Sambar or Sambhar is a tangy and mildly spicy lentil-vegetable stew from the southern part of India. It is a staple in most South Indian homes and is served alongside idlis or dosas for breakfast or with rice for lunch/dinner.
Pressure cook the dal, along with the veggies (carrots, beans, drumsticks, onions, and tomatoes) on medium heat with 3 cups of water (cook till the vent goes off 4 times and the dal is well cooked.) Shut the gas off and set aside.
Add grated jaggery, turmeric powder, salt, chili powder, tamarind paste and sambar powder to a small bowl. Add 1/4 cup water and mix well.
Once the pressure cooker has cooled down, open the lid and add the tamarind-sambar powder mixture and set it to boil over medium heat. Add a cup of water (or as needed) to get the sambar to a consistency you like.
Do a taste test and add jaggery, sambar powder, chili powder as needed. [Always mix sambar powder with water on the side before adding it to Sambar, otherwise, they don’t mix well with the dal and end up as lumps]
Heat oil in a separate pan and add mustard seeds and when they start to sputter, add red chilies and minced garlic cloves. Fry for around 10-20 seconds and then add asafoetida (hing), curry leaves and let it fry for 10 seconds or so. Add this to the dal mixture in the cooker. Mix well and turn off the heat.
Garnish it with coriander leaves before serving.
Using Instant Pot
Add dal along with 3 cups of water in the steel insert of the Instant Pot. Place a trivet over it. Add all the veggies (carrots, beans, drumsticks, onions, and tomatoes to a small bowl along with a cup of water. Place it on the trivet.
Select “Pressure Cook.” Adjust the time to 15 minutes and set the pressure selection to high. Cover the Instant Pot lid and lock it. Make sure the vent is at sealing position. This step takes about 45 minutes - around 15 minutes to build pressure,15 minutes to cook and 15 minutes for the vent to return to the venting position.
Add grated jaggery, turmeric powder, salt, chili powder, tamarind paste and sambar powder to a small bowl. Add 1/4 cup water and mix well.
When the Instant Pot vent returns to the venting position, press warm/cancel and open the Instant pot lid. Remove the steel bowl with veggies carefully (will be hot to touch) and transfer the contents - veggies along with the water into the steel insert with the dal.
Press the Saute function. Press the Adjust button to move the selection to “medium”. Add the tamarind-sambar powder mixture (from step 4) to the dal and mix well. Let the mixture come to a boil.
Add a cup of water (or as needed) to get the sambar to a consistency you like. Do a taste test and add jaggery, sambar powder, chili powder as needed. [Always mix sambar powder with water on the side before adding it to Sambar, otherwise, they don’t mix well with the dal and end up as lumps].
Heat oil in a separate pan and add mustard seeds and when they start to sputter, add red chilies and minced garlic cloves. Fry for around 10-20 seconds and then add asafoetida(hing), curry leaves and let it fry for 10 seconds or so.
Add this to the dal mixture in the Instant Pot. Mix well and turn off the heat by pressing the warm/cancel button.
Garnish it with coriander leaves before serving.
Notes
If using fresh tamarind, take chunks of tamarind from the package and roll into a ball. The ball should be approximately the size of a ping pong/golf ball or a small lemon (approximately 1.5 inches in diameter). Soak it in 1/2 cup hot water for about 10 minutes before use. You can also substitute fresh tamarind with 1/2 tablespoon tamarind paste or a tablespoon of lime juice.
You can always use stackable containers in a stovetop pressure cooker as well. Place dal in the bottom bowl and vegetables on the top. Make sure to use a trivet and add water to the base before you do so. Follow the instructions in your pressure cooker manual.
Always mix sambar powder with water on the side before adding it to hot sambar, otherwise, they don’t mix well with the dal and end up as lumps.