well;
INGREDIENTS
Sambar, a staple in southern India is a type of vegetable stew, almost a lentil (dal) chowder. It's eaten at any meals of the day. We like to make this tamarind and dal broth chock full of chunky vegetables. If you've ever had the typically more watered-down version at restaurant buffets the homemade version is nearly a whole other dish. Which vegetables you use can vary with taste, season and availability. We really like to make sure we have okra and drumsticks however. They infuse it with flavor and add to the thickening power. (Fun note on the drumstickes, you split them open and scrape the flesh off with your teeth similar to eating artichokes.)
• 2 Cup toovar Dal
• 1/ 4 cup Grated coconut
• 3 Red chilies
100 gms of sambar venkayam (small onions)
2 springs of curry leaves
4 Green chillies sliced into half
1 spoon of Perangayam(Hing)
3 medium sized Sambar Tomatoes diced in 1/2 inch pieces
Oil for tampering
1/2 spoon of mustard seeds
1/2 spoon of Fenugreek seeds
1/2 spoon of broken Dhaniya seeds
1/2 spoon of Perangayam for tampering
3 broken dry chillies
one spoon chilli powder
1/2 spoon of Turmeric powder
1 lemon sized ba*ll of Tamarind (add water and extract thick juice)
1 fairly large onion to be grilled on fire till outer cover is black and make paste of it in a mixi
2 tea spoons of freshly made paste of Coconut
1/2 cup of Kothumalli

OPTIONAL ADDITIVES

You can add vegetables like Brinjal, Lady's finger .Radish, kirai(bhaji) beans , carrots, etc for different variations of sambar.
But VENKAYA SAMBAR means pure venkaya sambar without any additives.



METHOD OF PREPARATION

Cook the dhall after adding one small spoon of Perangayam (hing) very well.
Keep it aside in the cooker for thirty minutes.
Now churn the dhall till the froth and keep it aside.
Take the baby onions and saute in oil for about three to four minutes.Take care that you don't cook the onions .

There is another variation of adding the raw baby onions in the Dhall and let it get cooked in dhall itself.I have found the second variation better for sambar taste.
Now add extract of Tamarind to Dhall along with salt .Boil the dhall till the raw smell of Tamrind goes off.
Now add semi cooked baby sambar onions and springs of curry leaves and sliced green chillies.Let it boil for about two to three minutes.
Now add three spoons of Sambar powder,one spoon of chilli powder and diced tomatoes and turmeric powder.
Let the whole thing simmer for about six minutes.

Take down the half cooked sambar and keep it aside.

Take the grilled onion, remove the burnt outer cover and make a paste of the onion
in a mixi .

Add the paste of coconut and onion now to sambar and slowly heat it on medium flame til it boils for about three to four minutes.

Tamper with mustard, chillies,fenugreek(vendiyum) seeds,broken dhaniya seeds and Perangayam.

Garnish with finely chopped kothumalli and set aside.

Answered by Kishore , an ibibo Master, at 7:51 AM on October 10, 2008

Yield About 12 cups

Time 1½-2 hours


medium-sized, heavy saucepan
wooden spoon
large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven with lid

Ingredients Sambar

1 c toor dal or masoor dal (yellow or pink lentils)
4 potatoes, diced
1 c rutabaga, turnip, or carrot, shredded or grated
28 oz tomatoes, chopped
½ c shredded unsweetened coconut
1 t tamarind concentrate OR the juice of 4 limes/ lemons
¼ c sambar powder
1 t salt
4 eggplants, preferably Asian, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 c broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, peas, collards, jackfruit seeds, carrots, snap beans, or other fresh vegetables, cut into large bite-sized pieces
2 hot green chiles, serranos, jalapeños, or Indian chiles (or more, to taste), halved lengthwise
4 drumsticks* cut into 2-in lengths (optional)

Tempering

1 tbsp of ghee, vegetable oil, olive oil, or corn oil
1 heaping t black mustard seeds
10 curry leaves, preferably fresh
¼ t asafoetida OR 1 small clove garlic, crushed

NOTE: Indians would make and add the tempering at the end. Americans tend to start with it and add the other ingredients so that they cook into it. Both techniques are explained below.

Directions Toast the lentils over moderate heat until a light toasty aroma arises and the color changes slightly.

Add 2 c water and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until the dal is soft and can be stirred into a creamy consistency. Add water while cooking if needed so as not to scorch. (Yellow lentils will take an hour or more, while pink lentils will take about 20 minutes.)

Meanwhile, make the tempering (if following American timing):

Heat the oil or ghee over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and immediately cover the pan, because they will splutter and pop.

When the spluttering has subsided, stir in the curry leaves and asafoetida or garlic, then add the potatoes and sauté them for about 2 minutes.

(If doing this Indian style, sauté the potatoes in the oil or ghee and wait until the end to making the tempering.)

Stir in the shredded rutabaga or your chosen root vegetable and sauté with the potato until fairly limp.

Add the tomato, then the coconut, then 2 c of water, and cook, stirring occasionally.

When water is just about to the boiling point, add the tamarind or lime juice.

Stir in sambar powder and salt.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir everything together.

Add another 4 c water and bring to a boil.

Cook until the vegetables are tender but not overcooked, about 15 to 40 minutes, depending on the vegetables.

Sambar should have a spicy, somewhat sour flavor, with sour outweighing any salty flavor. Adjust to your own taste with tamarind or lime juice.

Slowly add the lentils into the sambar while stirring, making it nice and creamy.

(For Indian style, now make and add the tempering.)
Notes *Drumsticks are pods of the tree Moringa oleifera, a legume; there's no substitute, just leave them out if unavailable. When the sambar is finished, the inside of the drumstick is eaten by running a piece over the teeth like artichoke leaves. Old drumsticks may not be edible as the seeds may be hard but they still add flavor.

Every South Indian makes sambar differently and there are various kinds. In richer households the sambar will probably be thicker. But in general the sambar there is thinner than our recipe so feel free to vary. To me what makes it taste South Indian is the spices and tempering.

Sambar can be eaten with rice and with light South Indian dishes such as idli, a steamed dumpling, or dosa, a sort of large rolled pancake. It is often accompanied by coconut chutney.

I hope that this doesn't seem too complicated - once you un

Answered by Romi , an ibibo Master, at 8:02 PM on October 09, 2008

Ingredients:
3/4 cup toor dal
1/2 cup onion
1/4 cup tomato
1/4 cup potato
1 tea spn sambar powder
A pinch turmeric
Oil
1/2 tea spn mustard seeds
A pinch asafoetida
4-5 curry leaves
2-3 strands coriander leaves
Salt

I prefer the homemade sambar powder for this as it has more aroma and once prepared the powder remains good for months in an airtight container (I still have the powder which my mom gave me while coming here, ie 8 months back).

Method:
Cook toor dal with turmeric. Cook potato, tomato and onion separately, I mean do not mix them with dal while cooking. (If you have the cooker vessels, use the down one for the dal and the upper one for vegetables. This way the dal cooks faster than the vegetables). Around 3-4 whistles are enough in cooker. (If using microwave, cook both separately one after the other).
Mash the dal with a spoon. Add the vegetables to dal and add sufficient water (this sambar tastes good when the dal is cooked well and mashed well).
Heat the dal, vegetables mixture. Add salt. When it starts boiling, add the sambar powder (Do not hold the entire packet of sambar powder on boiling sambar. The steam gets into the packet and the powder gets spoiled. So use spoon to take out the powder away from the boiling sambar and then add the powder). Add the chopped coriander leaves and cook for 2-3mins.
Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start popping, add asafoetida and curry leaves (tear the curry leaves into two to increase the aroma). Add this seasoning to Sambar and immediately close the lid.

Answered by jaivir , an ibibo Master, at 8:02 AM on October 08, 2008

Ingredients

* 1 cup dried lentils
* 3 cups water
* 1 medium onion
* 1 head cauliflower
* 2 sweet potatoes
* 1 red bell pepper
* 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
* 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
* 1 teaspoon cumin seed
* 1 teaspoon turmeric
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
* 1 fresh green chili pepper, minced,seeds removed for a milder hot
* 1 tablespoon tamarind paste, dissolved in
* 1 cup hot water
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2-3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
* cooked brown basmati rice
* mango peach chutney
* nonfat yogurt (optional)

Directions

1.

Rinse the lentils, place them in a small saucepan with the 3 cups of water, and bring them to a boil.
2.

Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes, until tender.
3.

Stir occasionally, adding more water if neccessary.
4.

While the lentils are cooking, chop the onion, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and bell pepper into bite-sied pieces and set aside.
5.

Warm the oil in a pot and saute the mustard, fenugreek, and cumin seeds on medium heat, covering the pot and shaking it occasionally to prevent burning.
6.

When the mustard seeds begin to pop, stir in the turmeric, coriander, cinnamom, cayenne, and chopped chile and saute for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
7.

Stir in the tamarind liquid, then add the onions, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and salt and combine.
8.

Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
9.

Add the bell peppers, cover, and continue to cook until all of the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
10.

Drain the cooked lentils and stir them into the vegetable mixture.
11.

Reheat if neccessary, then stir in the cilantro.
12.

Ladle over basmati rice and serve with Mango Peach Chutney and a generous dollop of yogurt,if desired.

Answered by Jitendra , an ibibo Master, at 9:04 PM on October 07, 2008

INGREDIENTS

150 gms of Thoram parappu (Toor dhall)
3 Spoons of Sambar powder (Please refer to my sambar powder recipe)
100 gms of sambar venkayam (small onions)
2 springs of curry leaves
4 Green chillies sliced into half
1 spoon of Perangayam(Hing)
3 medium sized Sambar Tomatoes diced in 1/2 inch pieces
Oil for tampering
1/2 spoon of mustard seeds
1/2 spoon of Fenugreek seeds
1/2 spoon of broken Dhaniya seeds
1/2 spoon of Perangayam for tampering
3 broken dry chillies
one spoon chilli powder
1/2 spoon of Turmeric powder
1 lemon sized ba*ll of Tamarind (add water and extract thick juice)
1 fairly large onion to be grilled on fire till outer cover is black and make paste of it in a mixi
2 tea spoons of freshly made paste of Coconut
1/2 cup of Kothumalli

OPTIONAL ADDITIVES

You can add vegetables like Brinjal, Lady's finger .Radish, kirai(bhaji) beans , carrots, etc for different variations of sambar.
But VENKAYA SAMBAR means pure venkaya sambar without any additives.



METHOD OF PREPARATION

Cook the dhall after adding one small spoon of Perangayam (hing) very well.
Keep it aside in the cooker for thirty minutes.
Now churn the dhall till the froth and keep it aside.
Take the baby onions and saute in oil for about three to four minutes.Take care that you don't cook the onions .

There is another variation of adding the raw baby onions in the Dhall and let it get cooked in dhall itself.I have found the second variation better for sambar taste.
Now add extract of Tamarind to Dhall along with salt .Boil the dhall till the raw smell of Tamrind goes off.
Now add semi cooked baby sambar onions and springs of curry leaves and sliced green chillies.Let it boil for about two to three minutes.
Now add three spoons of Sambar powder,one spoon of chilli powder and diced tomatoes and turmeric powder.
Let the whole thing simmer for about six minutes.

Take down the half cooked sambar and keep it aside.

Take the grilled onion, remove the burnt outer cover and make a paste of the onion
in a mixi .

Add the paste of coconut and onion now to sambar and slowly heat it on medium flame til it boils for about three to four minutes.

Tamper with mustard, chillies,fenugreek(vendiyum) seeds,broken dhaniya seeds and Perangayam.

Garnish with finely chopped kothumalli and set aside.

Answered by Gyan Singh , an ibibo Master, at 8:37 PM on October 07, 2008

Ingredients

Split pigeon pea (toor dal/arhar dal) 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon
Oil 4 tablespoons
Pumpkin, peeled,1 inch cubes 6-8 pieces
Drumsticks ,2 1/2 inch pieces 10-12 pieces
Asafoetida a pinch
Mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon
Whole dry red chillies 4
Curry leaves 10-12
Sambhar onions, peeled 10-12
Tamarind pulp 1 tablespoon
Sambhar masala 1 1/2 teaspoons
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped 1/4 cup


Method

Wash and pressure-cook dal in three cups of water with turmeric powder and one teaspoon oil. Mash the cooked dal lightly with a wooden spoon. Boil pumpkin and drumsticks in two cups of water with salt till tender.Heat remaining oil in a thick-bottomed pan, add asafoetida, mustard seeds, broken red chillies, curry leaves and sambhar onions and sauté.

Add half a teaspoon of sambhar masala and sauté for a minute. Add mashed dal and stir to mix well. Add tamarind pulp to the boiling vegetables and mix. Add this mixture to the dal mixture, mix well and let it come to a boil. Add the remaining sambhar masala and mix again. Adjust salt. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with idli, dosa, medu vada or with steamed rice.

Answered by Shenila , an ibibo Citizen, at 5:07 PM on October 07, 2008

ingredients

Tuvar dal 1 cup
Sambar onions 1 cup
Tomatoes 3
White pumpkin a small piece
Tamarind the size of a marble
Sambar powder 3 tsp
Turmeric a pinch
Asafoetida 1/2 tsp
Jaggery a size of marble
Salt as required

Seasoning:
Oil 1 tab
Ghee or dalda 2 tsp
Mustard, urad dal and fenugreek each 1 tsp

Methods/steps

Make small pieces of the pumpkin and place this along with the dal and turmeric along with 2 cups of water and pressure cook till about 3 whistles. Then remove and mash well and keep aside.
Pour the oil and ghee and when hot add the mustard and urad dal and fenugreek and whn seasoned add the sambar onions as a whole along with the skin! then add the finely sliced tomatoes.
Mix tamarind with 2 cups of water and add to the above mixture and boil.
Once it boils add the sambar powder and asafoetida powder and a little curry leaves and salt and boil till the raw smell disappears.
Now add the dal and pumpkin mash and boil for 5 more mins and once it boils add the coriander leaves and jaggery and remove from the fire.



sourcewww.indianfoodsguide.co

Answered by Deepthi , an ibibo Master, at 2:29 PM on October 07, 2008