Sambar is a very popular dish in South Indian cuisine. It is served with steamed rice or even as a side dish for idli, dosa and pongal. Sambar with rice is one of the main courses in everyday South Indian meals.Most South Indians are experts in making sambar. This post is for beginners who have difficulty in preparing sambar. Sambar can be made with a wide variety of vegetables. Most commonly used vegetables are brinjal, drumstick, pumpkin, radish, ladiesfinger, onion etc. Today let us learn how to make mixed vegetable sambar. This recipe yields 3 -3 1/2 cups of sambar and serves 2-3 persons.
Mixed Vegetable Sambar Recipe
Prep time - under 20 mins
Cook time - under 20 mins
Serves -2-3
Ingredients needed
Tur dal - 1/3 cup
Tamarind - small lemon or gooseberry sized ball
Onion -1 finely chopped
Mixed Vegetables - 1 cup
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt as required ( I used 1 tbsp rock salt - use less if using table salt)
For the seasoning
Mustard seeds -1 tsp
Hing - a generous pinch
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli - 1
Curry leaves - few
Preparation
Soak dal in hot water for 20 minutes and pressure cook for 3 whistles.(refer to my detailed post on how to cook dal if required.
Soak tamarind in hot water and extract 1 1/2 cups of tamarind juice and discard the pulp.
Vegetables - You can use any vegetables like beans, carrot, cauliflower, potato,brinjal, broad beans (avarakkai), but do not add too many vegetables, then you will end up having more vegetables and very less sambar. So use just 1 cup of mixed vegetables.
I used 1/2 a carrot, 1 small potato, 2 florets cauliflower, 2 broad beans and 3-4 beans.In case, if you are using cauliflower, do not pressure cook but blanch them in hot water and add to the sambar while adding dal or paruppu.
I used 1/2 a carrot, 1 small potato, 2 florets cauliflower, 2 broad beans and 3-4 beans.In case, if you are using cauliflower, do not pressure cook but blanch them in hot water and add to the sambar while adding dal or paruppu.
Method
Heat a tbsp of oil, add mustard seeds,when it splutters,add hing, red chillies, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, finely chopped onions and saute for a few minutes.Then add tamarind water,turmeric powder,salt needed and sambar powder.Let it boil until the raw smell of the tamarind and the sambar powder goes. Approximately it will take around 10 minutes. Meant time pressure cook dal, keeping the mixed vegetables in a small container. After the raw smell of the tamarind and the sambar powder goes, add the pressure cooked vegetables to it. (See picture below) Then mash the dal well with a masher and add to the sambar along with needed water.( little less than 1/2).Simmer and bring everything to a boil, until the sambar thickens a little.Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with steamed rice. |
Some tips for beginners
If your sambar is sour, then you have added more tamarind.
If it has raw flavor of sambar powder or tamarind, then you did not boil the tamarind water with sambar powder well.
You can adjust the consistency of sambar by adding a little water along with dal.
For no onion no-garlic sambar/Tamil Brahmin Sambar - you can skip adding onions. For mixed vegetable sambar, after the seasoning, you can add tamarind water directly.In case if you are making ladiesfinger sambar or any other vegetable sambar, saute them in oil for a few minutes and then add tamarind water.
The taste of the sambar depends or varies according to the sambar powder used.
Hope I have made it very clear. Even beginners can try with confidence as I have measured everything for your benefit. You can call this a fool proof sambar recipe. This recipe is for 3 persons, if you want to prepare sambar for 6 persons, multiply by 2 and follow the same procedure.
Check out more South Indian Sambar recipes from Padhuskitchen
Check out more South Indian Sambar recipes from Padhuskitchen
If you have any doubts, you can always drop a comment in the comment section or contact me through the contact form. Good luck!
wow....delicious sambhar recipe with detailed explanation....great job Padhu...
ReplyDeleteI can almost feel the marvelous aroma of the sambar wafting up my nostrils.
ReplyDeletenice demonstration.. perfect for beginners..
ReplyDeleteDelicious and flavorful sambar.
ReplyDeletelove the pictures..
ReplyDeletestep by step recipe is very clear to understand
ReplyDeletedelicious sambar
ReplyDeletegood one!
ReplyDeleteThe sambar looks good. I like the kadai that you have used.
ReplyDeletewow..delcious sambar...grt job dear..lov ur step by step pictures,,,!
ReplyDeletelooks really comforting and delicious!
ReplyDeleteNice and yummy sambar
ReplyDeleteDelicious sambar...
ReplyDeletehttp://recipe-excavator.blogspot.com
Nice and delicious sambhar..looks good and tempting..
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI love sambar and this looks simply mouthwatering :-)
ReplyDeletevery delicious with great beginner tips
ReplyDeleteFingerlicking sambar, my comforting food.
ReplyDeleteLovely, all time favorite. You bowl of sambar looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteHi Padhu ,
ReplyDeletesambar looks AAwesome !!!
and neat presentation Padhu :)))
Keep on...
I make sambar regularly. These days I like to eat quinoa with sambar...
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing so many vegan and vegetarian recipes, which is good for environment and our health...
Perfect Sambar
ReplyDeleteOh yum! This looks delicious! I have never tried this before, but I would eat this up in a second
ReplyDeleteThanks Padhu for visting my space and leaving a comment.you share a wonderful space. following you.
ReplyDeleteNever added cauliflower in sambar! Nice pictorial!
ReplyDeleteKEEP the good work up. thanks
ReplyDeleteI tried this recipe yesterday... it turned out so well that I specially came back to your post just to thank you! Thank you so much! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your recipe. Never thought i could such good sambhar!
ReplyDeleteMy first try at making sambar. I always eat two to three bowls at a very good Indian restaurant so I decided to try my hand. Maybe a little too much tamarind, but I will try again...delicious. Thanks for the step by step instructions
ReplyDeleteit wj awesome..........yummmmmmy!!!
ReplyDeleteSimple and Super
ReplyDelete@Padhu,
ReplyDeleteThis is my third time I am preparing my Sambhar, and I am very satisfied with the out come. Thanks to your post.I have also referred to other posts from other websites for sambhar, but yours is the best so far I have seen. Thank you, keep writing! :)
Superb Padhu. I just prepared it for 3 persons but unfortunately I had a an extra guest lately. You know what happened, finally I was left with nothing & had to eat curd rice. Beautiful taste & I had to prepare more next time.
ReplyDeletenice sambar recipe padhu, i tried it came out good
ReplyDeletethankyou soooo much
ReplyDeleteThank you for this recipe. I made it, and it didn't seem to turn out well for me. I made a double recipe, and doubled all of the ingredients. I used potato, carrot, and green bean as my vegetables.
ReplyDeleteI think there is far too much sambar powder in this recipe, and definitely too much tamarind water. If I try making it again, I will reduce both of those, and also not include the fenugreek seeds, because they add an unpleasant bitterness to the sambar.
Thanks.
Indiaindiana - this recipe has been tried more than a 100 times in my house. There is hardly any chances for the recipe to go wrong. Things you have to consider
ReplyDeleteI have written just a small lemon sized or gooseberry sized ball which is very less. I do not know how much tamarind you added. Moreover, if it is old tamarind, you have to add less as it is more tangy. New tamarind will not be that tangy.
I have used Homemade sambar poowder which is excellent. I do not know about store bought sambar powder. I have used Aashirwad sambar powder once and it is good.
Adding fenugreek seeds is a must for sambar- it not only adds flavor but is also very good for health. I have given only 1/2 tsp, if you do not like it, you can reduce it to 1/4.That 1/4 or 1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds does not make the sambar bitter. I do not know where you went wrong. But I can say with 100% confidence that this is a fool proof recipe.
Thank you very much for your reply, Padhu. I tried the recipe again and reduced the amounts of sambar powder and tamarind, and it was more to my and my husband's liking. (We are in north India, so sambar is not a regular part of our menu--we may like it weaker than others.)
ReplyDeleteI ended up having the same problem of bitterness after some time, though. As soon as I finished, I tasted it and it was very good. Then after sitting about an hour, it was a bit bitter. Any ideas? It was in a steel pot, and I thought maybe it was reacting with the metal?
Indiaindiana - I prepare sambar 3-4 times in a week. I have never faced this problem. I think you are over roasting the fenugreek seeds. Only burnt fenugreek seeds give a bitter taste to the sambar. You can use kadai or thick bottomed stainless steel vessel or non stick cookware to prepare sambar.
ReplyDeleteToday my wife left to India from US. I literally wanted to start cooking after 2 yrs. Thanks Padhu...End product was awesome...Made 3 mistakes...Have not followed the steps in right order so ended up spending 2 hrs completely. Sambar ready for next 2 - 3 days!!!
ReplyDeleteHI Padhu,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe. I tried it today... its comeout very well :)
I cooked this sambar only using ladys finger.it came out well.thanks for ur recipe padhu.
ReplyDeleteHi padhu, very good recipe. Ll try it out tomorrow
ReplyDeleteHi... I tried the way it was described , came out very well... after 6 months i make the perfect sambhar !!
ReplyDeleteMy wife has never let me into the Kitchen. Today, i followed the steps to make sambar as my wife is away. Yummy. my children loved it. very well explained and i followed it step by step. Now i am going to read the recipes here and try to learn some cooking.
ReplyDeleteHi padhu am big fan of ur recipes.i have a doubt if we cook dal and vegetables in same pan wont dal and veges get mixed up
ReplyDeleteThank you Abinaya for liking my recipes. You can cook dal and veggies together by keeping the vegetables in a separate cup as seen in the picture.It will not get mixed up. This saves a lot of time and fuel.
DeleteThank u padhu for ur reply
DeleteHi, thank you for this amazing recipe. Can u plz tell me which sambhar masala is good? I have options between everest, mdh and catch.
ReplyDeleteThanks once again.
I use and also prefer Homemade Sambar Powder. I have tried everest and aashirwad -both are good. I do not know about other company product.
Deletethankyou for this amazing recipe I tried it and its amazing !!!!
ReplyDeleteCan I replace vegetables from green leaves... Does the procedure remain same!!!???
ReplyDeleteYes, you can. After sauteing the onions, you have to add greens, cook for a few minutes and then follow the same procedure. You can follow the Methi Sambar recipe.
Deletethis sambhar is very nice..had for dosa and idly ..
ReplyDeleteCan I add tomato and tamarind also in sambar?
ReplyDeleteTamarind is already added - if you want you can add 1 tomato also.
DeleteHello madam..i tried this sambar today..it tastes very good..thanks..but i kept the hot water soaked toor dal directly in cooker and placed a bowl of veg in middle of tat.veg got cooked.but dal was only half cooked.do i need to keep dal also in a bowl and pressure cook??
ReplyDeleteIt depends upon the quality of dal. Some dal gets cooked, some do not. In that case, you can cook for more whistles and cook the vegetables separately or you can cook like me keeping a vessel inside the cooker. Dal has to be mushy and well cooked for the sambar to be tasty.
DeleteThank you for reply. Wil try as u said.
DeleteTried ur recipe.It was very delicious
ReplyDeleteHi Padhu, My tamarind extract is almost black in color and totally darkens my Sambar. How do I correct that?
ReplyDeleteTry changing the tamarind brand.
DeleteNo need to add garlic and cumin in this recipe?
ReplyDeleteNot necessary but if you want there is no harm in adding it.
DeleteHi - Nice simple recipe. I am a beginner to cooking, Had a few questions, i use Tamarind paste (what is the equivalent of the lemon/ gooseberry measurement to tsp) and how much water would be needed for that?
ReplyDeleteIn the end, when the parruppu (mashed) is being added, you mention to add water (is it 1/2 cup of water? in terms of measurement). In place of red chillies, can we use red chilly powder?
I have not tried with tamarind paste. Try adding a tsp of tamarind paste mixed with 1 -1/2 cup of water.
DeleteIt is 1/2 cup of water. You can adjust water according to the consistency you need. You can add red chilli powder instead of red chillies.
Hi Padhu Mam, can we add radish to this sambar ? Along with beans and carrot
ReplyDeleteYes , you can add but the radish smell will dominate the sambar.
DeleteOh, okay thanks :)
ReplyDelete