Sambar, sambhar, Sambhar recipe, Sambar without coconut, bell pepper sambar, south Indian sambar recipe, vegetable sambar recipe is a traditional South Indian style rice accompaniment prepared with a choice of vegetables, lentil, specially prepared spice powder. The detailed recipe with tips and tricks makes it a great beginner-friendly recipe for South Indian cuisine meals.
WHAT IS SAMBAR?
Sambar is one of the most popular traditional South Indian dishes. A good amount of protein, and vegetables, blended with flavorful sambhar powder - makes it not only healthy & nutritious but also tastes delicious.
WHAT TASTES BEST WITH SAMBHAR?
Sambhar plays a key role in South Indian cuisine. Sambhar goes well with tiffin varieties like idli, dosa, uthappam, etc. It also tastes great with rice, without sambhar their no special thali/ festive/ wedding lunch / Indian lunch combo
SHOULD I ALWAYS SOAK TOOR DAL?
No, it is optional but I feel soaking helps even cooking
HOW MUCH WATER SHOULD I ADD WHILE COOKING DAL?
It depends on the dal you use. I generally use a 1:3 dal: water ratio. The number of whistles also depends on the dal you use.
WHAT VARIETY OF DAL SHOULD I USE FOR SAMBHAR.
For rice accompaniment sambar I generally use toor dal. For the tiffin variety, I sometimes use moong dal. Restaurants/hotels use a combination of toor dal and masoor dal
HOW MUCH SAMBAR POWDER SHOULD I USE?
I prefer using homemade sambhar powder for my sambhar. The amount of sambhar powder might slightly vary based on your spice level. If you want to make it spicy add extra Sambar powder/ Chilli powder. If you are increasing sambhar powder, you might have to proportional increase tamarind accordingly.
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT SAMBAR
Use pot in pot method Cook for 9 minutes and let the pressure release naturally. Follow the rest of the steps same for the instant pot Sambhar recipe
SHOULD I ADD THE GHEE TEMPERING?
I generally use coconut oil for tempering and use little ghee while serving. You can use ghee according to your choice
WHAT SHOULD BE THE CONSISTENCY OF THE SAMBHAR?
Some like thin sambar while others prefer it thick. Adjust water according to your preferred texture.
CAN I MAKE ONE POT PRESSURE COOKER SAMBAR OR AN INSTANT POT SAMBAR?
If you cook dal and tamarind together, dal might not turn mushy so I recommend using separators for cooking.
Use vegetables of choice
You can use any vegetables of your choice and prepare sambar.
KUZHAMBU RECIPES IN TMF
TAMARIND-BASED RECIPES IN TMF
Sambar varieties in TMF
Ingredients
pressure cook dal
1/2 cup toor dal 1+1/2 cup water 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
To temper
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds Curry leaves few
Pressure-cook tamarind water
1 cup tamarind water Required salt 1 capsicum 2 teaspoon sambar powder
Kuda milaga sambar
1/2 tsp sambar powder Jaggery pinch coriander leaves few Water
How to make capsicum amber with step-by-step pictures
First, wash and soak toor dal for 30 minutes
drain the water. Add turmeric powder, sesame oil, and water
add coconut oil to a wide pan and heat
furthermore add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds; splutter
add curry leaves and capsicum; sauté for 2 minutes
furthermore, add asafoetida; sauté for 1 minute
add required salt and sambar powder; mix well
furthermore, add tamarind water; quickly mix and turn off the stove
transfer to a separator place it on top of the dal separator
close with a lid; pressure cook for 6 whistles and simmer for 3 minutes
transfer cooked dal and tamarind water to a wide vessel
furthermore add water, coriander leaves, sambar powder, and jaggery; mix well
boil for 8 minutes; mix well in between
sambar ready
