South Indian Sambar

Soak The Tamarind :

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

Boil The Tuvar Dal :

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.

Chop The Veggies :

Wash and clean the vegetables.

Peel of the skin from the shallots and finely chop the tomatoes.

Make The South Indian Sambar :

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.