Easy Sambar Recipe - How to make Sambar - Beginners Recipe
Easy and delicious sambar recipe for beginners. This sambar can be made in few ingredients without any sambar powder & fancy vegetables.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Breakfast, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: Indian, south indian, Tamilnadu
Keyword: bachelors sambar, beginners sambar, easy sambar, one pot sambar, quick sambar
Servings: 6
Author: Mullai Madavan
Equipment
Pressure cooker or Instant Pot
Ingredients
To pressure cook
1cupPigeon pea / Toor dal / Thuvaram paruppu
2cupsWater
1cupOnionsliced / chopped
1/2cupTomato
3smallGreen Chili
1/4tspTurmeric powder
1tbspCoriander powder
1tspRed Chili powder
2.5tspSalt
1/4cupTamarind extract (dilute)soak marble size in 1/4 cup water
To temper & garnish
2tspOil
1tspGhee
1tspMustard seeds
1/2tspFennugreek seeds
1/2tspSplit black gram
1/2tspCumin seeds
1/4tspAsafoetida
2eachDry red chili
6leavesCurry leaves
1/4cupCoriander leaves
1cupWaterto adjust consistency
Optional
1tspSambar powder
1cupSteamed vegetables of choice
Instructions
To pressure cook
Wash and rinse pigeon peas, soak for at least 20 to 30 minutes.
Soaking lentils will aid better digestion, reduces cooking time and also yields a soft smooth texture.
In a pressure cooker pan, take soaked pigeon peas, water, chopped onion, tomato & green chili.
Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder and salt.
Extract pulp from the soaked tamarind and add it along. (You may add more tomatoes if you don't have tamarind)
Put the lid on and pressure cook over high flame for up to 2 whistles. (this is 30 minutes soaked lentils)
For no soak lentils, used 1 cup extra water and cook up to 4 to 5 whistles.
Once done, let pressure settle naturally and then open the cooker.
Mash it with spatula and mix well. For no soak dal the texture will be lightly firm even after cooking, use a whisk or immersion blender to mash the dal.
At this stage, it will look thick like a semi thick dal. Adjust the consistency according to your preference by adding water.
Switch on the flame and let it come to rolling boil and then simmer.
To temper
Heat oil and ghee in a pan small pan.
Temper it with mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, split black gram, cumin seeds, dry red chili, asafoetida and curry leaves.
Add this to the simmering sambar and mix well.
Garnish with coriander and curry leaves.
Simmer until desired consistency and switch off!
Optional ingredients to enhance flavor
Add a little sambar powder for more flavorful sambar if you have it handy.
Add any steamed or boiled veggies along with its stock while its simmering to make it more healthy.
Video
Notes
Soaking - Always soak dal/ lentils before cooking to aid better digestion. Dry lentils will stay firm in texture even after cooking and cause gastric issues. Soaking will make the lentils cook fast and evenly to a soft mushy texture. Also will be easy on your tummy. Tempering - This can be either done before pressure cooking to make this a one pot dish. Adding the tempering at the last stage will have much fresh look and flavor. Vegetables - Quick frozen veggies cook much faster than fresh, just microwave them for few minutes and add it the sambar. If using fresh vegetables, just boil them with little salt and turmeric and add it to the simmering sambar along with the stock. Sambar Powder - Sambar will taste decent without any sambar powder, you can add either store bought or home made sambar powder to make it more flavorful. Instant Pot Method - If using an instant pot follow the same recipe and measure. Select Pressure Cook Mode and pressure cook over High Pressure for 15 minutes. Cook longer if lentils are not soaked.