South Indian Sambar Recipe
An Insight On Sambar :
South Indian Sambar is an authentic recipe from the South Indian cuisine and it is made of tuvar dhal mixed up with some vegetables, spices and tamarind pulp.
The origin of Sambar is quite interesting and was invented by the Maratha ruler Shambhaji at Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, who accidentally made it when trying to prepare dhal. Thus, it was named after the ruler Sambhaji in the 17th century and claims to be the marvellous Tamil dish of Maharashtrians.
There are roughly around fifty varieties of Sambar in South India and each one vary from one another in ingredients, combination and style. For example, in Tamil Nadu they use dry Sambar powder whereas in Karnataka they prepare wet spicy paste for Sambar. Similarly, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka widely use local vegetables like radish, lady’s finger, drumstick and brinjal. On the other hand, Kerala uses beans, carrot, potato and turnip for Sambar recipe. Thus, South Indian Sambar is a versatile dish that adapts itself to quite a lot of changes and variations while retaining its authenticity in its original form.
Almost all Indian vegetables are suitable to be added in Sambar except a few. Each one has its own flavour and taste. The secret of Sambar lies in the exotic Sambar podi that is mixed in the Sambar and it is made exclusively by making a smooth powder out of lentils and some Indian condiments. It varies from region to region but the basic recipe remains the same. Almost every Indian house hold prepares this Sambar podi in bulk and store for months as it is also used as a multipurpose powder.
Sambar is known worldwide for its unique aroma and you have exclusive Indian restaurants in many countries that offer typical Sambar. It is usually served with rice, Idli, dosa, upma, kuzhi paniyaram, medu vada and ven pongal.
In India, South Indian Sambar is popular throughout the country and you get it everywhere right from top restaurants to small hotels. It is the main dish of South India, wherein people have it as accompaniment for breakfast, dinner and as the main dish for lunch too. Therefore, South Indian Sambar is an indispensable dish in the Indian menu.
An Indian marriage or function is incomplete without a grand lunch and the highlight of any vegetarian lunch is South Indian Sambar. Indians just love to have it with hot raw rice or steamed rice with a smear of ghee all over and with a vegetable fry and appalam. Similarly, of all the Indian breakfasts, idli Sambar is the unanimous choice of most of the people in and around the country. Next choice is the dosa with Sambar. Thus, South Indian Sambar is a famous traditional recipe from the Tamil Nadu cuisine.
Though there are a variety of South Indian Sambar, first let us see the basic plain South Indian Sambar. Here, I have given you the method of preparing it easily with available ingredients at home.
Ingredients Required To Make South Indian Sambar Recipe :
How To Make South Indian Sambar :
Take a tablespoon of tamarind pulp and soak it in hot water.
After a while, squeeze it twice or thrice and collect the tamarind water in a bowl and throw away the waste
Take a cup of tuvar dhal in a vessel and wash it twice.
Strain the water and add two and a half cups of fresh water and pressure cook for three to four whistles
When the tuvar dhal is ready, mash it well using a masher and keep it aside.
Wash and clean the vegetables.
Peel of the skin from the shallots and finely chop the tomatoes.
Place a thick bottomed sauce pan in the stove and keep it in high flame.
Pour in a tablespoon of sesame oil and when it is heated just add a teaspoon of mustard seeds to it.
When it starts spluttering, tip in a teaspoon of cumin seeds, and half a teaspoon of methi seeds to it.
Then drop half a teaspoon of urad dhal and chana dhal each
At last, add a bit of hing and a few curry leaves and simmer the flame.
Let it crackle too.
At this stage, add the shallots and stir well.
When it becomes translucent, add the finely chopped tomatoes and mix well.
When it softens after a while, add the mashed dhal to it.
Then blend in two teaspoons of Sambar powder along with half a teaspoon of turmeric powder.
Sprinkle the required salt to it.
Mix everything well and change the flame to medium mode.
Let it cook for five minutes.
At last, add the tamarind water and stir in.
Add a little more water to get the desired consistency and mix up everything well.
Let it cook for five to ten minutes approximately.
Finally, change the flame to high mode and let the South Indian Sambar come to a boil.
After two to three minutes toss some coriander leaves all over the Sambar and turn off the stove.
Now the delicious plain South Indian Sambar is ready to eat.
Serve it hot with any variety of rice, with rasam, poriyal, curd and kootu.
Or serve it with Idli or dosa with coconut chutney, onion chutney and podi.
Points To Remember To Make South Indian Sambar Recipe :
- Always cook the tuvar dhal for three to four whistles as the sambar will come perfect only if it is cooked well (soft and mushy).
- Refer to my blog for typical sambar powder
- You can also use normal onion for making this South Indian Sambar, but shallots gives an exclusive taste and flavour to the dish.
- Curry leaves and coriander leaves are the two key ingredients which add flavour to the South Indian Sambar and therefore use fresh leaves to make it more palatable.
- I have added solid asafoetida piece instead of hing powder because certain dishes become aromatic by adding this solid hing and one such dish is this South Indian Sambar.
- Always soak the tamarind in hot water to get more pulp.
- Instead of sesame oil, you can also use groundnut oil or sun flower oil.
- In case, if you want the Sambar to be more flavourful, you can add a little jaggery at the end.
- As much as possible serve it hot to relish the ultimate flavour.
- Tempering is yet another crucial step in Indian cooking, and therefore temper it once again with condiments like mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves in a little ghee just before serving to make it more delightful.
Ingredients
Directions
Take a tablespoon of tamarind pulp and soak it in hot water.
After a while, squeeze it twice or thrice and collect the tamarind water in a bowl and throw away the waste
Take a cup of tuvar dhal in a vessel and wash it twice.
Strain the water and add two and a half cups of fresh water and pressure cook for three to four whistles
When the tuvar dhal is ready, mash it well using a masher and keep it aside.
Wash and clean the vegetables.
Peel of the skin from the shallots and finely chop the tomatoes.
Place a thick bottomed sauce pan in the stove and keep it in high flame.
Pour in a tablespoon of sesame oil and when it is heated just add a teaspoon of mustard seeds to it.
When it starts spluttering, tip in a teaspoon of cumin seeds, and half a teaspoon of methi seeds to it.
Then drop half a teaspoon of urad dhal and chana dhal each
At last, add a bit of hing and a few curry leaves and simmer the flame.
Let it crackle too.
At this stage, add the shallots and stir well.
When it becomes translucent, add the finely chopped tomatoes and mix well.
When it softens after a while, add the mashed dhal to it.
Then blend in two teaspoons of Sambar powder along with half a teaspoon of turmeric powder.
Sprinkle the required salt to it.
Mix everything well and change the flame to medium mode.
Let it cook for five minutes.
At last, add the tamarind water and stir in.
Add a little more water to get the desired consistency and mix up everything well.
Let it cook for five to ten minutes approximately.
Finally, change the flame to high mode and let the South Indian Sambar come to a boil.
After two to three minutes toss some coriander leaves all over the Sambar and turn off the stove.
Now the delicious plain South Indian Sambar is ready to eat.
Serve it hot with any variety of rice, with rasam, poriyal, curd and kootu.
Or serve it with Idli or dosa with coconut chutney, onion chutney and podi.
