Sambar recipe in pressure cooker with homemade sambar powder
Sambar is a South Indian Vegetable Lentil Stew served with snacks like Idli, Dosa, Medu Vada and Uttapam.
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
FOR BOILING SAMBAR
- 1/2 cup tur daal/pigeon pea lentil
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1.5 cup water
FOR TAMARIND PULP
- 2 tbsp tamarind
- 1/2 cup Luke warm water
FOR SAMBAR
- Boiled sambar
- Tamarind pulp
- 3-4 lady fingers/okra (cut into medium pieces)
- 1 drumstick (cut into 3-4 inches pieces)
- 1 small carrot (cut into small pieces)
- 1 small brinjal (cut into small pieces)
- Few small pieces of Pumpkin
- 4-5 french beans (cut into halves)
- 4-5 pearl onions (or 1 medium onion after cutting)
- 2 green chilies
- 8-10 curry leaves
- 1.5 cup water
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 3 tbsp Sambar Powder (Recipe given in the end)
- 1 tsp sugar
- Salt to taste
FOR TEMPERING
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp urad dal
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- Few curry leaves
- 2 dry red chilies (broken)
- Pinch of Asafoetida
FOR SAMBAR POWDER
- 1/4 cup Coriander Seeds
- 1 tbsp Cumin seeds
- 8-9 dry red chilies
- 1 tbsp Chana daal
- 1/4 tsp urad daal
- 1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds/methi Dana
- 1/8 tsp black pepper corns/Kali mirch
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 2 tbsp curry leaves
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida/hing
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder/haldi
Instructions
BOILING OF DAAL
- Rinse 1/2 cup tuvar daal and add into pressure cooker. If you don't have pressure cooker, you can boil the daal in a pan with a lid.
- Add 1.5 cup water and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder.
- Pressure cook for 5 whistles on medium heat. If boiling in pan, then boil till the daal turns completely mushy like soft.
- After 5 whistles, switch off the heat and let the pressure release on it's own.
MAKING OF TAMARIND PULP
- Take 2 tbsp tamarind and 1/2 cup Luke warm water in a pan.
- Rub the tamarind with fingers so that the tamarind pulp mixes with water. Keep aside.
MAKING OF SAMBAR
- Open the lid and whisk the daal so that there remains no traces of daal. The same thing needs to be done when boiling in pan.
- Add 3-4 lady fingers/okra (cut into medium pieces), 1 drumstick (cut into 3-4 inches pieces), 1 small carrot (cut into small pieces), 1 small brinjal (cut into small pieces), Few small pieces of Pumpkin, 4-5 french beans (cut into halves), 4-5 pearl onions, 2 green chilies and 8-10 curry leaves into pressure cooker or pan.
- Thereafter add the tamarind pulp by sieving.
- Add 1.5 cup water, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp sugar, salt to taste and 3 tbsp sambar powder (recipe given after the recipe of sambar). Mix.
- Again put the lid and pressure cook for 1 whistle. Those making in a pan should boil with a lid on till vegetables turn completely soft.
MAKING OF TEMPERING
- Add 1 tbsp oil in a tadka pan.
- Then add 1 tsp mustard seeds and 1 tsp urad dal. Let them turn slightly brown.
- Add 2 dry red chilies, few curry leaves and pinch of Asafoetida.
- Pour this tempering over the daal. Mix.
- Sambar is ready. Enjoy.
MAKING OF SAMBAR POWDER (Yields 100 gram sambar powder)
- Take a microwave safe bowl. However you can make this recipe in a pan also.
- Add 1/4 tsp coriander seeds and 1 tbsp cumin seeds. Microwave on high powder for 3 minutes.
- Take them out in a plate.
- Add 1/8 tsp black pepper corns, 1/4 tsp mustard seeds and 1/4 tsp methi seeds in bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes.
- Add them to a plate.
- Now put 8-9 dry red chilies and 2 tbsp curry leaves. Microwave 2 minutes.
- Transfer them to the same plate.
- Add 1/4 tsp urad dal and microwave 1 minute.
- Put in the plate.
- Add 1 tbsp chana dal and microwave 3 minutes.
- When you bring the bowl out, it must be very hot. Add 1/4 tsp hind in the hot bowl but no need to microwave. Just saute it till you get the aroma of hing.
- Tranfer chana dal and hing also in the same plate.
- Let all the roasted ingredients cool completely.
- Add the ingredients to the grinder.
- Add 1/4 tsp turmeric powder.
- Grind to fine powder.
- Homemade Sambar powder is ready. This much of sambar powder is enough to make sambar 3 to 4 times.