Sambar - Curried lentils and vegetables in spiced gravy.

This post is part of SADYA VIBHAVANGAL – Learn to make the traditional Kerala Feast- An Artist’s Edible Palette !

Kerala Sambar is a curried lentil and mixed vegetables preparation in thick gravy. Unlike its popular cousins from the neighboring states of Southern India, Kerala Sambar is cooked with a wide variety of vegetables. In some regions of Kerala, roasted coconut is added as a taste enhancer as well. At home, we prepare a simple one but with some preference for certain types of vegetable to control the taste of the dish to our liking.

Ingredients: (Approx.)
For pressure cooking:

• ½ cup Thuvara Parippu/toor dal
• 2 ½ cups water
• Salt to taste
• A drop of ghee
• A pinch of turmeric

For Sautéeing:

• 1 small tomato, diced
• 1 baby brinjal, diced
• 1 small size big onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup of mixed vegetables like Vendakkaya/ladysfinger, Kumabalanga/Ash gourd, plantain, carrots, and drumsticks)
• A small piece of ginger, thinly sliced
• 1-2 small garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2-3 green chillies, slit opened lengthwise
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp chilly powder
• 2 tsp Eastern Sambar Powder
• ½ tsp tamarind paste or to taste
• ¼ tsp cumin seeds/jeera
• ½ tbsp coconut oil
• Salt to taste

For seasoning:

• 1 tsp coconut oil
• ¼ tsp mustard seeds
• ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
• 2 dry red chillies
• 2 pinches of Asafoetida
• 1 sprig of curry leaves

For garnish:

• Coriander leaves

Directions:

• Wash parippu/dal/lentil thoroughly in water. Along with water, turmeric powder, ghee and salt, cook washed Parippu/dal/lentil in a pressure cooker, in medium heat, until it is cooked and soft. For me it takes around 4-6 whistles. Please note that cooking time varies depending on the variety and brand of the dal and pressure cooker.
• Heat oil in another deep vessel, and splutter cumin seeds/jeera. Sauté thinly sliced onions until they become soft and then add the thinly sliced ginger, garlic and green chillies and cook for a minute. Add powdered spices like, turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilly powder and Eastern Sambar Powder, one by one and sauté till the raw smell goes. At this stage add diced tomatoes and other vegetables like diced baby brinjal, carrots, ash gourd, cubed plantains and lady fingers and drumsticks and coat the veggies in spices thoroughly, by stirring gently. Add ½ to ¾ cup water or just enough to cook the veggies, tamarind paste and salt and cook till vegetables are soft. Now add the pressure cooked parippu/dal /lentil to this veggie mix and blend everything together. Add water if the consistency is too thick. Adjust the salt and bring it to a boil and remove from the heat.
• In a small shallow pan, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, dry red chillies and asafetida and some curry leaves and pour this over to the cooked dal and veggie mix. Garnish with some chopped coriander leaves.

Updated on Aug 14th, 2008: For the last step, while seasoning, instead of using coconut oil you may try using ghee which gives a divine aroma to this dish, taking it to a whole new taste!

Luv
Shn

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