south Indian sambar with vegetables

Sambar is another Indian dish I regularly make, serving it with dosa or rice.   You can experiment with any seasonal vegetables you have or whatever is abundant in your garden. Whole green mung beans can be used instead of yellow lentils.

tips

• Toor Dal is a yellow split lentil with a slightly sweet taste. Try to buy the polished split variety, which has a quicker cooking time.
• If you do not have toor dal, use split moong dal. 
• I like to keep the vegetables chunky to give them real substance.
• Sambar powder, jaggery (Indian sugar), fresh curry leaves, and tamarind paste can be bought from any Indian store.

south Indian sambar with vegetables

serves 3 – 4

preparation 45 minutes

ingredients

½ cup toor dal or yellow split moong

4 – 6 cups water

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp ghee/oil

1 medium carrot (cut into rounds)

1 medium zucchini (cut into large chunks)

½ red bell pepper (roughly chopped)

a handful of beans (finely chopped)

2 heaped Tbsp jaggery

1 heaped tsp fine rock salt

fresh coriander

sambar – coconut paste

1½ heaped tsp sambar powder (or more to taste)

1 tsp tamarind concentrate

¼ cup shredded dried coconut

1 cup water

voggarane

2 Tbsp ghee/oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

8 fresh curry leaves

¼ tsp asafoetida powder (hingu)

preparation 

1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, wash the dal until the water runs clear; add water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a rapid simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes, then add the vegetables.
2. Simmer until the dal breaks down and the vegetables are soft – about 30 minutes.  If it becomes too dry, add a little water.

sambar – coconut paste

3. Place the dried coconut, tamarind paste, sambar powder, and 1 cup water in an upright blender and blend into a smooth paste—approximately 1 minute.
4. Pour into the dal and use a cup of the liquid from the dal to swish the blender clean. 

voggarane

5. Heat the ghee in a small pan; when hot, add the mustard seeds, wait until they splutter and pop, then add the curry leaves and asafoetida.
6. Pour the voggarane over the dal, add the jaggery and salt, mix, cover with a lid, and allow 5 minutes for the flavours to come together.
7. Stir in the coriander. Taste and adjust by adding more tamarind, jaggery and salt.