South Indian

Sambhar

Recipe courtesy Deepti Sareen

As I have already mentioned a few times in this blog, South Indian delicacies were always an instant hit amongst us children. And provided a great relief from an otherwise, quintessentially, a North Indian Punjabi kitchen.

We simply loved feasting on Idli, Dosa, Uttapam, Sambhar, the tangy Rasam, the Vadas… These feasts were churned out for us 2-3 times a year, by a visiting family friend (Parvathi Aunty, we called her). Eventually, she moved away from town (and added years to her age made these visits difficult)…that brought an end to such a lovely arrangement 😊

We began afresh though… And, sacrilegiously, were not averse to tweaking the traditional recipe & methods to appeal even more to our Punjabi palates. Deepti, my wife, and the master of the kitchen affairs in our household, is a courageous cook. Never afraid to experiment. And never holds an established recipe sacrosanct. Experiment, Innovate, Think Fresh … are her by-lines in the kitchen. And this produces delightful results, that the family diners are grateful for.

Elsewhere, in this collection of loud musings, I've already talked about the changed format avatars of Rava/Suji Idli, Dosa & Uttapam… Sambhar belongs to the same genre…

Method

In a pressure cooker : Put the soaked Arhar Dal, 750 ml water, salt 1 tsp, Haldi powder ½ tsp, Ghee ½ tsp. and put on the gas stove.

After the full pressure whistle, cook for 15 minutes on low flame.

Take a separate pan, put on the gas stove. Add 2 tbsp of oil. Allow to heat fully.

Add a liberal pinch of very good quality Crushed Heeng raisin. Be very sure about the supereme quality of the Asafoetida/heeng. It makes all the difference in the final flavours, so crucial to the sambhar.

After the heeng has fried and floated to the surface, add, in this order.. Rai… Jeera… Curry Leaves… Sabut Lal Mirch. Fry till they float.

Add sliced onions to the pan. Fry till they turn light brown.

Time to add the sliced tomatoes & the Tamarind/Imli water ( Imli, soaked earlier in hot water, should be mashed into a pulp, and sieved through a strainer. Only the strained extract is to be used. Rest of the roughage is to be discarded.)

Add salt to taste. Also add Red Pepper powder 2 tsp & the Sambhar Masala powder 4 tsp (these measures can be adjusted according to the taste.)

Let the mixture simmer on low flame for about 15 minutes. It should be well cooked at this time, with the separated oil showing on the sides.

Meanwhile, going back to the dal…open the pressure cooker and, using a ladle stir and crush the dal to make it a uniform mix. The dal & the liquid should become homogenised.

Also the time to add more water, if you like your Sāmbhar on the runny side.

Add the prepared masala mix in the pan to the pressure cooker, mix thoroughly, and let simmer for about 10 minutes for all the flavours to seep in.

Time to add more flavour and grace to the dish. Tamper with a pinch of Heeng, Jeera, Rai, ½ tsp Red pepper powder, all mixed in very hot ½ tbsp of oil.

For all those who love and relish vegetables with their Sambhar, in a separate bowl serve fried sliced brinjal, fried diced drumsticks, and even lady fingers. Add this to your Sambhar when serving. I love my veggies. But there are always a few on the table who don’t. why mess with their Joy 😊😉

Enjoy your Sāmbhar with Dosa, Idli, plain rice or even Uttapam…who’s stopping you…😊

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