Sambar
 
 
Flavor packed hearty & healthy South Indian lentil based curry stew filled with vegetables. It's mildly spicy and a tad sour from the tamarind & tomatoes.
Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Malaysian
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • Sambar powder (Makes ½ cup)
  • ¼ cup coriander
  • 1 tbs chana dal (split chickpeas)
  • 1 tbs toor dal (split yellow pigeon peas)
  • 1 tbs urad dal (split black gram)
  • 1 tbs cumin
  • 1½ tsp black pepper
  • 1½ tsp turmeric
  • ¾ tsp mustard seed
  • ¾ tsp fenugreek
  • 10 dried curry leaves or 1 sprig fresh curry leaves
  • Toor Dal
  • 1 cup toor dal, washed thoroughly
  • 3½ cups water
  • 3 garlic cloves, sliced
  • ¼ tsp ground turmeric
  • 2 small Chinese eggplants, cut into bite size
  • 2 tbs ghee or oil
  • 1 large onion, cut into squares
  • 2 medium carrots, sliced
  • 3 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
  • 5 fresh Korean green chilies, chopped
  • 2 small russet potatoes, cubed
  • ¼ cup sambar powder (from above)
  • 4 cups water
  • 2-3 tbs tamarind pulp/paste
  • Salt to taste
  • To temper
  • 1 tbs oil
  • 1½ tsp mustard seed
  • 20 dried curry leaves or 2 sprig fresh curry leaves
  • 5 small whole dried chilies
  • 1 tsp onion powder
Directions
Sambar Powder
  1. Add all the ingredients for the sambar powder in a blender or spice grinder and blend until becomes fine powder. You will only use half the amount for this recipe. Store the remaining in an airtight container for future use.
Toor Dal
  1. Soak the toor dal in 4 cups water for 2 hours or more (the longer it soaks, the faster it cooks.). Drain and add dal into a large saucepan along with 3½ cups water, garlic and turmeric. Over medium high heat, bring the liquid to a boil. Skim the scum on the surface.
  2. Cover and simmer on medium low for 30 minutes or until soft to your liking. (I like mine semi soft with some bits mushy and others with a bite still). Roughly mash the dal. If the dal isn't soft enough and there isn't much water left, add hot water ¼ cup at a time and continue to simmer until soft.
Eggplant (Optional step)
  1. Over medium heat, add ¼ cup oil into a wok or pan and sear the eggplant until wilted and charred. Set aside.
Sambar
  1. In a 6 qt (or equivalent size) pot, add the ghee and heat the pot over medium high heat. Once hot, add the onions and fry until almost soft. Add the carrots and fry for a couple minutes. Add the tomatoes and green chilies and fry until they start to soften. Add the russet potatoes and the sambar powder. Stir to combine.
  2. Add the water and bring the liquid to a boil. Once boiled, cover and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Add the eggplant and simmer for another 15 minutes. Add the cooked dal, tamaring pulp and salt to taste. If the sambar is too thick to your liking, add more water and salt to taste. Add the spices from 'to temper', give the sambar a stir and serve with rice, roti, dosa or idli.
To temper
  1. Add 1 tbs oil to a pan and heat it over medium high heat. Once pan is very hot, turn the heat to medium and add the mustard seed, curry leaves and dried chilies. Once spices darken a little (within a few minutes), add the onion powder, give it one last stir and add the spices to the sambar. Do not burn the spices.
Notes
If you can't find spices from regular grocery stores, you can buy them from Mountain Rose Herbs. You can find dried chilies, dried curry leaves, mustard seeds, fenugreek..etc there.
Recipe by Curious Nut at https://www.curiousnut.com/sambar/