Sambar (lentil and vegetable stew)

Sambar (lentil and vegetable stew)
This South Indian side dish has a combination of vegetables cooked with different spices. It is usually served with a savoury pancake known as dosa. You can use any combination of vegetables for this dish. You can also use mysoor or split red lentil instead of toor dal. 

1 cup toor dal cooked with 1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 dried red chillie remove seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
2 tsp channa dal
pinch of asafoetida
1 tbsp coconut grated
1/2 tbsp oil
1/2 cup pumpkin cubes
1/4 cup eggplant cubes
1/2 cup carrots chopped
1/2 cup drumsticks 2" pieces
1 cup tomatoes chopped
4 cups of water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp tamarind pulp in 1/2 cup water

tempering
1 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1 dried red chillie broken remove seeds
1 tbsp curry leaves
1 tbsp onion

Cook dal with turmeric and salt until it is soft.

Roast coriander seeds, dried red chillie, fenugreek, channa dal, asafoetida and coconut. When golden brown cool and grind to a fine paste.

Heat 1/2 tbsp oil add vegetables and sauté for a few minutes then add spices, water and cook till vegetables are almost cooked, the water would have almost absorbed. Add dal and tomatoes, cook for a few minutes. Add the tamarind puree in the end which stops the vegetables from cooking further.

In another pan heat 1 tsp oil add mustard seeds, dried red chillie, curry leaves, onions and sauté. Add it to the sambar and cook for about 3 minutes.

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58 comments:

  1. One of my comforting food, delicious dal..

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  2. That sambar looks soo exotic...so commomn at my house but never looked that yummy ...
    Biny

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  3. Comforting bowl of hearty stew. Lots of good and new ingredients.

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  4. Ciao!!!
    Thanks for your comment on my blog e sempre complimenti per il tuo blog e le tue meravigliose ricette!!!;-)
    Ti ho aggiunto alla mia lista friends...:-)
    Buona serata
    Daiana

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  5. Love it.. looks so deilicous. esp the coconut to it. gives it a great taste.. yummmm

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  6. looks delicious ...the aroma and flavor is coming here through the picture...very comforting dish...

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  7. What a perfect dish to warm you up in the fall. YUM!

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  8. Beautiful photos! My mouth is watering now!

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  9. Yummy Sambar I can have this for forever and not get bored,BTW I have not come across drumsticks here on the east coast,you guys are lucky really lucky to get them :)

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  10. Love it..looks delicious,comfort dish.

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  11. My all time fav..love to have it it with some hot rice n chips :)

    US Masala

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  12. thanks looks fabulous love these flavors here wonderful!

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  13. The flavors here sound wonderful. This looks like such a hearty bowl of soup. Great dish!

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  14. Comforting indeed... my tummy could use some of that right now!

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  15. Sambar looks delicious. I love to have with my dosa and rice.

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  16. oh yummm yummm, looks like real comfort food to me!

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  17. I love this time of year, lots of comfort food. This soup is perfect.

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  18. Now I know what I'll try with the lentils I cooked today. Thanks.
    Jim

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  19. I love everything in this and as the weather chills, I would love this on my dinner tables.

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  20. So thick and yummy looking sambar. Would love to try it out with rice.

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

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  21. What a great-looking bowl of soup! It looks very satisfying!

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  22. wounderful combination of vegetables.I love it.

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  23. Wonderful! I adore these vegetables and these spices. Looks delicious!

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  24. thanks!

    also wonderful vegetables. perfect for the winter!

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  25. Wow !! I need to taste of these exotic (to me) ingredients...Well done!

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  26. wonderful...looks superb...do collect ur award from my blog

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  27. Lovely picture of a delicious dish! I *heart * sambar!

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  28. This looks wonderful and delicious!

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  29. Sounds like a delicious and comforting dish!

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  30. Very Tempting pics and indeed they are making the dish more delicious...Very healthy way to have all the veggies...

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  31. This is very interesting dhal version i bet it tasted great

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  32. my fav..looks so perfect and yummy!!

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  33. all time fav. delicious dal stew:)

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  34. I just picked up lentils. This looks like the perfect recipe to use them with.

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  35. Looks perfect and yummy :) love the photograph :) you have a lovely blog :) will keep coming :)

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  36. This looks delicious. I know my husband and I would love it. I'd happily make this (and give the kids something else, so we could keep it all to ourselves!).

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  37. A comforting and all time fave recipe.

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  38. Beautiful...sounds so warming and perfect for this cooler weather. :D

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  39. thats a nice looking sambar..ive never been successful at it

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  40. Gorgeous and comforting. Love the flavors:)

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  41. The ultimate comfort food, even moreso with tamarind.

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  42. I love the look of this dish - totally my kind of thing. I especially love dishes like this that I can keep reheating and eating for the next few days - always seem to keep tasting better each day.
    Sue :-)

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  43. Ooh looks good and sounds very rich and exotic!

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  44. oh i love how good this looks:) thank you for sharing.

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  45. Goodness, I should have come here before I posted my Sambar post today! You are the expert!

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  46. It looks fantastic. thanks for sharing.

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  47. Your sambar looks delicious. I just made one in a vegetarian Indian food class and loved it. Yours makes me want to make it again. ;-) Thanks for sending it to Souper Sundays.

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  48. This dal was great, didn't have "drumsticks" but had all else, Thank you.

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  49. Lovin' all those spices! Keep these recipes coming...

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Thank you for commenting :)