Kerala Sambar

          

Kerala Sambar

Kerala sambar is a mixed vegetable lentil soup served hot with rice, idli, dosa and vadas. It has many vegetables added to it .However, the basic process of making the sambar remains the same.

The process involves 4 steps:-
1.Cooking the toor dal and mashing it.
2.Preparing the sambar masala.
3.Cooking the vegetables with sambar masala and other spices.
4.Adding the mashed toor dal and asafoetida to the cooked veggies and boiling it for a couple of minutes more.

The following vegetables are usually added to the sambar
Ashguord
Brinjal
Pumpkin
Ladies finger
Carrot
Tindly
Beans
Guar beans
Snakeguord
Potato
Elephant yam / Suran
Taro
Plantain
Drumstick
You don’t need to have all these vegetables. Anything will do except bitterguord, beetroot etc.This is my favourite recipe for Sambar.

Ingredients:-
Toor Dal – 1/2 cup
Curry leaf – 1 sprig
Onion – 1 big (cut into 4)
Shallots – 8 big
Brinjal – 11/2 cup
Plantain – 1 cup
Carrot – ¼ cup
Red pumpkin – ¼ cup
Guar beans – ¼ cup
Snakeguord – ¼ cup
Drumstick – 1
Ashguord – ¼ cup
Ladiesfinger – ½ cup
( I have used 4 cups  of chopped vegetables)
Tomato – 1 big ( cut into half)
Green chillies slit – 4
Red chilly powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp +1/4 tsp
Tamarind – a small gooseberry sized ball
Oil as needed
Salt as needed
Chopped coriander leaves – 2 tbsp
Asafoetida(Kaayam) – ¼ tsp
Jaggery – a small piece / as needed to balance all the flavours

For Sambar powder:-
Grated coconut – 2 tbsp
Coriander seeds – 2 tsp (heaped)
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Peepercorns- ½ tsp
Chana dal – 1 tsp
Methi seeds – ½ tsp
Urad dal split – ½ tsp
For Popping:-
Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Red chillies – 3
Curry Leaves – a sprig
Ghee – 1 tsp

Method:-
Soak tamarind in 1/4 cup of warm water, squeeze and strain the tamarind extract. Reserve.
Cook toor dal in a pressure cooker adding ¼ tsp turmeric powder, a sprig curry leaf and 2 tsp coconut oil. Simmer for 10 minutes after 1^st whistle. Mash the cooked dal and keep aside.




Roast the grated coconut adding 1 tsp coconut oil till golden brown and keep aside. Roast together chana dal, urad dal, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, methi seeds and peppercorns in 1 tsp coconut oil for 2 minutes. Grind the roasted dal and spices along with the coconut adding little water to a smooth paste. This is the sambar masala.




Heat 1 tbsp coconut oil. Add onion, shallots and greenchillies. Sauté for a minute. Add all the veggies (except ladies finger) and sauté for a minute.



Transfer to a pressure cooker. Add the sambar masala, 13/4 cups water, ¼ cup tamarind extract, red chilly powder, turmeric powder and 2 tsp salt. Simmer for 5 minutes after 1^st whistle .Let the pressures completely subside before opening.

The cooked veggies

Cook the ladies finger separately with salt and water for 15 minutes.
Add the mashed dal, asafoetida powder, cooked ladies finger, ½ cup water, enough salt and jaggery to the cooked veggies. Let boil. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add the chopped cilantro and remove from heat.


 Heat ghee in a pan and allow mustard seeds to splutter. Add red chillies and curry leaves and fry for a minute. Now add the seasoning to the sambar and serve hot with steamed rice.