Sambar

Name: Sambar
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Sri Lanka
Ingredients: 50 g (1¾ oz/¼ cup) chana dahl (yellow lentils); ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 25 red shallots, peeled; 2 small green chillies, halved lengthways; 2 cups vegetables cut into 3 cm (1¼ in) pieces—include 25 g (1 oz) eggplant (aubergine), 50 g (1¾ oz) carrots, 50 g (1¾ oz) green beans, 50 g (1¾ oz) pumpkin, 50 g (1¾ oz) sweet potato; 1 teaspoon urad dahl (black mung beans); ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds, dry roasted; 1½ teaspoons finely grated palm sugar (jaggery) or brown sugar; 50 ml (1½ fl oz) tamarind pulp, soaked in 80 ml (2½ fl oz/1⅓ cup) warm water for 10 minutes, strained, fibres discarded; 5 sprigs fresh curry leaves, leaves picked; ¼ fresh coconut, finely grated; 1½ tablespoons coriander seeds; 3 long dried red chillies, broken; a pinch of asafoetida

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Serendip

By Peter Kuruvita

Published 2009

About

A lentil-based dish, sambar is usually served with steamed rice for breakfast or lunch.

Ingredients

50 g (1¾ oz/¼ cup) chana dahl (yellow lentils)
2

Asia
Sri Lanka
Lunch
Spicy
Gluten-free
Breakfast
Vegetarian

Method

Place the chana dahl in a saucepan, cover well with cold water and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes, drain, then mash.

Meanwhile, for the masala, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat, add ½ a teaspoon of urad dahl and stir for 5 minut