Sambar/Vegetable Lentil Stew
Of course, a dish as popular as Sambar must have a real tall tale to showcase its mighty origin! One day, Sambaji (none other than the son of the great Maratha warrior Sivaji), who also happens to be a great cook, finds himself without his favorite ingredients in his cousin’s kingly court kitchen in Tanjore. He magically creates this world-famous dish with local ingredients and aptly names it after himself – Sambar! Whether you relegate this to the great storytelling ability of our people or assign it to historians for further research, it is in general agreed, that the origin of this dish must have been from a modest Tanjore Brahmin’s kitchen and has since spread across South India over time. In doing so, it has incorporated elements of local cuisine, such as adding coconut in Kerala or even jaggery in Karnataka. But the real credit goes to the Udupi hoteliers who popularized their version of Sambar, which is sometimes referred to as ‘Hotel Sambar.’ It is this version that has ‘traveled the world and seven seas’ to become ubiquitous in all Madrasi restaurants and kitchens alike.
When my mother heard that I am going abroad for my studies, she immediately made sure that I learned to cook Sambar, and she sent me off with a packet of Sambar powder. Ever since then, I have been evolving my Sambar recipe. Now it contains all the key elements of all the Sambar recipes that I have come across. Try it for yourself…I think you’ll really enjoy it!
It is a pure vegetarian dish and almost a vegan one but for the butter in it. You can also make this dish gluten free, if you avoid the hing. Hing in its pure form is gluten free, but many vendors add wheat flour to reduce the intensity of its flavor.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 50 minutes |
| Passive Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
people
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- 1 cup Toor dhal Yellow Lentil/Toor Dhal/Pigeon Pea
- 2 tsp Garlic and Ginger Paste Paste or diced fresh
- 3 Green chile Serrano Pepper 2 or 3 large
- 1 Onion Large. Cut into cubes of medium size.
- 6 Tomatoes Romano Tomatoes. Cut into cubes of medium size.
- 1 Daikon Radish Medium Size. Slice them into a thin round pieces
- 1 cup Tamarind Juice Instructions to make the juice given below.
- 3 tbsp Butter Unsalted/Unsweetened
- 2 tbsp Vegetable oil approx.
- 1.5 tbsp Salt approx. --add to taste
- Water
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
- 2.5 tbsp Sambar powder approx
- 1.5 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 2 tsp Urad Dhal Urad Dhal/Black Gram/white lentil
- 2 tsp Chana dhal Chana Dhal/Bengal Gram/split chickpeas
- 3 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp Hing Asafoetida Powder
- 3 Red chile Whole Dried 3 to 5 to taste
- 8 Curry leaves optional
- 1 tsp Urad Dhal Urad Dhal/Black Gram/white lentil
- 1 tsp Chana dhal Chana Dhal/Bengal Gram/split chickpeas
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds
- 3 tsp Coriander seeds
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 3 Red chile Whole Dried 3 to 5 to taste
- 3 tbsp Coconut Shredded
- 1 tsp Jaggery Optional
Ingredients
Dry Spices
For the Paste
Garnish
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- Pour the contents (except the curry leaves) of the dry spices into the Instant Pot Inner Pot (put the spices in one small area of the pan).
- Pour the vegetable oil over the spices (just enough to soak the spices plus a little more).
- Plug in the Instant Pot, press ‘sauté’ and ‘adjust’ to ensure the digital display is on ‘more.’ This is the high setting for sauté.
- When you first hear the sound of the mustard seed "popping," pour the diced green chilies, butter, and ginger/garlic paste into the pan. Add the curry leaves. Stir until the butter melts and chilies and garlic/ginger paste mixes well together.
- Adjust the ‘sauté’ temperature down if needed. Sauté for another 1 min.
- Add onions to pan. Stir occasionally until the onions are soft, just until they are translucent.
- Add salt, sambar powder, and tomatoes. Add 1 cup of water to the pan, mix them well and let them cook together. Ensure you stir periodically for uniform cooking and mixing of spices (just fold it over using a spatula). Bring it to a boil. Adjust the sauté temperature as needed.
- Turn off the Instant Pot
- Add (1 cup) Dhal to the Inner Pot, add (6 cups of) water
- On manual, under high pressure, with vent sealed, cook for 20 min. Let it cool down naturally.
- In a bowl, add the tamarind, and add a cup of water and microwave for 2 minutes. Once cool, make a puree by squeezing. Remove all pulp. Dilute the tamarind, if needed, for the right consistency and keep 1 cup of tamarind juice aside.
- Add all the ingredients (except the coconut) for the paste to a small frying pan and add 2 tsp of oil. Fry them on medium heat until the lentils become slightly brown.
- Grind the fried spices into a fine paste using a grinder and by adding enough water to achieve a paste consistency.
- Open the grinder, add the coconut and grind them together for a few seconds. Set aside the paste.
- In a small frying pan, add a bit of oil, some salt and gently sauté the cut vegetable until it is about half cooked. Add a small amount of water if necessary.
- Add the tamarind juice, and the ground paste to the pan and cook them all together until they come to a boil. Turn off the stove after it has reached a boil.
- Once the IP has cooled down, make sure there is no pressure in the cooker and that the (pressure) pin is down. Open the Cooker lid -- be careful, as the dhal will be extremely hot.
- Add the cooked ingredients to the inner pot. Add water, if needed, for consistency. Set the IP for ‘slow cook’ high for 30 minutes. Close the lid, with the vent open.
- Once done, taste and add salt if necessary. Add Jaggery (optional), if preferred.
- Add in fresh cilantro for garnish. Serve hot over rice.