Sambar
A thick lentil-and-vegetable stew soured with tamarind and warmed through with sambar powder, finished with a mustard-seed and curry-leaf tempering that's essential rather than optional garnish. Distinct from the thinner, simpler rasam already on this site, sambar is a South Indian staple with popular ties to the 17th-century Thanjavur royal court, though tangy lentil stews appear in Tamil literature well before that story took hold.
Vegan
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup toor dal (split pigeon peas)
- 2 cups mixed vegetables (drumstick, pumpkin, eggplant, okra, carrot), chopped
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1 tbsp tamarind pulp, soaked in 1/2 cup warm water
- 2-3 tbsp sambar powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp oil or ghee
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 10-12 curry leaves
- 2 dried red chilies
- Pinch of asafoetida
- Salt, to taste
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
Steps
- Cook the toor dal with turmeric and water until soft and mushy, then mash lightly.
- Separately boil the mixed vegetables with the sliced onion until just tender.
- Add the cooked vegetables, tomato, tamarind water, and sambar powder to the mashed dal, and simmer 15 minutes until the flavors meld and it thickens slightly.
- Season with salt.
- In a small pan, heat the oil or ghee, add mustard seeds and let them pop, then add fenugreek seeds, dried red chilies, curry leaves, and asafoetida.
- Pour the tempering over the sambar, stir, and garnish with cilantro. Serve with rice, idli, or dosa.