South Indian Mixed veg sambar - No onion
Yellow lentil and vegetable curryMade with pigeon peas/toor dal/arhar dal. This mixed veg sambar recipe is a popular south Indian recipe.
Equipment
- 1 Pressure cooker or pot to cook dal
- 1 Pan or kadai to make sambar
- 1 Tadka pan to make tempering
Ingredients
How to make sambar powder in small quantity
Ingredients for Sambar Powder
- Coriander seeds – 1 table spoon
- Chana dal – 1 tea spoon
- Urad dal -1/2 tea spoon
- Cumin seeds – 1 tea spoon
- Asafetida – 1/4 tea spoon
- Red chillies – 2 to 4 according to taste
- Black pepper – 1/4 tea spoon
- Mustard seeds – 1/4 tea spoon
- Methi fenugreek seeds – 1/4 tea spoon
Making sambar powder
- Roast the sambar powder ingredients on low flame.
- Grind to fine powder.
How to make mixed veg sambar – South Indian lentil recipe
Ingredients for mixed veg Sambar for 2-3 servings:
- Toor dal – 1 small cup
- Green beans – 4-5 cut
- Eggplant / brinjal – 1 or 2 small cut
- Carrot – 1 small
- Tamarind – a lime sized ball
- Tomatoes – 2 medium sized chopped
- Curry leaves – a sprig.
- Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp chopped.
- Salt – 1 tea spoon or to taste.
- Water – 3-4 cups.
- Fresh coriander cilantro leaves, chopped – 1 tbsp
Optional ingredients
- Jaggery / gud – 1/2 tsp or according to taste.
- Fresh grated coconut – 1 tbsp
- Sambar powder – 1 1/2 tbsp
- Okra / ladies finger / bhindi – 2-3
Ingredients for tempering:
- Oil + ghee – 1 tsp each
- Mustard / rai seeds – 1 tsp
- Cumin / jeera seeds – 1 tsp
- Asafoetida / hing – 1 pinch
- Turmeric powder / haldi – 1/4 teaspoon.
Instructions
How to extract tamarind juice
- Soak tamarind in 1 cup of warm water for about 15 minutes. Squeeze tamarind and get pulp/juice. Discard the seeds and thread.
- The quantity of pulp you use in sambar will depend on the sourness you like.
Cooking toor dal
- Wash 1 small cup toor dal and cook it in 1 1/2 cups water till it is soft. You may cook it on the stove top in a pot/pan. Or use a separator in the pressure cooker for toor dal when you cook rice.
- I usually use pressure cooker as it is faster.
- Mash toor dal using the back of a ladle or a potato masher. You may use a blender if you wish. Or you may just mash it up using your hand. Keep aside till our vegetables are ready.
Making mixed veg sambar
- While the toor dal is cooking, we will get the vegetable ready.
- Add the chopped veggies, beans, carrots and brinjals to a pan. Add enough water to cover the vegetables. Heat the pan and let the water/vegetables boil. Cover and cook for 5 minutes on medium low flame.
- When veggies are cooked a little bit , they will change color, add chopped tomatoes and cook till tomatoes become soft. Cover and cook.
- Add a cup of water after tomatoes are cooked. Add sambar powder, salt and jaggery(if adding) . Mix and bring to boil. Let boil for about 5 minutes on low flame.
- Add fresh grated coconut. Mix and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the cooked and mashed toor dal. Add water according to the consistency you need for sambar. You may make it as thick or thin as you like.
- Today I am going to keep it a bit thick.
- Add tamarind pulp/juice according to the sourness you like. We may add jaggery (optional) to balance the sourness or you may omit jaggery.
- I usually add a litle jaggery.
How to make tempering
- Heat vegetable oil/ghee in a small tadka pan. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they start spluttering add curry leaves.
- Add hing/asafetida and turmeric powder. Tempering is ready.
Final touches to sambar
- Add the tempering to the boiling sambar. Cover for a few minutes.
- Mix well. Add more water if sambar looks too thick. Add water if you want the consistency thin and continue boiling for another 5 minutes.
- Add chopped coriander leaves and switch off. Keep covered till serving time.
- Sambar is ready to serve with dosa, Rava Idli , Rice.
- Enjoy
Video
Notes
Tips and variations
- You may also use some other vegetables such as potatoes, okra(ladies finger), knolkol etc.
- You may store leftover sambar in the fridge for 3-4 days. Just reheat and serve.
- Visit sambar with onion & tomato