Palakkad sambar (with home-made sambar masala)

Sambar is a spicy lentil-based vegetable stew cooked in a tamarind broth. This can be made with store-bought sambar powder, but I've included the recipe for making home-made sambar powder here. While there are many ways of making sambar that vary from region to region in southern India, this recipe is from our ancestral home in the Palakkad region of Kerala, bordering Tamil Nadu. It is eaten with rice.

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Step 1

Chop all ingredients as shown.

Step 2

Boil chunks of yam and ash gourd (white pumpkin) with a pinch of haldi and 1/2 tsp salt in one vessel, and arhar dal in another vessel in a pressure cooker for 4 whistles.

Step 3

In a pan, add 1/2 tsp oil. Roast the corriander seeds, chana dal, urad dal, and fenugreek seeds on a medium flame till golden brown.

Step 4

While the kadhai is still hot, switch off the flame, and add byadgi chillis. Fry for a few seconds. This should be done with the flame off to retain the characteristic red colour of the chillis.

Step 5

Add coconut and mix well. Keep aside and let it cool.

Step 6

When cooled, transfer the roasted masalas to a small mixie jar and grind to a fine paste by adding a little water.

Step 7

Transfer the ground paste to a bowl and and keep aside. This is the sambar masala.

Step 8

Soak tamarind (aamla/gooseberry sized quantity) in water for 15 mins. See picture for quantity of water needed.

Step 9

Squeeze out the juice from the soaked tamarind and separate the tamarind pieces from the juice. PRO TIP: Don’t throw away the leftover tamarind pieces as they can be used as a scrub for cleaning copper-bottomed utensils in the kitchen.

Step 10

OPTIONAL: In a kadhai, add 1 tsp of coconut oil. Add the chinna ulli (small onions) and fry. You can skip this skip and directly boil the onions with the rest of the veggies if you have lesser quantity of onions.

Step 11

In a big kadhai, add water, salt, turmeric powder, and hing.

Step 12

When the water comes to boil, add vegetables for cooking. Each vegetable cooks at a different pace, so you can follow the below order: First, add yam. Cook for 5 mins. Then add white pumpkin. Cook for another 10 mins. Next add drumsticks (moringa), chinna ulli (small onions). Cook for 5 mins. Then add red pumpkin. Cook for 5 mins. Last, add okra. Cook for 5 mins. In total, it takes about 25-30 mins for all vegetables to be properly cooked.

Step 13

Add tamarind juice to the cooked vegetables and boil for 5 mins till the rawness of the tamarind goes away. Optionally, you can also add a little jaggery at this point for a hint of sweetness.

Step 14

Add the sambar masala prepared earlier to the cooked vegetables. Bring to boil.

Step 15

Add cooked arhar dal and boil on low flame for 5 mins. Taste the sambar to check for salt, and adjust according to taste.

Step 16

In a tadka pan, heat coconut oil and add mustard seeds. When they begin crackling, add curry leaves, red chillis, and hing.

Step 17

Transfer the tempered spices to the sambar and immediately put a lid on the sambar kadhai for a few seconds. This is to ensure that the aroma from the tempering does not escape.

Step 18

The kitchen is smelling heavenly by now – of spices in coconut oil. Hot sambar is now ready to eat.

Step 19

Serve with boiled red rice, or white rice.