Sambar Recipe

Sambar Recipe, a popular South Indian lentil and mixed vegetable soup made with spices, tamarind and coriander leaves. This family favorite sambar recipe gets so much compliments in our home when made with fresh homemade sambar powder. This delicious combination of dal, vegetables, spices which is filled with nutrients and can be served for your lunch/dinner or for your breakfast with Idli, Dosa, medu vada, rava khichdi and ven pongal. Learn how to make perfect ultimate sambar recipe with step by step pictures, video, tips and tricks and variations.

 Sambar Recipe

Sambar plays an important role in any South Indian menu. We make different types and different version of them suiting of the main dish which we have with it. And this sambar is made with a whole lot of veggies as well. 

About Sambar

Sambar is a South Indian Lentil soup with vegetables, spices and tempering. Sambar is usually served with with idlies, dosa or rava pongal. This Sambar is considered one of the wholesome healthy dish that you can serve with rice or breakfast dishes, since it has dal, vegetables packed in a single dish.

Can you believe that there are many variety of sambar recipes, like udupi sambar, kalyana sambar, arachuvitta sambar, drumstick sambar. My all time favorite sambar is vallarai keerai sambar. This recipe is a special sambar recipe which whole lots of veggies which goes well with rice.

Sambar is made in few simple steps. It starts by cooking dal separately, saute vegetables with sambar powder, add dal along with seasonings like salt, jaggery and tamarind. You can add a final tempering of spices to the sambar for aroma and be generous with the coriander leaves.

Video for Authentic South Indian Sambar

Sambar Ingredients

Dal - Sambar can be made with toor dal or moong dal. Some people like to combine toor and moong dal for making delicious sambar.

Onions & Tomato - this adds taste to the sambar. You can use onions or peeled shallots.

Vegetables - Mixed vegetables like cucumber, carrots, potatoes, pumpkin, drumsticks are used in sambar. 

Sambar Powder - You can use store bought sambar powder or homemade sambar powder as you prefer. 

Tamarind - add some tamarind paste or extract to balance the taste.

Seasoning - sambar has salt and a pinch of jaggery to balance the taste.

Tempering - Tempering spices like mustard, cumin seeds, dry red chillies, asafoetida and curry leaves in hot oil or ghee. This gives the final touch to your sambar. 

Coriander leaves - a handful of fresh coriander leaves adds final touch to the sambar.

How to Make Sambar Powder for Sambar

Each and ever household has their own secret recipe for sambar powder. There are many brands of perfectly decent sambar powder available in the market. But making fresh batch of homemade sambar powder is the key for achieving best tasting sambar.

Sambar powder usually has whole spices, dals and lentils which are roasted separately and ground into a fine powder. I have shared a separate step by step sambar powder recipe for making sambar powder. If you don't have much time on hand you can make my Instant sambar powder which you can use to make sambar without dal.

• Dry Red Chilli - 3 cup packed
• Whole Coriander Seeds / Mullu Malli - 1.5 cup
• Mustard Seeds / Kaduku - 1 tbsp
• Fengreek Seeds / Methi / Vendayam - 2 tsp
• Cumin Seeds / Jeerakam - 2 tbsp
• Toor dal / Tuvaram Paruppu - 3 tbsp
• Channa dal / Kadalai Paruppu - 3 tbsp
• Urad dal / Ulundu Paruppu - 3 tbsp
• Whole Pepper - 2 tbsp
• Turmeric Powder / Manjal Podi - 2 tbsp
• Asafoetida / Hing / Kaya podi - 1 tsp

Which Vegetables used for Sambar

Traditional Sambar is made with variety of mixed vegetables like shown here. But there are many variations that uses single vegetables like my pumpkin sambar, carrot sambar, potato sambar. Some of the most popular sambar varieties are tiffin sambar and my udupi sambar.

This recipe for sambar is made with mixed vegetables like pumpkin, potato, cucumber, carrots, raw mango, beans and brinjal. You can add whatever vegetables you have or prefer.

These vegetables not only adds taste and texture to the sambar but adds so much nutrients to it.

How to Make Sambar (Stepwise Pictures)

Cooking Dal

1)For making sambar, you have to start by cooking dal. I used toor dal in this recipe. But you can use half toor dal and half yellow moong dal. Wash toor dal in several changes of water. Take washed dal in a pressure cooker and cover with water. Add some turmeric powder and pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistle. Let the pressure release by itself. Open the cooker and mash the dal slightly using back of a spoon and set aside.

Sauteing vegetables

2)Heat ghee or oil in a pot. Add in chopped onions, tomatoes and slit green chillies. You can add peeled whole shallots of taste and texture. Saute the onions and tomatoes for 2 minutes.

Add in Vegetables

3)Add in your chopped mixed vegetables. In this recipe for sambar I used pumpkin, potato, cucumber, carrots, raw mango, beans and brinjal. You can add whatever vegetables you have or prefer.

4)Saute the vegetables for 3 to 4 minutes till the raw smell leaves from it.

Cooking Vegetables

5)Cover the vegetables with water. You can add some salt to the vegetables. Bring it to a boil.

6)Cover the pot with lid and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes till vegetables are almost cooked.

7)Now you can see the vegetables are cooked completely.

Adding Cooked Dal

8)Once vegetables are cooked, add in the cooked toor dal.

9)Add in the fresh sambar powder.

10)Taste and adjust with salt, jaggery and tamarind pulp.

11)Mix everything well and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes till the raw smell leaves from tamarind.

Tempering Sambar

12) For tempering sambar, heat ghee or oil. Add in mustard seeds, urad dal and cumin seeds. Let them sizzle for few seconds. Add in broken dry red chillies and mix well.

13)Add a dash of asafoetida and curry leaves in hot oil and mix well.

14)Pour the tempered spices into the sambar and mix well.

15)This tempering adds so much flavour to the sambar.

Sambar Garnish

16)Add lots of finely chopped coriander leaves into the sambar and mix well. This coriander leaves adds so much aroma to the sambar.

17)Mix coriander leaves into the sambar. Thats it sambar is ready.

18)Serve sambar with idli, dosa, pongal, khichdi or rice.

Instant Pot Sambar

Sambar is a staple food for south indian. We make it almost twice or thrice a week. It can be served with tiffin recipes or rice. This particular recipe is super easy to make and can be made in less than 20 mins in an instant pot. This sambar taste amazing with rice or tiffins too. This is similar to a one pot recipe and the whole recipe is made in one pot.

How to Make Sambar in Instant Pot

1)Set instant pot to saute mode on high heat.

2)Add oil, add mustard, urad dal, asafoetida and cumin seeds.

3)Now add in all veggies and stir fry for 2 mins.

4)Add in sambar powder and mix well.

5)Add in toor dal.

6)Add salt, sugar, tamarind, dal and water.

7)Now change the mode to pressure cook in instant pot. Set temp to 15 mins on high pressure. Leave the pressure to release on its own.

8)Open the lid and add coriander leaves. Mix well and serve.

Variations

Sambar is a staple dish in our house. We make it at least twice a week. There are so many variations you can make in sambar. I have literally sambar using every vegetables and blogged about it. Here are some of my sambar recipes available on this blog.

Tiffin Sambar - This is our go to sambar recipe which we usually serve with tiffin items like idli, dosa or pongal.

Pumpkin Sambar - when pumpkin is in season this is how you can use it in sambar. Pumpkin adds sweetness which taste amazing in a sambar.

Drumstick Sambar - one of my all time favorite sambar. In restaurants and hotels murungaikkai is a must add vegetable when making sambar.

Potato Sambar - simple yet so satisfying.

Vengaya Sambar - peeled whole shallots is used which adds so much sweetness, specially when served with kal dosa.

Vendaikkai Sambar - This is quite unusual to use ladies finger in sambar but amma adds it so do I.

Radish Sambar - radish has its own unique flavour and aroma which it adds when made into this dish.

Milagai Killi Potta Sambar - lots of dry red. chillies is used which adds a smoky aroma which goes well with tiffin items.

Thakkali Sambar - our go to dish when tomatoes are in season.

Sambar without Dal - if you don't have time on hand, then here is a recipe of sambar made without dal. You can even make my instant sambar powder which can be made into sambar without dal.

Coconut Sambar - it is quite unusual to add coconut in sambar but the taste is amazing.

Raw Mango Sambar - raw mangoes not only adds tanginess but taste amazing.

Udupi Sambar - one of the most popular sambar recipe in and around karnataka.

Keerai Sambar - healthy and easy way to include spinach in your diet.

Expert Tips

• You can cook dal ahead of time and store in fridge and use as needed.
• Instead of using toor dal, you can use moong dal or half toor and half moong dal. 
• Instead of homemade sambar powder you can use store bought sambar powder.
• Any vegetables can be used in making sambar.
• You can use whole peeled shallots of making sambar.

Serving Sambar

Sambar is usually served for lunch / dinner or for your breakfast with Idli, Dosa, medu vada, rava khichdi and ven pongal. It is commonly served with steamed rice. But you can try these variations of recipes.

Mini Idli Sambar

Sambar Rice

Sambar Powder Potato Fry

Millet Sambar Sadham

Sambar Varieties

📖 Recipe Card

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