Sambhar

sambhar

Sambhar is a must in any South Indian family and interestingly every family has its own recipe of sambhar. It’s such a versatile dish that it goes well with idli, dosa, vada or plain boiled rice.

Recipe of sambhar

1 cup toor dal (split pigeon peas)

1 medium onion- chopped

1 medium tomato- chopped

4-5 French beans- chopped

A small chunk of bottle gourd (lauki/ ghiya) - chopped

2-3 florets of gobi (cauliflower) - chopped

2 tsp sambhar powder

1/4 cup juice of tamarind (imli)

Small piece of gur (jaggery)

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Seasoning (tadka)

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

3-4 dry red chillies

5-6 curry leaves

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

Coriander leaves- chopped

1. Place dal and vegetables in a pressure cooker with enough water and turmeric powder. Cook till 3 whistles. When pressure drops, open the lid and mash dal with the back of a ladle (karchhi).

2. Add tamarind juice, sambar powder, salt and gur. Bring to boil on a low heat. Simmer for 5 minutes.

3. For seasoning, heat ghee in a small pan and add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and dry red chillies. When they splutter, add hing and curry leaves. Add this seasoning to the dal and cover the lid so that the flavors are trapped. Garnish sambhar with coriander leaves. Enjoy hot with idli, dosa or vada.

Note- to extract the juice of tamarind, take a lemon sized ball of tamarind and soak it in hot water. Extract juice of imli by mashing it well and straining it.