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Slice vegetables and keep aside. Clean toor dal by adding adequate water.
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Based on the required consistency, we can adjust the water. But while boiling dal, we add two cups of water for each cup of dal.
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Add little oil, turmeric powder and tomatoes to dal and pressure cook for 4 whistle blows.
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While dal is being cooked, cook vegetables separately.
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Place vessel based on the quantity of sambar recipe you are planning to make. Add bottle gourd, onions, carrots, drumsticks, green chillies, coriander leaves and curry leaves.
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Sprinkle a little salt, turmeric powder, a pinch of asafetida and water.
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Cook all ingredients with lid covered on medium flame.
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Soak tamarind for a while and extract its pulp.
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When veggies are half cooked, add ladies finger.
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Check drumsticks, if they are cooked then add tamarind pulp and dal paste.
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Quantity of salt differs based on the vegetables so it’s a good idea to check it at this point.
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Sprinkle red chilli powder based on the spiciness you prefer as we have already added green chillies.
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Add jaggery and stir slowly till it melts if needed add more water based on the consistency you prefer.
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Put sambar liquid by adding little water to sambar powder. We can even sprinkle sambar powder directly but it forms lumps.
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Add above the liquid to the sambar recipe and cook on low flame till you get your required consistency.
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For tempering, we can add oil or ghee. Heat oil in a pan and fry mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds.
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Once mustard seeds start spluttering add crushed garlic cloves, dry red chillies and curry leaves.
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When curry leaves are added, oil tends to splutter. Take care while adding them.
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Add temper to sambar recipe and garnish with coriander leaves.