Hello everyone! I was wondering if I can get some help... Whenever I make my sambar, it just won't turn out correctly! Maybe someone can share a sambar recipe with step by step directions? I live in USA but there is 2 Indian markets around me so I would be able to find everything. All help is appreciated.
I love Udipi Sambar and my style is similar except that I first saute the veggies and then add tamarind extract bring it to a boil and then add Sambar powder and finally add cooked thuvar dal then season it. Udipi Sambar Recipe
Here are links to Chitvish recipes in the Recipes section Check here - The Recipes Index From the list i picked these two. Kuzhambus - Gravies of South India! Kuzhambus - Gravies of South India! As you explore Chitvish ma'am recipe section you will find many Step-by-step photos too.
I m loving the way one of my friend told me ,in the cooker u add veggies n onion with toor dal but I add even Chana dal n spilt masoori dal ..garlic n coriander too .. I put all together once but my had friend told first just dal in cooker get 2 whistle then add vegie and tomatoe get another 2 whistle .. I m using homemade Garam masala mil give N actually it's good
Can you provide more details like what is not turning out correctly. Taste, smell, texture or the overall look and mouthfeel? Sambar is made up of four stages and portions. I am giving you a simplified recipe of sambar. The nice thing about sambar is that it is easy to conjure up satisfying taste with no demanding hassle. Preparation: Vegetables: Select a nice combination of brinjal, okra, raddish. Microwave/stove boil veggies in water with salt and chilli and turmeric (very little) and tamarind extract. I liked what jskls has suggested to saute the veggies before boiling. Try that, it will keep the color bright and intact as well. Keep the boiled vegetables aside. Daal: Cook tuvar daal in a pressure cooker. You haven't mentioned what daal you have used. Keep it simple initially. Just plain tuvar. Mash it and keep it aside. Tadka: Jeera + mustard + green chilly + red chilly + curry leaves + coriander leaves + oil + grated/desiccated coconut. The main ingredient that distinguishes sambar from other vegetable daals is 'sambar powder'. For now, don't make the powder on your own. Choose a brand like MTR. You have boiled vegetables, daal, sambar powder, tadka ingredients. Procedure: Take a hearty casserole. Heat it. Mix the daal and boiled vegetables. No oil needed. In a separate pan, pour oil, heat it, add the tadka ingredients, let them sputter. This is what I do: add the sambar powder to that tadka. Saute it. Mix this tadka mixture to that boiled veggie daal. Leave a bit aside. Keep the casserole on the stove for only 1-2 minutes after adding the tadka. Use the aside tadka as garnish. Ready to serve. This the simplified recipe but I can vouch that it tastes good. Later, try to improve by making your own sambar powder, or variation in the veggies. During this process what can go wrong. Follies Tamarind extract added to the boiled vegetables is sour. I usually taste the tamarind extract/juice before boiling it with vegetables and after the boil. So if it is still sour, you know why your sambar is not turning out correct. Vegetables turn into a mash. You will gradually learn the timing to boil your vegetables as not too soft or not too raw. The daal is flaky. Ensure that the daal is cooked soft in the pressure cooker. If not, cook it for few more whistles. Still wrong? Inspect each stage: is it the vegetables, is it the daal, is it the tadka, is it the sambar powder (MTR is good, try first with it). Below is the picture of my recent and hurried sambar. Picture is to give you an idea of how it should look if you had followed the steps exactly in order. In few attempts, even the most simplified and hurried sambar tastes great. Keep your hopes up on that hearty daal. Cheers!
namaste. Yes I mean the taste and consistency of the sambar isn't correct! I need all the help I can get. haha. Thank you for the informative reply. I really want to be able to make a tasty sambar! I can't use coconut because of allergy. I have used chana dal in the past. In the pressure cooker as well so those turn out correctly. The overall consistency always come out too thick and I add a bit more water but it never gets thinner the way I like it. The taste to me is a bit too....beany? I don't know how else to describe it really... I would also prefer not to use tomatoes because I can't take the taste of them.
Hi @Meenakshii, My guess is too much dal.. try adding more water than usual when you cook dal in the pressure cooker, i like it when the sambar is a bit watery, and having more water in dal helps.. Great tips from other posters above.. The thing i do to is add some sambar powder in the beginning when i cook veggies so they absorb some spice too., the rest i add after adding tamarind and dal..I always add a spoon of ghee at the end so it tastes good..
Sambar always turns out correctly in nuclear families, especially when the marriage is reasonably happy. Reviews, and critiques from M/F-in-laws is what makes a sambar, or whatever else, incorrect. View attachment 249589 I noticed the deep brown color in that quick sambar. Too much tamarind. There are no standards to what it ought to look like. For example, in the hundreds of youtube recipes for the thing, the color varies from deep brown to bright yellow, and even go on to a reddish hue. I like yellow (with a tinge of brown), with surface punctuated by bright green, a couple of reds, and some black(caramelized okra surface).
