Cooking Sambar at Home
Few smells say lunch is almost ready like a pot of sambar. It’s a tangy lentil stew full of vegetables, and it goes with idli, dosa, vada or plain rice. It isn’t difficult, but a few small habits separate a flat pot from a really good one.
What You’ll Need
For the dal: ¾ cup toor dal, 2½ cups water, ¼ tsp turmeric, a few drops of oil.
For the sambar: 2 cups chopped vegetables (drumstick, carrot, pumpkin, brinjal and small onions all work), 1 tomato, a lemon-sized lump of tamarind, 2 tbsp sambar powder, 1 tsp jaggery, salt, and coriander leaves. Add ½ tsp chilli powder if you want more heat.
For tempering: 1 tbsp ghee or oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, ½ tsp fenugreek seeds, 2 dried red chillies, a sprig of curry leaves, and a pinch of hing.
Cook the Dal
Wash the dal until the water stops looking cloudy. Put it in the cooker with the water, turmeric and oil. The oil keeps it from foaming over. Give it four or five whistles, or ten minutes at high pressure in an Instant Pot. Let the pressure drop on its own, then mash the dal with the back of a ladle until smooth.
Get the Tamarind Ready
Soak the tamarind in a cup of warm water for about fifteen minutes. Squeeze it with your fingers and strain out the fibre. If you don’t like much sourness, use a little less of the water.
Simmer the Vegetables
Pour the tamarind water into a big pot, add the vegetables and tomato, and season with salt. Top up with a splash of water if it looks dry. Cook on medium heat for ten to twelve minutes. Put in the drumstick and carrot first, since they take longer. Brinjal can go in a few minutes later so it doesn’t turn to mush.
Bring It Together
Stir in the sambar powder, chilli powder and jaggery, and let it bubble for about five minutes until the raw spice smell disappears. Add the mashed dal, mix well, and loosen with water. Good sambar pours easily and shouldn’t sit like porridge. Simmer another eight to ten minutes, stirring now and then so the bottom doesn’t catch.
The Tempering
Heat the ghee in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds first and wait for them to pop. Then add the fenugreek, red chillies, curry leaves and hing. Watch the fenugreek closely, because burnt fenugreek makes everything bitter. Tip the sizzling pan over the sambar, cover for a minute, then scatter coriander on top.
Small Things That Help
Taste before you serve and adjust. It should be sour, slightly sweet and spicy all at once. Use fresh sambar powder if you can, and keep it in a sealed jar away from sunlight. Drumstick and pumpkin give the most familiar flavour.
Sambar also improves after sitting for half an hour, and the next day’s pot is often better still. For something richer, stir in a roasted coconut paste for a Karnataka-style version, or use only small shallots for ulli sambar.
Serving and Storing
Serve it with idli in the morning, dosa later in the day, or rice with ghee and a papad at lunch. Coconut chutney or a potato fry on the side never hurts.
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