Sambar

 My version

Sambar is a very popular South Indian dish prepared by combining lentils, vegetables, tamarind pulp and a special spice mix. There are lots of variations of sambar, each adapted to suit the taste and ingredient availability of each region. Tamilians claim that Sambar originated in Tamil Nadu. I have no idea :) Anyway, we'll prepare my version of Sambar, which might have a Kerala influence. In Kerala, unlike other states in the south, a wider variety of vegetables are included. The Northern Kerala and Southern Kerala sambar are quite distinct. In Tamil Nadu, most of them do not add other vegetables. They make sambar with shallots or okra alone.

My father is from Guruvayoor, Thrissur and so I grew up having sambar North Kerala style - with an extra addition of roasted coconut paste. Well I don't know if everyone in Guruvayoor makes sambar that way, but, that's how I've had sambar everywhere in Guruvayoor. That's how most people in the Malabar region prepare sambar. Well, my husband is from the South of Kerala and so I make sambar with a southern influence. Maybe, I'll put up the Northern version too sometime in the future, let's see..

Ingredients :
Lentils (Toor/Mung/Chana dal)	-		1 cup
Coconut oil	-		2 tablespoons
Mustard seeds	-		1 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds	-		1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds	-		1/2 teaspoon
Shallots (coarsely sliced)	-		10 nos.
Curry leaves	-		3-4 stems
Dried red chillies	-		5-6 nos.
Green chillies (slit)	-		2 nos.
Asafoetida powder	-		1/3 teaspoon
Onion (coarsely sliced)	-		1 large
Okra	-		1 cup
Brinjal / Eggplant	-		2 large
Coriander powder	-		2 teaspoon full
Kashmiri Chilli powder	-		1 and 1/2 teaspoons
Black pepper powder	-		1/2 teaspoon
Cumin powder	-		1/2 teaspoon
Fennel seed powder	-		1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	-		1/2 teaspoon
Carrots	-		1 cup
Snake beans	-		1 cup
Drumsticks	-		1 cup
Tamarind	-		Lemon sized
Warm water to soak tamarind	-		1 cup
Freshly ground coconut	-		3/4 cup
Tomatoes	-		2 medium
Coriander leaves / Cilantro	-		a small handful
Sambar powder	-		1 teaspoon full
Water	-		3-4 cups
Salt	-		To taste.

If you are making sambar for the first time, follow the below points :

1. Though any available lentils can be used, Toor dal is the preferred one.

2. Make sure you wash and drain the dal and cook it in 3 cups of water.

3. If few or none of the vegetables mentioned above are available to you, you can make sambar with just onions and eggplants or onions and okra. Some people also add other vegetables like potatoes, yam or any other Kerala veggies. Well upto you.

4. Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of warm water for 10 minutes and extract the pulp and strain it well.

5. The spice mix is mentioned just in case sambar masala is not available to you or if you do not trust packet powders. You can substitute the spice powders with 3 teaspoons full of sambar powder. Save 1 teaspoon for the last stage.

6. If you are using sambar powder, then it will contain asafoetida powder, and fenugreek powder as well. So if both of those aren't available to you, you needn't worry.

7. Quite often, you might end up with a feeling that something is missing. Well, could be salt. Add salt and keep testing.

8. Tempering can be done at the end as well. Upto you.

But, try following the recipe exactly with exact ingredients for desired results :)

Preparation Method :

In a shallow skillet, heat the coconut oil and crackle the mustard seeds, then add the cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds. In some regions, fenugreek seeds are roasted, ground and added at the end of the cooking process. Add the shallots, dried red chillies, curry leaves and green chillies and sauté for a minute on medium flame. Sprinkle in the asafoetida powder. Some people add it at the end as well. But, I feel the aroma is infused better when it is added to the oil at this stage. Throw in the chopped onion and sauté. Then, add the Okra and keep sautéing until the sliminess or glueyness kind of disappears. Okra gives an extra viscous texture to the sambar. Try not to avoid it. Throw in the brinjal and sauté until it begins to brown. It gives an amazing flavour to the sambar. Add the powdered spices and sauté for not more than a minute. Quickly add the rest of the vegetables and give a good stir, so as to coat the vegetables well with the masala. Pour in the tamarind pulp, and combine everything well. Cover with a lid and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Then add the cooked dal along with its water. Add some more curry leaves.  Add hot water and combine everything well and cover with lid and bring to a boil.  When it begins to boil, add the tomato wedges and cover and cook on low flame for 10-15 minutes. To sum it up, add the cilantro/coriander leaves. I just can't do without that final spoon of sambar masala. It does wonders. Anyway, it's all left to you. Allow to simmer for another 2 minutes and sambar is ready. If you are a working woman or a bachelor, and you find it hard to cook every day, then make a pot full of sambar and pour into small freezer proof/microwave oven proof clean and dried containers and allow to cool. Once cooled cover with lids and pop into your freezer. If you have prepared the sambar in good hygiene, you can save it in the freezer for almost a month. 2 hours before using just leave it out to thaw and then pop it into the microwave and heat. If you do not have a microwave, transfer it to a saucepan, add 1/4 cup of water, cover with a lid and bring to a boil on low flame, stirring occasionally. You can do the same with dal curry too if you haven't added coconut. But, once heated, never refrigerate again or reuse. Sambar goes well with rice, dosa, idili, wada, chapattis etc. Nothing can beat a meal with rice, sambar, yogurt, pappadam and some mango pickle.. MMmmm.. :) This might sound weird, but, try noodles  with some sambar. Trust me, it's delicious! :)