I cannot imagine a typical south-Indian meal without the ubiquitous Sāmbhar. I am now giving the recipe in its simplest form, as there are innumerable varieties of this dish.
Sāmbhar with potatoes for 2 people Source – My mother Mrs. Chellamma R.
Ingredients
Tamarind- Apricot sized piece Solid Asafoetida – small piece cut into smaller pieces
Potatoes – About 4 medium sized Turmeric powder – 1 spoon
Toor Dal – About 1 handful Sāmbhar powder- 3 spoons
Kothamally- A bunch cut finely Drumstick-1
Preparation
Use an appropriate vessel to get the best of the Sāmbhar flavor. I use my grandmother’s vessel which works and tastes well.
Pressure cook toor dal in a cooker or open flame
Boil a small quantity of water for 30 secs. and then put the tamarind piece in. After some time, squeeze to extract all tamarind juice. Repeat this process 3 times; carefully discarding all impurities like stones.
Boil the tamarind juice with about 1 L of water and put the small pieces of Asafoetida in it. Also add the cut potatoes and drumsticks in. Keep stirring so that the Asafoetida pieces don’t stick to the bottom.
Add the turmeric powder and Sāmbhar powder and boil on high flame for about 10 mins. Then reduce it to a slow boil till the potatoes are cooked.
Add the cooked toor dal and slow boil for 10 mins more. By now the aroma should have spread in the room.
After done, switch off the gas and add thadka with mustard seeds and finally add the cut Kothamally after switching off .
Your Sāmbhar is ready. There are many variations like adding tomatoes, which I personally don’t like as the sweetness of tomatoes, take away the flavor of Sāmbhar.
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Time taken – Approximately 1 hour though cooking experts would say ½ hour. So I cook multiple dishes when I cook Sāmbhar, so as to utilize in-between time usefully.