Ingredients Required for Preparing Sambar

• 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 whole dry red chillies
• 3 whole dry red chillies (kashmiri)
• 1 tablespoon Bengal gram
• 1 piece of asafetida
• ½ cup coconut graated
• 2 springs curry leaves
• 1/4 cup coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• Fenugreek seeds
• 5 ½ cups water
• 1cup red gram washed
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 25gms tamarind soaked in 1 cup hot water for 15 minutes and pulp extracted
• 1 medium onion cut into 6 pieces
• 2 drumsticks peeled and cut into 5 cm long pieces
• For tempering: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, ½ teaspoon mustard seeds.

Method for Preparing Sambar

Heat oil in a pan for about 1 minute and roast together whole chillies, Bengal gram, asafetida, coconut, 1 spring curry leaves, coriander, cumin and fenugreek seeds till coconut turns golden brown. Grind roasted ingredients into a paste, adding a little water (1/2 cup) from time to time.

Pour 3 cups water into cooker. Add red gram, turmeric powder and salt. Stir once. Close cooker, keep in high flame. Reduce heat and cook for 4 minutes. Remove cooker from stove and allow it to cool.

Open cooker and mash dal as liquid paste. Add ground paste, tamarind pulp, onion, drumsticks, remaining curry leaves and water (2 cups). Stir once leave to cook. Remove from fire. For tempering, heat oil in a pan for about 1min add mustard seeds. When crackling, pour into samba stir and serve hot.