Hotel Style Sambar

Sambar, sambhar, Sambaaru, or Kuzhambu

Ingredients:

• Arhar dal / Toor dal (Thuvaram paruppu) - ½ cup
• Green chili - 3
• Sambar Onion or Small onion - 10 (or a big onion)
• Vegetables like drumstick, potato, eggplant, carrot, radish, beans- 2 cups.
• Tomato - 1
• Tamarind - a betel nut size
• Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
• Asafetida / perungayam /Hing - 2 pinches
• Jaggery  - ½ tsp
• Red chilies - 4
• Black gram / uluntham paruppu /Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds / Jeerakam - 1 tsp
• Coriander seeds / malli / dhania - 1½ tsp
• Fenugreek seeds (vendhayam) - ½ tsp
• Curry leaves - 3 sprigs
• Grated coconut - 4 tsp
• Edible oil: for frying and tampering
• Salt - to taste

For tampering:

• Mixture of mustard seeds and husked black gram (Urad dal) - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - a sprig

Method of preparation:

• Take a pressure cooker. Add the dal with 1½ cups of water. Cook for about 3 whistles. Wait for some time. Release the pressure and slightly smash the cooked dal.

• Soak tamarind in a little water for about 15 minutes. Squeeze and obtain its extract.

• Cut onion, tomato and vegetables. Slit the green chilies length-wise.

• Heat a little oil in a pan. Add red chilies, dal, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, grated coconut and fry till it turns light brown. Make a fine smooth paste of the fried ingredients with little water.

• Heat oil in a pan. Add green chilies and onion, fry till onion turns brown.
• Add all the cut vegetables and fry for about 2 minutes. Add tomato, asafetida and turmeric powder. Fry for a minute. Pour enough water so as to fully immerse the vegetables. Cover and cook till the vegetables are cooked.
• When the vegetables are cooked, add tamarind extract, jaggery, salt and the ground paste. Cover with a lid and bring to boil.

• Add the cooked dal and required water. Remove from heat when samabar starts boiling.

• Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and husked black gram. While spluttering, add curry leaves, remove from heat and add this with sambar.

Tastes good with idli, dosai, ooththappam / oothappam / uthappam, vadai, pattanam pakoda, bonda, pongal and cooked rice.