South Indian sambar | spicy lentil & vegetable stew

I've been making Indian food for quite a while now, so its hard to believe I don't have a sambar recipe yet! Sambar is a stew from Southern India made with yellow lentils (usually toor dal), vegetables, tamarind and a blend of spices commonly called sambar powder. 

This dish is common all across Southern India, and each household has a slightly different recipe. Therefore, there is no exact way of making it, you can use a combination of most veggies you have in your fridge and these days you can buy tamarind paste and sambar powder from Asian or Indian supermarkets. I love sambar with dosas, vada or idli but I find it quite time consuming to make completely from scratch so I enjoy using the shortcuts if necessary, there is nothing wrong in it if the end result is still tasty! So don't let the list of ingredients intimidate you, this sambar recipe is really easy to make and is ready in around 30-40 minutes. 

What makes a really good sambar? 

In general you could say that sambar requires five magic components - without them it couldn't be called sambar. 

• Vegetables - use either one type or selection of delicious fresh vegetables. Some typical vegetables which are added to a South Indian sambar include: aubergines, drumstick, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, ivy gourd, bottle gourd and okra. It is up to you which veggies you would like to include in your sambar recipe. You can even just make sambar with one of the vegetables or a combination. 
  
  
  
• Tamarind - either make your own tamarind pulp from fresh tamarind fruit or use shop-bought tamarind paste. Tamarind is used a souring agent in the sambar and gives the final stew a delicious tangy flavour. 
  
  
  
• Sambar powder - a unique blend of spices such as coriander seeds, cumin seeds, chilli, mustards seeds and curry leaves. If you want to have a go at making your own sambar powder, there are plenty of recipes out there. I am yet to make sambar powder as I have just used the shop-bought varieties, but if I make it I will of course share the recipe here! 
  
  
  
• Lentils - traditionally sambar contains cooked and mashed toor dal. However, you can also make sambar with spilt pigeon pea lentils, moong dal, masoor dal (red lentils) or even a combination of these.  The taste is much won't change very much. I wouldn't recommend making it completely with red lentils, this will not give the same consistency. 
  
  
  
• Tadka - a final temper of curry leaves, dried red chillies, asafoetida and mustards seeds is essential to the taste of the final sambar!
  
  

Ingredients

For cooking the vegetables:

1 small aubergine, cut into chunks 

3 drumsticks, washed and cut into chunks 

Small handful green beans, chopped 

1 large carrot, cut into cubes 

2 large tomatoes, cut into chunks 

1 large onion, diced

1/2 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder (optional, I use this for a nice colour in the final sambar)
2-3 tsp tamarind paste 

1-2 tbsp sambar powder (or to taste)

1 tsp unrefined sugar or jaggery 

For the lentils:

1/2 cup toor dal (or yellow split pea lentils) 

1 1/2 cups water 

1/2 tsp turmeric 

1/2 tsp salt 

For the tadka: 

Handful curry leaves (fresh or frozen) 
1 tsp mustard seeds 
1/4 tsp asafoetida 
2-3 broken red chillies 

Ghee or oil

Method

• Start by cooking the lentils. I used a pressure cooker, as its so much quicker. Add the toor dal, water, turmeric & salt. Mix well and cook for 5-7 whistles until soft. Let the pressure release naturally before opening and mixing to a smooth consistency. Set aside whilst you cook the vegetables. 
  
  
  
• In a large deep saucepan, add all the vegetables you are using (I used aubergines, drumstick, carrot, green beans, tomatoes and onion) and the kashmiri red chilli powder. Cover well with water (around 3 cups) and bring to the boil. Let the veggies cook for around 7 minutes until tender. It is important not to overcook the veggies, you still want them to retain their shape and not be mushy. 
  
  
  
• After 7 minutes, add the tamarind paste, brown sugar or jaggery and sambar powder. Let bubble for around 2-3 minutes. 
  
  
  
• Next, add the cooked lentils and mix well. Season with salt to taste. Reduce the heat completely and let simmer whilst you make the tadka. 
  
  
  
• In a small frying pan, heat 1 tbsp of ghee or oil. Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle. Add the asafoetida, curry leaves and red chillies and let splutter until the curry leaves are crisp and the red chillies have darkened slightly.
  
  
  
• Pour the hot tadka over the simmering sambar and mix well. Serve the sambar hot with steamed rice, idlis, sada dosas or neer dosas.

Recipe notes: 

If you don't have a pressure cooker, add the lentils to a large pan and cover with plenty of water (a 1:4 ratio usually works for most dals). Bring to the boil and then simmer for 45-50 minutes until the lentils are soft and mashable. Soaking the lentils overnight before cooking will speed the cooking process.

This recipe is vegan if you do not use ghee for the tadka.

I wouldn't recommend using vegetables like spinach or leafy greens as they won't hold their shape - also sweeter tasting veggies like peppers are not often used in sambar. I don't add garlic or ginger in my sambar as I find it to be overpowering.