South Indian Sambhar Recipe
Hello Friends!
Sambhar is a lentil made using Arhar (Tuar) dal along with some vegetables like carrot, brinjal, bottle guard, and drum sticks. I don’t add drumsticks because of my personal choice but if you go for authentic south Indian sambhar, you will surely find it.
Sambhar is one dish that is commonly cooked throughout India but in its own version. The most typical one is from South India. North Indians make it spicier using some Punjabi masalas whereas if you go towards Maharashtra (Western Belt), you will find it sweet in taste. Each version is good in its own sense.
The recipe I’m going to share today is of the authentic South Indian Sambhar. You can have it with Rice/Idli/Dosa/Uttapam/Vada. The taste of sambhar is a lot derived from the Sambhar masala which you can use from any brand. I particularly use the Catch or MDH brand.
Let’s see how easily we can this recipe at home.
Servings
2 Persons
Kitchen Standing Time
20 minutes
Ingredients
| S.No. | Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Arhar Dal | 100 gms |
| 2. | Tomato | 2 Units |
| 3. | Onion | 2 Units |
| 4. | Mustard Seeds | 1 TBSP |
| 5. | Intact Red Chillis | 2-3 Units |
| 6. | Sambhar Masala | 2 TBSP |
| 7. | Salt | As per taste |
| 8. | Red Chilli Powder | ½ TBSP |
| 9. | Carrot | 1 Unit |
| 10. | Bottle Guard | 1 Unit |
| 11. | Mustard Oil | 1 TBSP |
| 12. | Tamarind | 25 gms |
Method
Step 1: Soak the arhar dal in water for about 30 minutes. Don’t soak it for more than 30 minutes, it’s not required at all. Even if you don’t soak it, that’s fine since arhar dal is very soft and boils very quickly. Separately, also soak the tamarind in hot water.
Step 2: Heat some mustard oil in a pan. Add to it sliced onion and saute until light brown.
Step 3: Now add finely chopped tomatoes. Add all spices and mix well.
Step 4: To the soaked dal, add finely cut bottle guard and carrot. Also add the onion tomato masala prepared above. Mix well and pressure cooker it for about 3-4 whistles.
Step 5: Once the pressure is released, use a hand blender to blend the dal. Sambhar is very fine and has a watery texture.
Step 6: Nicely strain the tamarind and add the residue pulp to the sambhar and keep it on low flame for about 15 minutes. Let it boil properly.
Step 7: In a small tadka pan, add 1 TBSP mustard oil. Add mustard seeds and Red Chilli and as soon as it crackles, add it to the sambhar.
Step 8: Serve hot with Rice/Idli/Dosa/Uttapa/Vada.