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Kerala Sambar/Mixed Vegetable Lentil Stew
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 

Spicy & Tangy Stew with Yellow lentils, Tamarind and Mixed Vegetables! Sambar - A Hearty South Indian Delicacy…!! 

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: mix vegetable curry, sambar, sambar powder
Servings: 6
Author: Akhila
Ingredients
  • ½ cup toor dal (split pigeon pea / tuvara parippu)
  • 1 medium sized onion (sliced into cubes)
  • 2 green chilies (slit)
  • 2 cups of mixed vegetables (see notes)
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tbsp sambar powder
  • tamarind extract (squeezed from a lemon sized ball)
For tempering
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2-3 dry red chillies
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 2 pearl onions (sliced)
  • 1 tsp asafetida (hing / kayam)
Instructions
  1. Wash and slice the mixed vegetables and onion into medium sized chunks.
  2. Into the pressure cooker, add toor dal, mixed vegetables, onions, green chilies, salt, turmeric powder, sambar powder, along with water enough to cover the vegetables, and cook for 2 whistles.
  3. Switch off the flame and allow it to cool until all the pressure had been released.
  4. In the meantime, soak tamarind in ½ cup warm water for 5-7 minutes. Squeeze out the extract from the tamarind and keep the juice aside.
  5. Remove the lid from the cooker and turn on the heat to a medium flame. Add the tamarind juice and mix well, adjust the salt level as needed. Simmer on a low flame until the sambar thickens to the right consistency.
  6. While the sambar cooks, prepare the tempering in a separate pan. Add oil to the pan on a low/medium flame and splutter mustard seeds. Add pearl onions, curry leaves and dry red chilies, fry for a minute. Turn off the flame and add asafetida, stir to mix. Now pour the tempering into the cooker and mix the sambar well.
  7. Serve hot with dosa, idli or as a side dish along with rice.
Notes
  1. Vegetable options : Potato, Yam, Carrot, Drumsticks, Yellow Cucumber, Snake gourd, Bottle gourd, Ivy gourd, Okra, Onions/Pearl onions.
  2. The tanginess of the sambar can be adjusted by adding tamarind or tomato, or even a mix of both.
  3.  If the asafetida you are using is grainy and not the powdered one, saute it for a few seconds along with the tempering ingredients.
  4.  Even if you do not have sambar powder, you can still make a good sambar. In addition to the ingredients listed in the recipe, add the following to the cooker before pressure cooking:
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1-2 tsp red chili powder
  • 2 tsp asafetida (hing/kayam)
  • Fenugreek powder (small pinch)