Simple Sambar Recipe (That Actually Tastes Good)

sambar served in a grey bowl garnished with curry leaves with twigs on cilantro and more curry leaves scattered all around

5 from 37 votes

Simple Sambar Recipe (That Actually Tastes Good)

This simple sambar recipe uses basic Indian pantry staples and yields a very flavorful sambar which is perfect to go with your favorite idlis and dosa!

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time46

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Author: Manali Singh

Ingredients

To Pressure Cook the Dal

1 cup toor dal/arhar dal pigeon peas lentil
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups water 24 oz

Tamarind Juice

1 tablespoon tamarind piece
⅓ cup hot water

For Cooking The Vegetable

2 teaspoons oil
½ cup chopped eggplant
2 medium carrots diced
7-8 drumsticks I used frozen ones that I got from Indian store
½ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
1 medium tomato chopped
3 cups water 24 oz
2 tablespoons sambar powder homemade or store bought, adjust to taste
2-3 teaspoons powdered jaggery
½ teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder optional

Tadka/Tempering

1 tablespoon ghee or use oil
¾ teaspoon mustard seeds black
¼ teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
10-15 curry leaves
1 tablespoon cilantro chopped, to garnish

Instructions

Wash 1 cup of toor dal and then add it to a stove-top pressure cooker along with ½ teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 cups of water. Cook for 5 whistles on a medium-high flame, then lower the heat to medium-low and let it cook for another 5 to 6 minutes.
Once the pressure releases naturally, open the cooker and mash the cooked dal lightly with a potato masher. Set aside.
If using an Instant Pot, pressure cook for 9 minutes on high pressure and let the pressure release naturally.
Soak a small tamarind piece (around 1 tablespoon) in 1/3 cup of hot water for around 20 minutes. Then strain the water after 20 minutes using a strainer. You will get 3 to 4 tablespoons of tamarind pulp. Set this aside.
In a pan, heat 2 teaspoons of oil on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add ½ cup chopped eggplant cubes and cook for around 2 minutes.
Add 2 medium carrots (diced), 7 to 8 frozen drumsticks (it’s a vegetable, do not confuse with chicken drumsticks) and ½ teaspoon salt and cook for 2 more minutes. Then add 1 medium chopped tomato and cook for 1 more minute.
Add around 3 cups of (24 oz) water and stir and then add 2 tablespoons of sambar powder. You can add more to taste.
Then add 2 to 3 teaspoons of jaggery powder (adjust to taste) along with 4 tablespoons of the tamarind pulp that you had extracted earlier
Now, stir in the cooked dal. You can also add ½ teaspoon of Kashmiri red chili powder at this point (if using). Mix everything together with a spatula and let the sambar simmer on medium heat for 5 to 6minutes.
To make the tadka, heat 1 tablespoon of ghee (or oil if you want to keep this vegan), in a small pan on medium heat. Once the ghee is hot, add ¾ teaspoon of mustard seeds and let them pop.
Then add ¼ teaspoon of hing and 10 to 15 curry leaves. Stir for a few seconds until leaves turn crisp.
Pour the tadka over the simmering sambar. Mix well and garnish with 1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro.

Video

Notes

This recipe isn't vegan as it uses ghee in the final tadka. If you want to keep this vegan, use oil in place of ghee in the tadka. The rest of the recipe remains same.
If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can cook the dal on stove-top. I would recommend soaking the dal for 2 hours and then adding it to a pot with 3 to 4 cups water. Cook the dal on medium heat until it's very soft. This will take around 30 minutes on stove-top. You will have to remove the white foam with help of a skimmer that will keep forming on top as the dal cooks.

Nutrition