How to Make Sambar
Make sure you have the 5 main ingredients of sambar., Break down the sambar into two parts: the masoor or toor daal, and the tadka., Choose your vegetables., Wash the vegetables., Dice the vegetables., Make the tamarind paste., Get out your pressure...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Make sure you have the 5 main ingredients of sambar.
You can find all of these ingredients at an Indian food store or in the world foods aisle of the grocery store.
The 5 main ingredients are:
Masoor dal (red lentils) or toor dal (pigeon peas) Sambar powder (purchased or homemade) Tamarind paste, which you can make by purchasing dried tamarind and soaking it.
Black mustard seeds Curry leaves Turmeric is a sixth optional ingredient.
Masoor dal (red lentils) take less time to cook than toor daal.
But you can make toor daal easily in a pressure cooker. -
Step 2: Break down the sambar into two parts: the masoor or toor daal
Like many Indian dishes, sambar is a combination of a grain like masoor or toor daal and a tadka, which is the Indian word for “tempering”.
Tadka, or tempering, is done by heating whole or ground spices in hot oil or glee and adding it to a dish.
It is a widely used method in Indian cuisine for many dishes, including sambar.In sambar, the tadka is traditionally made with several spices, including mustard seeds, sambar powder, asafoetida (also called “hing”) a key ingredient in Indian vegetarian cooking that helps you to digest, Indian chili powder, and curry leaves.
However, you can add other spices like cumin, turmeric, and fenugreek seeds, The nice thing about sambar is you can make it as light or as hearty as you’d like based on the amount of water you add, as well as the types of fresh vegetables you include in the dish.
Some possible vegetables for sambar include:
Onion: a required vegetable that will serve as part of the base for the sambar.
Tomato: this will help to balance out the sourness of the tamarind paste.
Spinach: a nice, light dash of green in the stew.
Potatoes: heartier but a great addition to the stew.
Carrots Drum sticks: a long, green vegetable that resembles a bean, popular in Indian dishes.
The soft, jelly interior of the drum sick is eaten and the skin is discarded.Pumpkin, or white pumpkin.
Brinjal, also known as eggplant.
Okra, also known as “lady fingers”, a highly nutritious pod like vegetable., If you are using tomato, spinach, eggplant, or okra, give the vegetables a light rinse before you cut them up.
If you are using potatoes, carrots, drumsticks or pumpkin, peel the skin off the vegetables with a peeler or a sharp knife.
Peel off the skin of the onion. , Cut the onion, tomato, and other vegetables into small, bite sized pieces.
To chop up the drumsticks, first chop off the tops of the drumsticks and then peel them with a sharp knife.
Dice them into finger length pieces of equal size., Tamarind adds a subtle sour flavor to the sambar.
To prepare the tamarind paste:
Place warm water in a bowl and soak the tamarind for about 30 minutes.
Once the tamarind is soft, squeeze the tamarind pods with your fingers and remove the pulp.
Strain the tamarind juice with a strainer.
Set the tamarind paste aside. , While you can make sambar in a pot on the stovetop, using a pressure cooker will cut down on the cooking time. , Use a colander to rinse the toor daal under cold water until the water underneath runs clear., Then, pour enough water to just cover the contents.
To further save time, you can also soak the toor daal for 15 minutes in hot water before putting it in the pressure cooker., Close the lid of the pressure cooker and weigh it down.
Leave it on high., Open the lid of the pressure cooker and mash the daal with a ladle or spoon.
They should be soft and mushy. , Stir well.
Then, add in the turmeric powder, the red chili powder, a pinch of asafoetida, and salt.
Add two cups of water.
Stir the ingredients well. , Be careful not to overcook the vegetables. , Add the sambar powder.
Add water if needed to give a medium thick consistency to the stew.
Add more water for a thinner stew. , Once the stew is done cooking, keep it covered and set it aside. , Use a colander to rinse the daal under cold water until the water underneath runs clear., Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat and then turn the heat down to a simmer.
While the daal is cooking, ladle out any foam that comes to the surface.
Once the foaming stops, mix in the turmeric. , If you are using spinach in your sambar, add the chopped spinach and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the spinach is wilted.
If you are using other vegetables like carrots, potatoes, eggplant, drumsticks, or okra, add them to the daal. , Mix well.
Simmer for 5 minutes.
A golden residue should form on the surface of the lentils. , Make sure the tamarind dissolves completely.
Add more water to the daal if you want a thinner stew.
Cook the stew for a few more minutes and then remove it from the heat. , Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil or ghee. , Wait for the mustard seeds to start popping.
To speed this up, you can cover the pan with a lid.
Once the mustard seeds have popped for a few seconds, turn the heat down and add the curry leaves and the dried red chili.
You can also add in the fenugreek seeds if you are using them. , Fry them for a few seconds.
Some recipes recommend adding the chopped onions at this point, rather than in the pressure cooker with the daal.
If you add the chopped onions, sauté them in the spices on low heat for about 10 minutes until they turn transparent. , If you are adding it to the daal in a pressure cooker, immediately cover the cooker once you’ve added it, so the aroma and flavor from the tadka gets infused in the daal.If you are adding the tadka to daal in a pot on the stovetop, mix the tadka into the daal and cover the pot., Like most stews, the flavors of sambar become better and deeper with time.However, you can also serve sambar as soon as it is made. , Sprinkle chopped cilantro or mint leaves over the sambar before serving., Dosas are fermented lentil and rice crepes that are easy to make.You can also purchase dosas at an Indian supermarket.
Another option is to add yogurt or achar (Indian pickles) on the side to complement the sambar. -
Step 3: and the tadka.
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Step 4: Choose your vegetables.
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Step 5: Wash the vegetables.
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Step 6: Dice the vegetables.
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Step 7: Make the tamarind paste.
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Step 8: Get out your pressure cooker.
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Step 9: Rinse the toor daal.
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Step 10: Add the diced onion
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Step 11: tomato
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Step 12: and 1 cup of the toor daal to the pressure cooker.
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Step 13: Add a pinch of turmeric powder and one tablespoon of oil to the toor daal.
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Step 14: Boil the ingredients for three whistles or until the daal is mushy and completely cooked.
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Step 15: Add the chopped vegetables to the pressure cooker.
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Step 16: Pressure cook the ingredients for one whistle on medium to high.
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Step 17: Add the tamarind pulp to the cooked vegetables.
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Step 18: Simmer the stew for 10-12 minutes
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Step 19: uncovered
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Step 20: over a low to medium flame.
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Step 21: Rinse the masoor or toor daal.
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Step 22: Add the drained daal and 7 cups of water to a pot.
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Step 23: Cook the daal for 30-40 minutes
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Step 24: until the lentils are falling apart.
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Step 25: Add the sambar powder to the lentils.
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Step 26: Season the mixture with salt and add the tamarind.
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Step 27: Place a wide pan on the stovetop.
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Step 28: Add the mustard seeds and the asafoetida to the pan.
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Step 29: Coat the leaves and chili with oil.
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Step 30: Add the tadka to the daal.
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Step 31: Prepare the sambar two to three hours before you are planning to serve it.
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Step 32: Garnish the sambar.
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Step 33: Serve the sambar over rice
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Step 34: or with dosas.
Detailed Guide
You can find all of these ingredients at an Indian food store or in the world foods aisle of the grocery store.
The 5 main ingredients are:
Masoor dal (red lentils) or toor dal (pigeon peas) Sambar powder (purchased or homemade) Tamarind paste, which you can make by purchasing dried tamarind and soaking it.
Black mustard seeds Curry leaves Turmeric is a sixth optional ingredient.
Masoor dal (red lentils) take less time to cook than toor daal.
But you can make toor daal easily in a pressure cooker.
Like many Indian dishes, sambar is a combination of a grain like masoor or toor daal and a tadka, which is the Indian word for “tempering”.
Tadka, or tempering, is done by heating whole or ground spices in hot oil or glee and adding it to a dish.
It is a widely used method in Indian cuisine for many dishes, including sambar.In sambar, the tadka is traditionally made with several spices, including mustard seeds, sambar powder, asafoetida (also called “hing”) a key ingredient in Indian vegetarian cooking that helps you to digest, Indian chili powder, and curry leaves.
However, you can add other spices like cumin, turmeric, and fenugreek seeds, The nice thing about sambar is you can make it as light or as hearty as you’d like based on the amount of water you add, as well as the types of fresh vegetables you include in the dish.
Some possible vegetables for sambar include:
Onion: a required vegetable that will serve as part of the base for the sambar.
Tomato: this will help to balance out the sourness of the tamarind paste.
Spinach: a nice, light dash of green in the stew.
Potatoes: heartier but a great addition to the stew.
Carrots Drum sticks: a long, green vegetable that resembles a bean, popular in Indian dishes.
The soft, jelly interior of the drum sick is eaten and the skin is discarded.Pumpkin, or white pumpkin.
Brinjal, also known as eggplant.
Okra, also known as “lady fingers”, a highly nutritious pod like vegetable., If you are using tomato, spinach, eggplant, or okra, give the vegetables a light rinse before you cut them up.
If you are using potatoes, carrots, drumsticks or pumpkin, peel the skin off the vegetables with a peeler or a sharp knife.
Peel off the skin of the onion. , Cut the onion, tomato, and other vegetables into small, bite sized pieces.
To chop up the drumsticks, first chop off the tops of the drumsticks and then peel them with a sharp knife.
Dice them into finger length pieces of equal size., Tamarind adds a subtle sour flavor to the sambar.
To prepare the tamarind paste:
Place warm water in a bowl and soak the tamarind for about 30 minutes.
Once the tamarind is soft, squeeze the tamarind pods with your fingers and remove the pulp.
Strain the tamarind juice with a strainer.
Set the tamarind paste aside. , While you can make sambar in a pot on the stovetop, using a pressure cooker will cut down on the cooking time. , Use a colander to rinse the toor daal under cold water until the water underneath runs clear., Then, pour enough water to just cover the contents.
To further save time, you can also soak the toor daal for 15 minutes in hot water before putting it in the pressure cooker., Close the lid of the pressure cooker and weigh it down.
Leave it on high., Open the lid of the pressure cooker and mash the daal with a ladle or spoon.
They should be soft and mushy. , Stir well.
Then, add in the turmeric powder, the red chili powder, a pinch of asafoetida, and salt.
Add two cups of water.
Stir the ingredients well. , Be careful not to overcook the vegetables. , Add the sambar powder.
Add water if needed to give a medium thick consistency to the stew.
Add more water for a thinner stew. , Once the stew is done cooking, keep it covered and set it aside. , Use a colander to rinse the daal under cold water until the water underneath runs clear., Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat and then turn the heat down to a simmer.
While the daal is cooking, ladle out any foam that comes to the surface.
Once the foaming stops, mix in the turmeric. , If you are using spinach in your sambar, add the chopped spinach and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the spinach is wilted.
If you are using other vegetables like carrots, potatoes, eggplant, drumsticks, or okra, add them to the daal. , Mix well.
Simmer for 5 minutes.
A golden residue should form on the surface of the lentils. , Make sure the tamarind dissolves completely.
Add more water to the daal if you want a thinner stew.
Cook the stew for a few more minutes and then remove it from the heat. , Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil or ghee. , Wait for the mustard seeds to start popping.
To speed this up, you can cover the pan with a lid.
Once the mustard seeds have popped for a few seconds, turn the heat down and add the curry leaves and the dried red chili.
You can also add in the fenugreek seeds if you are using them. , Fry them for a few seconds.
Some recipes recommend adding the chopped onions at this point, rather than in the pressure cooker with the daal.
If you add the chopped onions, sauté them in the spices on low heat for about 10 minutes until they turn transparent. , If you are adding it to the daal in a pressure cooker, immediately cover the cooker once you’ve added it, so the aroma and flavor from the tadka gets infused in the daal.If you are adding the tadka to daal in a pot on the stovetop, mix the tadka into the daal and cover the pot., Like most stews, the flavors of sambar become better and deeper with time.However, you can also serve sambar as soon as it is made. , Sprinkle chopped cilantro or mint leaves over the sambar before serving., Dosas are fermented lentil and rice crepes that are easy to make.You can also purchase dosas at an Indian supermarket.
Another option is to add yogurt or achar (Indian pickles) on the side to complement the sambar.
About the Author
Jonathan Rodriguez
Enthusiastic about teaching cooking techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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