Sambar is this delicious South Indian lentil and vegetable stew that you’ve never heard of. It’s something you need to try for yourself.
It really should be popular. I think it’s only on two Indian restaurant menus in town. The two best restaurants. But still. Just not enough South Indian restaurants around. Not yet anyway. But it’s coming. And it’s about time.
More restaurants need to serve sambar – seriously
I know. I rant about the world needing Indian restaurants to mix it up a lot. But it does. And if we don’t ask for it we won’t ever get it. Seriously.
There are more than 20 dishes served in India. Restaurants should try harder to represent their culture. Their food. That wonderful, wonderful food.
Traditional sambar is served with different South Indian flatbreads you’ve probably never heard of. Idli. Dosa. Or vadas. Vadas are these super tasty fried ground lentil donuts. Crazy good. And they eat it for breakfast. My kind of breakfast!
Convinced yet? You should be. Big flavours in this dish. Curry leaves. Green chilies. Tamarind. Spice. Tomato. All working together. Perfect against the lentils.
Vegetarian, healthy and delicious
This is a vegetarian meal. Vegan even. But it’s not just for vegetarians. It’s deeply satisfying. For anyone. And it makes a great addition along side other curries. A counterpoint for whatever curry you feel like cooking. That’s how I eat sambar. Equal footing with other curries.
south Indian sambar
Ingredients
Sambar
- 1 cup toor dal - you can substitute masoor dal
- 3 1/2 cups water plus more at the end
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 1/2 cup diced tomatoes fresh in season, canned otherwise
- 2 tbsp sambar powder - available at any Indian grocer
- 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1-2 green chilies seeded and diced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 10-12 pearl onions - boiled for 3 minutes and peeled
- 1 cup green beans - your choice of any vegetable here
- 1-2 small potatoes cut into 1/2 inch pieces and par-boiled for 7-8 minutes(optional)
- 2 tbsp tamarind paste - paste is not the same as concentrate. Do not use concentrate.
- 1-2 tbsp cilantro finely chopped
Tempering (the final flavour blast)
- 2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seed
- 4-5 dried red chilies broken into large pieces
- 20-25 curry leaves fresh
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
Cook the lentils
- Combine the toor dal, water and turmeric in a pot. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, over low heat until they start to fall apart. This takes 20-30 minutes.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, green chilies, sambar powder and chili powder. Simmer until the lentils are pretty much broken down. This can take another 20-30 minutes.
- Add the potatoes, beans, onions and salt. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Make the tempering
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a small skillet. Add the chilies, mustard seed and cumin seed and cook until the seeds start to pop. Press the chilies into the oil. Flip them. This takes about 30 seconds.
- Add the curry leaves and cook another 20-30 seconds.
- Add the tempering into the sambar. Stir in the tamarind and cilantro. Cook for 5 minutes. Add enough water to make the consistency a bit runny. Taste for salt and adjust
- Serve with Indian flatbreads or rice as a vegetarian meal or serve as a side with whatever other curries you want. No rules here…
Nutrition
Panang curry. Rich. A bit sweet. Spicy. A great mix of south east asian flavours. It’s the Thai curry you should be making.
Never heard of panang curry? This is a dish you need to learn about. It’s on the menus at most every Thai restaurant. And yet everybody wants the red curry. Or maybe the green. There’s lots more to Thai cuisine.
If you have heard of it, this is how I was taught to cook it. By a little Thai lady who’s name I forgot 10 years ago. OK. It was closer to 20. But she had cred. Unlocked Thai cooking for me. No canned curry paste here.
