I specifically prepared this post for my hubby dear, as he wanted to cook sambar on a special day using Instant pot (electric pressure cooker). He made sambar using white pumpkin (200 gm) and tomato (2 nos).
This is a step by step procedure and sure it will help anyone to cook sambar easily.
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| Mixed vegetable sambar in Instant pot I made earlier |
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| My hubby's White pumpkin sambar in Instant pot |
1. To pressure cook first:
Toor dal (Thuvaram paruppu) - 3/4 cup. Wash 3 times
sesame oil - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
hing (Asafetida)- 1/8 tsp
small garlic - peeled handful (optional)
See that the water stands 1 inch above dal.
Mode : Pressure cooking, high pressure.
Time : 10 minutes
Set it to pressure cooking high and 10 minutes. After it switches off, release pressure manually after 5 minutes or immediately .
2. To pressure cook next:
drumstick - 1
Thai eggplant (round white or green with seeds) - 3
tomato - 2
green chili - 2
Tamarind - small gooseberry size
raw mango - 1/2 cup sliced
salt - to taste
sambar powder (2 tsp)- sakthi or achi brand or homemade (dissolved in 1/2 cup water or tamarind juice)
To temper:
Shallot -2
curry leaf - few
ghee - 1 tbsp
mustard - 1 tsp
cumin - 1 tsp
fenugreek (methi seeds) - 1/2 tsp
dry red chilly -2
To garnish:
Jaggery / brown sugar - 1 tsp
cilantro - few
Method:
1.First pressure cook the dal to 10 mins in instantpot. (Oil is added for uniform cooking of dal. I suggest adding garlic in every food we cook, but it is optional only).
2.In the meantime, prepare the vegetables and cut them.
Extract juice from tamarind.
Soak the cut vegetables in tamarind juice and keep aside. (especially for brinjal (egg plant))
3.After the dal is cooked and the pressure subsides, open the cooker lid. (or release manually after 5 mins)
Using a spatula, mash the dal.
4.Start pressure cook setting (high pressure , 3 min). Lid should be open.
Add the items mentioned under part 2 (vegetables and tamarind).
Add sambar powder, salt to dal in cooker.
5.In the meantime prepare the tadka (tempering). Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a small wok.
Add mustard, cumin, methi seeds and wait till mustard crackles.
Then add the slit shallots, / onion , curry leaf. Saute till shallot gets mild red.
Add to cooker.
Close the lid. Let it cook.
After it switches off itself, release pressure manually after 5 mins or naturally.
After opening, check salt, add jaggery, cilantro, add if required chili powder 1/2 tsp.
Instantpot sambar is ready
Note: other vegetable combinations suitable for sambar are
white pumpkin 200 gm + tomato 2
Beans 10 + carrot 1 + potato 1 + tomato 1
okra 15 + tomato 2 (little different - saute the okra and do not pressure cook it)
Shallot 15 + tomato 2 (onion sambar)
brinjal 4 + mango 1/2 + drumstick 1+ tomato 2
broad beans (avarakkai) 20 + tomato 2
yellow pumpkin and all native Indian vegetables together 300 gm (Kalyana sambar)
fried vadai sambar
Mullangi (radish 200 gm) sambar
Spinach (small bunch / 2 cups chopped) sambar
Bottle gourd 1/2 + tomato 1
