How make Sambar from scratch

How to Make Sambar from Scratch With Whole Spices

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This is a recipe on how to make traditional south Indian Sambar starting with whole spices, sans ready-to-cook Sambar powder, is easy to make, and tastes even better! Make sure to have it with cooked rice, and Papad (fried rice biscuit) or even chips. Its wonderful with Idli and Dosa. With plain bread too!

Ingredients

• to make Sambar for 4 servings.
  

Vegetables

• 1 yam
  
• 1 potato
  
• half a carrot
  
• 2-3 inch piece ashgourd (kumbalanga)
  
• 1 drumstick
  
• 1 tomato
  
• any variety of suitable veggies such as pumpkin, gourds, eggplant, etc.
  
• lentils - ask for yellow Sambar lentils (dhal)
  

For the masala

• 4-5 whole red chillies
  
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
  
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
  
• 1 pinch asafoetida block
  

For the garnishing

• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
  
• 1 handful coriander leaves
  
• 3 tbsp oil. Coconut oil tastes best (or you could go with any vegetable or sunflower oil)
  

Steps

1. Take a cup of sambar dhal (lentil) add water and boil in a pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles. If you dont have a pressure cooker, boil the dhal with water in a vessel till it becomes soft and crushy.
   
2. Put a small lime sized tamarind portion in a small bowl of water.
   
3. Add 2 tbsp oil into a pan. Fry the whole red chillies, coriander (dhaniya) seeds, fenugreek (methi) seeds and asafoetida piece in this oil, until the coriander seeds become a light brown.
   
4. Grind the fried spices (masala) in a mixer-grinder with a little water till it is a fine paste.
   
5. Cut veggies (except tomato) into inch cubes (see vegetable options in Ingredients), and boil with water in a vessel along with haldi (turmeric). After 10 minutes add in salt to taste (2 tbsp of rock salt tastes best), and squeeze the tamarind water into the vessel with veggies. Throw away the tamarind rind after 2-3 such extractions. Let the mixture boil until the veggies are cooked.
   
6. Add the masala paste and cooked lentil (dhal) to the boiled vegetables, and cook to boil the Sambar. Make sure the watery content is more than the vegetables.
   
7. Heat mustard seeds in 1 tbsp oil till they splutter. Add this to the Sambar.
   
8. Garnish with chopped coriander (dhaniya) leaves.
   

Warnings

• Be careful in operating the pressure cooker! Make sure you wait awhile and remove the weight after the steam goes out completely.
  

Things You'll Need

• Pressure cooker. Or a vessel to boil lentil (dhal) in.
  
• A large vessel to make the sambar in. We use rock vessels.
  
• A pan to fry the spices in. A kerala-chinese wok made of iron is commonly used.
  

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