South Indian Sambar is a delicious curry with softly boiled and mashed lentil and vegetables. It is a traditional South Indian dish served with rice.
Traditional South Indian Dish:
Sambar is a traditional South Indian dish that is prepared in every South Indian households regularly. It is served with rice, idli, dosa, vada, and pongal. Sambar is easy and simple to make at home.
Smart Cooking Tips:
- Add tamarind according to your taste. I love the tangy tamarind taste in the sambar.
- You can add any of your favorite vegetables like green beans, chayote squash (chow chow), carrot, spinach, and drumstick.
Homemade Sambar Powder:
Sambar powder is easily available in Indian grocery store. It is simple to make at home and home made sambar powder is so flavorful, fresh and aromatic. You can make this powder in bulk and store for up to 4 to 5 months in an airtight container.
South Indian Sambar is a delicious curry with softly boiled and mashed lentil and vegetables. It is a traditional South Indian dish served with rice.
- 1 cup Toor Dal
- 1 cup Onion Chopped
- 2 no Tomatoes
- 1 tsp Tamarind Paste or one tablespoon raw tamarind
- 15 no Okra
- 2 tbsp Sambar Powder
- 0.50 tsp Mustard Seeds
- 1 tsp Urad Dal
- 0.50 tsp Asafoetida
- 10 no Curry Leaves
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 2 no Green Chilies
- 0.50 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 2 tsp Salt (to taste)
- 1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
Rinse toor dal with water 3 to 4 times until the water runs clear.
In a pressure cooker, add toor dal, water, salt, turmeric powder and cook for 4 whistles and let the pressure cooker cool naturally. Uncover the pressure cooker and mash the dal using the back of a ladle.
In a saucepan, heat oil, add fenugreek seeds and saute until the color changes to light brown. Add mustard seeds and allow to splutter. Add urad dal and saute until the color changes to golden brown.
Add asafoetida (hing) and mix well in the oil. Add chopped onion, curry leaves, green chilies and cook until the onion becomes soft.
Add chopped okra, sprinkle little amount of water and cook until the okra becomes soft.
Add chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes become soft.
Add tamarind paste, water, mix well and bring to a boil. Add sambar powder and boil until the sambar powder loses its raw smell.
Add mashed dal, salt and mix well. Bring the sambar to a boil and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Sambar is ready to serve.
How to serve sambar?
Serve sambar with rice, idli, dosa, pongal and medu vada.