Who says making Sambar is a tough job? If you wanna impress your parents, act like a pro host, or impress your foodie crush, just get ready-made dosa batter and prepare hot, soupy Sambar. In this blog, I have shared a detailed and easy Sambar recipe for bachelors and Gen Z.
Before we start with the recipe, let me share a cool, fun fact about the Sambar recipe. Stories say that Shahji, who was known for his cooking skills, was preparing the traditional Amti dal that usually gets its tangy taste from kokum. On that particular day, kokum was out of stock, so he used tamarind instead and added a few vegetables to the pot. He served this new tangy curry to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who was visiting him in Thanjavur. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj enjoyed it so much that he asked what was in it. Shahji decided to name the dish after him, and that is how it came to be known as ‘Sambar’.
So, technically, the Sambar recipe was invented by Marathi legends in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. 😉
Source: Times of India.
Now that you know the fun story behind the Sambar recipe, let’s move towards the actual recipe.
Sambar Recipe Ingredients: Serves 4
Oil – 2 tablespoons
Jeera, mustard seeds, hing
Curry leaves (Kadipatta)
Garlic – 5-6 cloves
Onion – 3 mid-sized onions
Tomato – 1 mid-sized tomato (optional)
Drumstick – 1 big-sized
Carrot – 1
Red pumpkin – ¼
Coriander leaves
Tamarind – 1
Dry Red chillies – 3-4
Red chilli powder, coriander powder, haldi, salt, Suhana Sambar masala
Tur daal – 1 small bowl
Water
Important Tip: Make sure you collect all Sambar recipe ingredients first.
Authentic Sambhar Recipe:
Step 1:
Wash the daal well 3-4 times. Now pour it into a small cooker, add water, and close the lid. Let the daal cook for 5-6 vessels. Make sure you add 3 bowls of water. The ratio of daal and water should be 1:3.
Step 2:
Chop mid-sized chunks of carrot, tomato, and red pumpkin. Cut long, thin slices of onion (onion stripes). Peel off the drumstick and cut into 5-6 pieces.
Step 3:
Take a small vessel and pour water into it. Then add drumstick pieces and pumpkin pieces, and let the water boil.
Step 4:
Take a big Kadhai. Add oil. Add jeera, hing, and mustard seeds. Then add onion and carrot pieces. Fry well. Once the onion gets that pink color, add tomato pieces as well. Keep mixing veggies. Finally, add drumstick pieces and pumpkin pieces.
Step 5:
Now add all the spices: red chilli powder, coriander powder, haldi, and Suhana Sambar masala. Mix well.
Step 6:
Take the same vessel used for boiling drumsticks and pumpkin. Add a very small amount of water into the vessel and then add tamarind. Start boiling the water. Once the water starts boiling, turn off the gas.
Step 7:
By this time, your daal must be cooked well. Check if the cooker is cool enough to open the lid. Take out the cooked daal and add it to the kadhai. Mix well. Make sure all veggies and cooked daal are mixed properly.
Step 8:
Add 2-3 bowls of water to the veggies. Use a strainer to strain out the tamarind water. Now add this water to the kadhai. Mix everything well.
Step 9:
Take a small tadka kadhai. Add 1 tablespoon of oil/ghee. Add garlic cloves to the oil. Once garlic cloves start turning pink/red, add curry leaves and dry red chillies. Now add this tadka to the Sambar.
Step 10:
For this quantity, add 1.5 teaspoons of salt. Or you can add as per your taste preferences. Finally, add freshly chopped coriander.
Tadaa! Your yummy Sambar is ready.
Story Behind My Easy Sambar Recipe
I had gone to Mumbai to visit my brother. The train stopped at Dadar. I was super hungry and had no energy to wait till I reached home. So, I called my brother and told him that I’ll be eating at Mama Kane. But my brother told me that there is a Udupi restaurant right outside the station. So, I decided to eat there. Though I am an extrovert, I hesitate to eat alone. But when my Medu wada sambar arrived, and I took the first bite, I closed my eyes and indulged in the beautiful taste. You can say that I have become Anton Ego from the film Ratatouille. That’s when I decided to learn the Sambar recipe and prepare the best Sambar at home.
I have always thought that cooking was difficult. But then I started experimenting. Cooking can be fun. This easy Sambar recipe is one of my specialties. I often pair Sambar with rice instead of Idli or Dosa. Super hot Sambar and steamy rice with a spoonful of desi ghee!
Though Idli Sambar is one of the most popular and easy breakfast recipes for busy Indians, you can also try Sambar with Poha, Upma, and Khichdi.
Follow YouthKnows for more such easy recipes for bachelors.
