Sambhar's many avatars

Sambhar is a South Indian specialty, that comes as an accompaniment for tiffin items like idli, vada, dosa etc. It is also an item in the South Indian main course meals.

Most Indians and particularly South Indians know to make sambhar.  However, the method of making it differs in different regions. There is the palaght sambhar that tastes completely different from the Chettinad sambhar.

There are also a variety of sambhars depending on the vegetables used to make it. For instance, drumstick sambhar uses drumstick, lady's finger sambhar uses lady's finger while onion sambhar uses shallots.

Sometimes a combination of seasonal vegetables are also used to make sambhar. However, care must be taken to choose the right kind of vegetables to get the right   flavour of sambhar. Vegetables like onion, lady's finger and potato can be combined, while brinjal with potato make for a bad combination.

Coconut is a key ingredient in sambhars and the one without coconut is called podi sambhar.I make instant sambhar by adding coconut scrapping to ready-made sambhar powder.

Sambhar for tiffin should be like dal and hence should have less tamarind while sambhar for meals can be little sour.

Recipe for Onion Drumstick Sambhar

1 Coriander seeds (dhania) 4tsps
2 Fenugreek seeds (methi seeds) 1tsp
3 Red chillies 7 numbers or as required.
4 Cumin seeds (jeera) 1tsp
5 Asafoetida powder(hing) 1tsp.
6 Coconut scraping 2tsp.
7 Madras onion/shallots 200gm
8 Tamarind water 1 cup (from lemon sized tamarind)
9 Turmeric powder (haldi) 1tsp
10 Mustard seeds 1tsp
11 oil as required
12 Brown sugar 2tsp
13 salt to taste
14 Few curry leaves
15 Chopped coriander leaves 1tsp
16 Cooked and mashed pigeon pea/toor dal  2cups

Method:

Roast 1,2,3,4 & 5 separately with little oil. Add coconut scrapping and grind to a smooth paste. Keep it aside.Fry the shallots and drumstick in little oil. Add to the tamarind water along with salt, turmeric powder and brown sugar. Cook it well. Then, add the ground paste and mashed pigeon pea. Check for salt and consistency. Bring it to a boil. Temper mustard seeds in little oil and add to the sambhar. Garnish with curry leaves & coriander leaves.