Vengaya Sambar
Shallot sambar with pearl onions in tangy tamarind-lentil base. Tamil Nadu everyday sambar variety.
Ingredients
Garnish
- Coriander Leaves (optional) (garnish) — 2 tbsp (chopped)
Main
- Tomato — 2 piece (chopped)
- Toor Dal — 100 g (whole)
- coriander powder — 1 tsp (ground)
- Turmeric Powder — 0.5 tsp (ground)
- Red Chilli Powder (Lal Mirch) — 1 tsp (ground)
- Garlic — 1 tsp (ground)
- Shallots — 200 g (chopped)
- Ginger — 1 tsp (ground)
- Tamarind — 100 g (whole)
- salt (optional) (whole)
Tempering
- Urad Dal — 1 tsp (whole)
- Mustard Seeds (Black) — 1 tsp (whole)
- Coconut Oil — 2 tbsp (whole)
- Curry Leaves — 8 piece (ground)
Method
- Wash the toor dal and pressure cook it with turmeric powder and enough water for 3 to 4 whistles, until soft. Mash well and keep aside.
- Soak the tamarind in warm water for 10 minutes, then squeeze out the pulp and discard the fibres.
- Peel the shallots and keep them whole or halved if large.
- Heat the coconut oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, letting them splutter, then add the urad dal and curry leaves and saute until the dal turns golden.
- Add the shallots, chopped ginger and garlic, and saute on medium flame until the shallots turn soft and slightly translucent.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, coriander powder, red chilli powder and salt, and cook until the tomatoes turn mushy.
- Pour in the tamarind pulp and let it simmer for 5 minutes so the raw smell goes away.
- Add the cooked mashed toor dal along with some water to adjust consistency, and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes so the flavours blend into a nice gravy.
- Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve the Vengaya Sambar hot with rice, idli or dosa.
Common questions
- How many calories in one plate of Vengaya Sambar?
- 142 kcal per plate.
- How much cooking time?
- 40 min — 15 min prep, 25 min cooking.