morsels45

morsels45 said

Sambar

Tamarind-sour lentil stew with whatever vegetables were about.

That was somebody else’s answer. Yours takes about twenty seconds: a handful of either-ors, then one dish.

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How to make sambar

2 genuinely different takes — a classic, and a faster or lighter route. The same ones the app hands you once you have decided.

With tamarind and drumsticks

50 minutes · serves 4 · Easy

What you need

  • 200g toor dal
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 2 tbsp sambar powder
  • 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 aubergine, drumsticks if you can get them
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 10 curry leaves
  • 2 dried chillies
  • Pinch of asafoetida

What you do

  1. 1Cook the dal with the turmeric until completely soft, 30 minutes, then whisk it smooth.
  2. 2Simmer the vegetables separately in water with the tamarind and sambar powder, 15 minutes, until tender. Cooking them in the dal makes everything mush.
  3. 3Combine, loosen with water to a pourable soup, and simmer 10 minutes.
  4. 4Tempering: mustard seeds popped in hot oil, then curry leaves, dried chillies and asafoetida, poured over the top.
  5. 5Do not stir the tempering in before it reaches the table. It is meant to be seen.

Quick, with red lentils

30 minutes · serves 3 · Very easy

What you need

  • 150g red lentils
  • Turmeric
  • Sambar powder
  • Tamarind
  • Mixed vegetables
  • Mustard seeds, curry leaves, oil

What you do

  1. 1Lentils and vegetables together, 20 minutes, since red lentils collapse anyway.
  2. 2Tamarind and sambar powder in for the last 5.
  3. 3Tempering poured over at the table.