Best Sambar Recipe – How To Make Sambar

Here’s how I make this easy, delicious South Indian lentil and vegetable stew called Sambar. A sambar recipe is a favorite and customary in almost every household now. This Sambar recipe involves simple ingredients that are easily available like pigeon pea lentils, tangy tamarind, veggies, and a unique spice blend called “sambar powder/masala”.

What is Sambar?

As mentioned before, Sambar is a staple stew in all South Indian kitchens and is a well-known recipe throughout India. It goes really well with soft idlis (rice cakes), dosa, or vada (savory fried snacks). It is both wholesome and nutritional. Sambar recipes include a blend of spices made with measured proportions of coriander seeds, cumin, red chillies, and curry leaves. You can either buy the sambar powder or you could make it at home (depends on the time available to you). This dish is appreciated by nearly everyone because of its striking color, aromatic spices, vegetables, and irresistible flavor of tempering.

How to make Sambar recipe: Tips and Tricks

Lentils:

Cooking the daal is the first step in creating sambar. We usually use arhar dal (pigeon pea lentils), but I substituted red split lentils in this sambar recipe because it was easily available in my kitchen. The lentils must be pressure cooked until soft and mushy. You can cook the dal in a pressure cooker or in a saucepan. I prefer to use a pressure cooker to cook the lentils since it cooks them quickly but you can use a stove-pot. Cook for about 20 minutes on medium-low flame until its soft.

Vegetables

The next step is to prep the veggies. A number of vegetables can be added to a sambar including pearl onions, tomato, drumstick, eggplant, okra (bhindi), carrots, zucchini. Stir fry the veggies until they are tender but don’t let them get mushy by overcooking them or undercooking them. Once the veggies are well done, you can add the cooked dal to the pan of stir-fried vegetables.

An easier version would be adding the veggies to lentils while cooking it (like my mom does to save time) but that results in mushier veggies. Mushy vegetables are not necessarily a bad thing but it’s better if the vegetables have a little bit of a bite to them.

Although, it is optional to sauté the veggies, however, it is strongly recommended.

Spices and tamarind:

The next step is to season the sambar and add the magic touch – sambar powder. Many people in India make their own sambar powder at home and many prefer to buy it from a grocery store.

Tamarind pulp is known to add a zing and tang to sambar. Place the tamarind pulp in a bowl. Pour boiling water over the top, cover, and allow it to soak for 15 minutes. To get the most out of the tamarind, squeeze well using your hand and strain the mixture. The tamarind pulp is now ready to be added to the sambar recipe. Adjust the sourness according to your taste and modify it on the go.

If you want your sambar to be a little sweeter, add a teaspoon or two of jaggery right after adding the lentils to the sautéd vegetables.

Tempering:

You can use any oil for tempering – sesame oil, coconut oil (preferred), or peanut oil. The idea is to pre-roast spices and aromatics like curry leaves, mustard, and dried red chillies to add extra flavor. While adding the mustard seeds to the hot oil, make sure they pop well but don’t get burnt. Otherwise, the raw mustard taste will ruin the taste of the sambar recipe. Immediately add the curry leaves and red chillies after the mustards pop and roast until aromatic. Garnish the sambar with the tempering mix.

Your sambar is ready to be served! 🙂 Pair this Sambar recipe with the following dishes:

• Coconut chutney and Idli

While you’re at it, check out my other savoury recipes:

• Easy One Pot Daal Recipe
• Achinga Kaya Mezhukkupuratti – Green Bean Plantain Dish

Do try this recipe and let me know how you like it. If you really really like it, then don’t forget to tag me in your post on Instagram. I’d love to share your stories with everyone. Check out how I make this recipe on Instagram.