of giant fennel, asafetida has a unique smell and flavor.
Sambar:
Toor Dal or any kind of lentil beans - 1 cup
Tamarind Pulp- ¼ cup
Onions 2 medium sized, chopped
Tomatoes - 2 medium sized, chopped
Cauliflower – 1 cup, chopped
Carrots – 1 cup, sliced
Potatoes – 1 medium sized, peeled and diced.
Curry leaves – 5-6 individual leaves
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp chopped.
Salt – as desired
Water - 3-4 cups.
Ginger – 1 tbsp freshly chopped
Garlic – 1 tbsp freshly chopped
Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp
Mustard Seed – 1 tsp
Cumin Seed – 1 tsp
Sambar Powder – (see below for recipe) or you can buy packet in store
Sambar Powder
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp.
Chana Dal - 1 tsp
Urad Dal -1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Asafetida Powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilies - 2 to 4, according to taste
Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Methi(fenugreek) seeds - 1/4 tsp
1. Dry roast all the items separately on low flame then grind to a fine powder.
Cooking Instructions for Sambar:
1. Cook Toor Dal in 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until soft, about 15 minutes.
2. In another saucepan, mix together the tamarind pulp stir in 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables to the tamarind juice, and continue to boil until the vegetables are soft, and the liquid has reduced to almost half.
3. In a frying pan, heat oil. Add mustard and cumin seeds. When they stop crackling, add turmeric powder, curry leaves, chopped onions, garlic and ginger. Fry until golden brown.
4. Add Sambar Powder to onion mixture and mix for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir into vegetable mixture.
5. Add salt to taste and boil for another 5 minutes.
6. Top with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.
