Sambar Recipe | South Indian Vegetable Sambar in Cooker – 15 Mins

Sambar recipe | South Indian Vegetable Sambar in Cooker – 15 Mins with detailed photo and video recipe. Basically, a South Indian staple curry recipe prepared with a combination of veggies and a blend of spices. It is basically prepared in a pressure cooker for a quick and easy process with a homemade sambar powder recipe. This is a multipurpose or all-purpose lentil curry which can be used as a breakfast sambar apart from using as the main curry for different types of rice options.

Sambar recipe | South Indian Vegetable Sambar in Cooker – 15 Mins with step-by-step photo recipe. sambar or sambhar is a lentil-based stew mixed with vegetable and tamarind juice. once the lentil soup comes to a boil, it is then mixed with spice powder known as sambar powder. also, sambar is incomplete without vegetables. at the same time, any vegetables can be added to the sambar. however, a drumstick is a must in any south Indian sambar recipe. furthermore, the sambar soup is then tempered with the tempering agents, before serving it with rice.

Probably sambar was the dish I learnt to prepare after my marriage. While I was staying with my parents, I use to cook hardly. Well, I can say that I knew the basics before my marriage. I used to spend most of my time in the kitchen chit-chatting with my mother. she use to teach me all the recipes and techniques. perhaps, she knew what was coming for me after marriage. my mother use to stress one main thing for any recipe. all the recipes are combinations of 4 different tastes. basically, balance the sourness, sweetness, salt and spiciness of any dish.

Some more additional tips, suggestions and variants to a perfect tasty South Indian Sambar recipe. Firstly, I personally, prefer to have specific vegetable-based sambar, like eggplant, drumstick, okra or cucumber. However, the popular choice is to mix all the vegetables together and prepare as per your choice or preference. Secondly, I have shown and used homemade sambar powder mix which is prepared in coconut oil. This is how it is done in my native or in Udupi cuisine. You may use any type of oil you need to fry or even use homemade sambar powder or mix for the same purpose. Lastly, I have used a pressure cooker to cook the sambar, which not only helps to reduce the cooking time but also less number of cleaning utensils. You may use pre-cooked dal or lentil and mix it separately as you wish to.

Finally, i would like to highlight my other sambar recipes collection and south indian recipes. particularly, hotel style sambar for idli and dosa, malabar spinach sambar, gobi sambar, tiffin sambar and drumstick sambar. also, do have a look at my other south indian rasam recipes collection too. specifically, tomato rasam, coconut milk rasam, kokum rasam, beetroot rasam and horse gram rasam.

Cooker Sambar Video Recipe:

Recipe card for South Indian Sambar:

How to make Sambar in Pressure Cooker:

1. firstly, in a pressure cooker add ½ cup toor dal, ¼ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp oil and 1½ cup water.
   
2. pressure cook for 5 whistles or until the dal is cooked well.
   
3. once the pressure releases, using a whisk mash the dal smooth.
   
4. now add ½ onion, 1 tomato, 1 carrot, 5 beans, 1 potato, few drumstick and 2 brinjal.
   
5. also add few curry leaves, 1 chilli and 2½ cup water.
   
6. mix well and get to a boil.
   
7. once the water comes to a boil, add ½ cup tamarind extract, 2 tbsp sambar powder, 1 tsp jaggery, ½ tsp turmeric and 1 tsp salt.
   
8. mix well making sure everything is well combined.
   
9. cover and pressure cook for 1 whistle.
   
10. once the pressure releases, open the cooker and check for seasoning and also make sure the vegetables are cooked completely.
    
11. to prepare the tempering, heat 2 tsp oil. add 1 tsp mustard, 1 tsp urad dal, 2 dried red chilli, pinch hing and a few curry leaves.
    
12. splutter the tempering.
    
13. pour the tempering over the sambar and mix well.
    
14. finally, enjoy mix veg sambar with hot steamed rice.
    

notes:

• firstly, make sure to add vegetables of your choice to make it nutritious.
• also, cook the dal before adding vegetables, else the dal will not get cooked well.
• additionally, i have used homemade sambar powder. however, you can use store-bought sambar powder.
• finally, mix veg sambar recipe tastes great with idli, dosa or rice.