In south of India, Mixed Vegetable Sambar is prepared in several different ways and every region I believe has their own special way of preparing Sambar. I won’t claim mine to be authentic and can’t even put it in any region, as I am not a South Indian. However, I have been eating Mixed Vegetable Sambar since I was a child, as my Mom made Dosa very frequently. And this how she made sambar, simple straight forward loaded with vegetables and flavored with sambar powder. Pipping hot sambar with ghee tadka is very satisfying and soothing after a tiring day. So give it a try, if you haven’t already.
Ingredients I used for Mixed Vegetable Sambar
Toor Dal - Pigeon peas are used to make Sambar and you can either boil it along with the vegetables or separately in a pressure cooker. I follow the method of boiling the dal separately. Vegetables - Tomatoes, Carrots, Drumstick (not to be confused with chicken drumstick) and pearl onion. These are the basic vegetables I use more frequently, but you can add green beans and eggplant and radish too. Learn more about Drumstick, saijan ki phalli Garlic and Curry Leaves - Fresh garlic along with fresh curry leaves is used to prepare the sambar. Sambar Powder - I sometime use homemade sambar powder and some days, I just use the store bought. Concentrated tamarind paste - The specialty of Sambar is its mild tangy taste that comes from using tamarind paste. The spicy sambar powder, with the tangy tamarind, creates a lovely balance. I like to give a good doze of ghee tadka at the end using my homemade ghee, black mustard seeds, dry red chili and fresh curry leaves.
Steps to prepare Sambar
- Add the all the chopped vegetables along with onion and tomato and stir it around.
- Season with salt, turmeric and add the sambar powder. Cook the vegetables for a few minutes to soften it down.
- Once the vegetables are cooked, pour the boiled lentils and mix it around.
- Add the tamarind paste and mix it around.
- If the sambar looks too thick, add water to thin out the consistency. Also check for salt and add more if needed. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
- Finally, make tadka in a pan with ghee black mustard seeds, dry red chili and fresh curry leaves. Once it starts to sizzle, pour the tadka on the sambar and mix it around. My favorite way to enjoy sambar is with soft and fluffy idly.
