Skip to main content

Lobia Dip Recipe

Sambar Recipe | How to Make Sambhar

Sambar Recipe | How to Make Sambhar

Sambar (सांभर) is a popular, healthy and traditional lentil from South Indian cuisine that is prepared with toor dal (arhar dal), chana dal along with several vegetables. Sambhar is paired with delicious dishes like idli, dosa and vada. Sambhar is such a dish that is loved by many and made every day in South Indian homes. Now sambhar is not only popular in South India but also across India.

Sambhar is very healthy and nutritious dal. It is packed with protein of dal. Most vegetarians relies on dal for protein intake. Many vegetables are added in sambhar which gives minerals and vitamins. Hence, sambhar is rich in proteins, fibers, minerals and many other nutrients.

Sambhar is delicious and very easy to make. It requires toor dal, chana dal and vegetables like pumpkin, brinjals, drumsticks and bottle gourd (lauki). Because of vegetables it is a kind of vegetable stew. Any vegetables can be added into sambhar. The choice of vegetables is based on preference and availability. It is a wonderful dish that has several flavors in it. It has a little sour taste because of tamarind pulp. Traditional sambhar has some sweetness in it.

Sambar

Sambhar is made with a special and unique spice powder ‘sambhar masala’. This masala is a blend of many spices and lentils. Mostly this masala is prepared at home. It has the fresh aroma of roasted spices. The main flavor and aroma of sambar come from using a good and fresh sambar powder.

Sambhar can be enjoyed every time whenever you want. Apart from idli, dosa and vada, you can enjoy it with rice.


Course:  Main Course
Cuisine:  South Indian
Prep. Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time:  25 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup Toor Dal (arhar dal)
½ cup Chana Dal
½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1 medium size Brinjal, chopped
1 cup Pumpkin, chopped
1 cup Lauki (bottle gourd), chopped
1 tablespoon Seedless Tamarind
¾ teaspoon Mustard Seeds or Rye
¼ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
5-6 Curry Leaves
A small pinch of Asafoetida
1 medium Onion, chopped
2 medium size Tomatoes, pureed
1 inch Ginger, grated
¼ teaspoon Garam masala
¼ teaspoon Red chilli powder
1 teaspoon Coconut, fresh or desiccated
1 tablespoon Oil
Salt to taste

For Sambhar Masala –

1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoon chana dal
1 teaspoon urad dal
¼ teaspoon methi seeds (fenugreek seeds)
1 dry red chilli
1 teaspoon desiccated coconut

Instructions:

Soak tamarind in ½ cup water for 15 minutes. When tamarind gets soft, mash it and strain using a sieve. Keep aside the tamarind pulp.
Rinse toor dal and chana dal very well and add in a pressure cooker.


Add all chopped vegetables bottle gourd, brinjals and pumpkin into cooker.


Add turmeric powder, salt and 2 cup water.


Mix well and cover with lid.
Pressure cook for 10-12 minutes on medium flame. When the pressure settles down on its own, open the lid and check dal and vegetables that should be mushy.  Mash dal and veggies with the help of ladle.

Making Sambhar masala-

Dry roast all the ingredients till aromatic except coconut. Transfer to a plate and let them cool. Grind them with coconut to a smooth powder.

Making Sambhar-

Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Add cumin seeds, rye and asafoetida.


When they splutters, add curry leaves.


Add chopped onion and ginger. When onion becomes translucent, add tomato puree.


Sauté until oil starts to separate from sides; it takes approx. 1 to 2 minutes.
Add sambhar masala, red chilli powder and garam masala and mix well.


Add shredded coconut and mix well.


Add cooked dal along with 1 cup water. Pour water to adjust the consistency as per your choice.


Add tamarind pulp and salt as per your taste. Boil for 5-7 minutes. Turn off the flame.
Serve with idli, dosa or rice along with coconut chutney.

Tips:

  • You can use store-bought sambhar masala.
  • You can use vegetables of your choice. You may add drumstick, carrot, beans or okra.
  • You can use any type of oil. You may use ghee to give more flavor. In Kerala, coconut oil is used and in Tamilnadu, sesame oil is used.
  • For idli and dosa, sambhar has thin pouring consistency but for rice, thick consistency is needed.
  • Rye and curry leaves are must to give a unique flavor to sambhar. Do not skip them.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sabut Masoor Ki Dal | Whole Masoor Dal

Sabut Masoor Dal (Whole brown lentil) is a popular dal variety of Indian cuisine. This whole lentil curry is delicious, flavorful and easy to make. Sabut Masoor have a brown- black skin leading to this dal popularly being known as kaali dal. This is one of the healthiest and classic dal of main course as considered as a good source of protein and has a high nutrition profile. This is one of my favourite dal. This Dal is usually has a medium to thick consistency and it gets even thicker and creamier as it cools down. Whole lentils have high fibres and take too much time to cook so soak them for 30 minutes before cooking and then cook in a pressure cooker. Then you can temper this with onion tomato or only heeng jeera. You can give some flavor by adding garam masala and amchoor powder that you prefer. Serve this dal with steamed or jeera rice with roti. Masoor dal gives a great taste with rice. Course : Main course Cuisine : North Indian Prep Time : 5 minutes Cook Time : 30...

Green Coriander Chutney

Green Coriander Chutney (Cilantro Chutney) or Hari Chutney is simple, healthy and tasty recipe. This Hare Dhaniye ki Chutney is a basic recipe of Indian dip or sauces which is made by coriander leaves, green chillies and basic spices. This is served with snacks, sandwiches and chaat. There are lots of variants of green chutney but here we made a simple hare dhaniye ki chutney. Ingredients: 1 cup coriander leaves 3 inch ginger 3 green chilli ½ tsp cumin (jeera) ½ tsp coriander powder 1 tsp chaat masala ¼ tsp black salt ½ tsp salt 1 tsp amchoor powder a pinch of hing / asafoetida ½ cup water  Instructions: Take fresh bunch of coriander leaves. Pluck them and rinse them in lots of water to remove any dust or dirt. Roughly chop them. Wash ginger and peel skin. Chop into pieces. Put coriander leaves and ginger in a blender. Add all spices and water into bl...

Paneer bhurji pocket paratha

Paneer bhurji lifafa paratha Paneer bhurji pocket paratha is a delicious, kid’s friendly and tempting enveloped shaped paratha. Pocket paratha or lifafa paratha literally means an envelope that gives an amazing look to a simple whole wheat paratha. This pocket paratha is made by folding the chapatti dough in the shape of envelope with paneer bhurji stuffing inside it. Pocket paratha can be stuffed with any other veggies but paneer is a most popular stuffing. Paneer Bhurji is a delicious and quick North Indian recipe made with crumbled paneer. To make this recipe paneer is sautéed with onion, tomato and spices. Then it is stuffed into paratha. To make soft paratha, use ghee to knead the dough. Fry this paratha into ghee to get a rich aroma. If you are bored with simple stuffed paratha, cook this bhurji stuffed paratha. It is loved by all groups either elder or kids. It does not take much time to prepare. Stuffing parathas with a variety of healthy and delicious fillings is an excellent ...

Gajar ka Achar

Gajar ka achar (Carrot Pickle) is a spicy, tangy condiment which is prepared with red carrots and spices in winter season. This can be served with parathas, dal or rice. This is an instant version of pickles. Canned or packed pickles have many preservatives so prepare them at home. This is really easy to make. This pickle stays good for about 4 -6 weeks if handled with moist free spoon. There are so many varieties of this pickle. You may add many kinds of vegetables like cauliflower, ginger, radish (mooli), turnip (Shalgam) or green chillies. Ingredients: 3 gajar (Carrots) 1 tablespoon Mustard oil 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder 1 teaspoon Salt 1/2 teaspoon Haldi (Turmeric Powder) 1 teaspoon Saunf (Fennel Seeds) 1 teaspoon Sarson (Mustard Seeds) Instructions: 1. Wash and peel the carrots. Chop them into 1 and ½ inch long pieces. Dry them for 2-3 hours on a kitchen linen in direct sunlight or leave for overnight. There should be no moisture on them. 2. Grind must...

Sabudana Uttapam

Sabudana Uttapam | Sabudana Appe  Sabudana uttapam and appe both are delicious and tempting recipes prepared using sabudana (sago) and sama ke chawal (samak rice) or ‘Barnyard millet’. These can be taken as a snack or for fasting days. This is a no onion no garlic recipe. Both recipes are prepared using one batter. You can easily cook two different dishes within minutes. Batter is made with sabudana, sama rice, curd, veggies and some basic ingredients that we use for falahari foods. Sabudana and sama rice are soaked and then grinded to make a smooth paste. We can make uttapam, idli, chilla or appe from this batter. The cooking method is similar to normal uttapam.  There are so many recipes that are prepared using sabudana like sabudana vada, sabudana khichdi and sabudana kheer. These recipes are traditional and very popular in western India. But this recipe is a different and delectable with some tanginess and spicy flavor. They can be served with coriander chutney or coconut ...