Sambar

Ingredients for sambar recipe
    ¾ cup Toor dal (or split pigeon peas) (refer notes)
    1 to 2 tablespoon Tamarind or tamarind paste as needed, tamrind size of lemon
    ¼ cup Coriander leaves few with tender stalks – chopped
    salt as needed
    1/8 teaspoon turmeric (skip if your sambar powder has it)

Vegetables for sambar
    12 to 15 shallots (or small onions) or 1 medium onion sliced, refer notes
    1 to 2 vegetable drumsticks (or moringa)
    2 to 3 Ladies finger (or okra, bhindi)
    3 to 4 cubed red pumpkin pieces (optional)
    1 green chili slit (optional)
    1 medium tomato chopped

Steps to make sambar powder or you can use the ready made powder:
    1 tablespoon coriander seeds (or daniya)
    1 tablespoon Chana dal (or skinned split bengal gram)
    1 teaspoon urad dal (or skinned split black gram)
    ½ teaspoon cumin (or jeera)
    ¼ to ½ teaspoon methi seeds (or fenugreek seeds)
    4 to 5 red chilies (kashmiri or byadgi) (less spicy variety)
    tempering or tadka for sambar recipe
    2 teaspoon ghee or oil
    1 sprig curry leaves
    ½ teaspoon cumin (or jeera)
    ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
    1 Pinch methi seeds or fenugreek seeds
    2 pinches asafoetida or hing
    1 Red chili broken (less spicy variety)

HOW TO MAKE THE RECIPE:
    Preparation for sambar recipe
    Wash toor dal a few times in cooker or pot until the water runs clear.
    Pour 2 cups water & pressure cook on a medium heat for 2 to 4 whistles depending on the brand of cooker.
    The dal needs to be cooked till smooth. It can even be cooked in a pot.
    Rinse all the veggies. Scrape the drumsticks lightly & rinse. Chop them to 2 inch pieces.
    Peel the shallots as well & rinse.
    Chop tomatoes & okra to 1 inch pieces. If using pumpkin peel the skin & dice them. Set aside.
    Make sambar powder – Skip this if you have the powder
    While the dal cooks, make the sambar powder. Dry roast red chilies, urad dal and chana dal until golden & crisp. Add coriander seeds & fry till aromatic. Remove to a plate.
    Next add methi seeds and saute until slightly dark. Then add cumin, fry for a minute. Cool these and powder finely.
    How to make sambar
    Pour 5 cups of water to a pot, add the chopped veggies.
    Cook on a medium flame until the veggies are soft cooked yet hold their shape.
    The flavor & taste of sambar is good when the veggies are soft cooked as all the flavor comes out to the stock.
    optional – You can also saute all the veggies in a tsp of oil until the flavor comes – for 3 to 5 mins. If using brinjal then saute it first for 3 to 4 mins to bring out flavor.
    When the water turns slightly hot, transfer about ¼ cup hot water with a ladle to a separate bowl and soak tamarind in it.
    When the pressure goes off, mash the dal to smooth.
    The dal needs to be very smooth otherwise the taste of the sambar alters within a few hours.
    When the vegetables are completely cooked, add sambhar powder, turmeric & salt.
    Cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Pour the tamarind pulp, filter if you desire.
    Add smooth dal, mix well to blend the dal with water. Bring it to a boil.
    Check if there is enough salt & sourness. If needed add more. Add coriander leaves & stir.
    Tempering sambar
    Meanwhile, heat another pan with oil or ghee.
    Add mustard, cumin & methi. When they begin to sizzle, add curry leaves, broken red chili.
    When the leaves turn crisp, off the heat add hing. You can also add 1/8 to 1/4 tsp of sambar powder to the hot pan.
    Quickly pour this seasoning to the sambar. Stir well. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes for the sambar to become flavorful.
    We usually pour 2 to 3 ladles of sambhar to the tempering pan as the aroma of the tempering will be great this way.
    Tips for refrigerating
    Stir well. Set aside the desired portion to refrigerate in smaller containers.
    Cool completely and refrigerate immediately. To retain the taste of sambar, it is suggested to refrigerate within two hours of cooking.
    It keeps good for about 2 days. Bring it to a boil whenever needed.
    A fresh tadka for the refrigerated dish makes it smell and taste fresh.
    Serve sambar with rice, idli, vada or dosa.

Notes:
    For dal – you can use a mix of
    Toor (split skinned pigeon peas)
    Moong (skinned split mung beans or green gram)
    Masoor (skinned split red lentils)
    Do not add tamarind before the veggies are cooked completely.
    Do not overcook the dal, as the taste of dal diminishes. Add it only after the veggies are cooked. This way dal is not overcooked and sambhar tastes the best.
    Make sure dal is very smooth. In some parts of south India, dal is ground to smooth and then used.
    If you do not have shallots you can use 3 small (lemon sized) to 1 medium sized (halved) onions. The sambar will get some sweet flavor but tastes good.