Sambar (without coconut)

½ kg vegetables (small onions, drumsticks, banana, lady finger, pumpkin, potatoes, brinjal)

2 cups Tuvar dal 

2 tomatoes

1” jaggery or sugar

Salt,

haldi powder

Tamarind pulp

Coriander leaves

Coconut oil

 

For Sambar masala

2 tbsp whole corriander seeds

4-5 red chillies

1 tsp raw rice (optional)

1 tsp chana dal

1 tsp urad dal

1 tsp whole hing

1 sprig curry leaves

½ tsp methi

 

2 tomatoes

1 large onion

 

 

 

For seasoning

Coconut oil

Curry leaves, red chillies, mustard, methi, for seasoning

 

Pressure cook dal with little haldi and water.

 

Head kadai. Dry roast dhaniya for a minute, add chana dal and saute, add urad dal and rice and saute, Add methi and saute. Lastly add red chilly and curry leaves and saute. Let it cool. Powder it and keep aside. (This can be made in advance and kept)

Heat coconut oil, add the whole hing and saute,  add the onions, when it changes colour add one chopped tomato and curry leaves and saute till done. Let it cool. Now add the powdered masala and water and grind to a smooth paste.

Now add this masala to the vegetables, add water, salt, haldi powder and cook. Add one small piece of hing also while cooking. When it starts boiling add one chopped tomato. When done, add dal. Add jaggery. Let it simmer on low fire for sometime. When the vegetables are fully cooked, add tamarind pulp and adjust water. Season with methi, mustard, curry leaves and red chillies (in that order). Garnish with corriander leaves. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Note: If suran is added to the sambar, it should be cooked with the dal in cooker. If bhindi is added, it should be first shallow fried separately, then added, to avoid stickiness. In case of Ulli sambar (small onions), onions need to be fried in oil first for some time and quantity of dal should be increased.