Instantpot Sambar

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. 

Mixed vegetable sambar in Instant pot I made earlier 

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

Cooker sambar (quick version)

Brinjal, drumstick, tomato is one of the best mix of vegetables to make a typical Tamilnadu sambar.  I have seen this combo as my mom's extremely regular version. But I never get bored of this sambar ever.  Raw mango also can be added upon availability. In USA, I buy mango for sambar only when I see a smaller green mango at a reasonable price (it costs anywhere around $1.49 - 2.99 per lb) always ☺ .
 Coming back to the quick sambar, this is a recipe I heard from a friend.   I usually cook dal separately, then cook the vegetables and then the tadka. My version would take more time to get the masalas blend well and to let off the raw smell. I thought this would be useful for anyone who is new to cooking or to whomever needs homemade foods with lesser effort. The best part is this sambar would taste like a restaurant sambar ☺ and it will take less than 30 minutes totally.

Try this recipe and I am sure you will be in love with this forever.

Pressure cooker sambar

Brinjal, tomato, drumstick is best vegetable combo for sambar.

This is the only way I was taught to cut the vegetables for sambar....bigger pieces.

Mixed vegetable sambar

1. To pressure cook first:

Toor dal (Thuvaram paruppu) - 3/4 cup

sesame oil - 1 tsp

turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

hing - 1/8 tsp

small garlic - peeled handful (optional)

2. To pressure cook next:

drumstick - 1 

Thai eggplant (round white or green with seeds) - 3

tomato - 2

Tamarind - small gooseberry size
raw mango - 1/2 cup sliced

salt - to taste

sambar powder - 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:

First pressure cook the items given under part 1 to 5 whistles. Oil is added for uniform cooking of dal. I suggest adding garlic in every food we cook, but it is optional only.

In the meantime, prepare the vegetables and cut them.

Extract juice from tamarind.

Soak the cut vegetables in tamarind juice and keep aside.

After the dal is cooked and the pressure subsides, open the cooker lid.

Using a spatula, mash the dal.
Mix the sambar powder with 1/4 cup water and add to dal in cooker.

Add the items mentioned under part 2 (vegetables and tamarind).

If needed clean the cooker lid .
Close the cooker.

Bring to one whistle and switch off. By this way the raw smell of tamarind goes off easily.

In the meantime prepare the tadka (tempering). Heat ghee in a small wok.

Add mustard, cumin, methi seeds and wait till mustard crackles.

Then add the slit shallots, curry leaf, torn dry red chilies. Saute till shallot gets mild red.

After the pressure is released, open the cooker.

Pour the tempering. Bring to a boil.

Add the items given for garnishing.

Switch off.

Quick cooker sambar is ready

Serving suggestions:

Serve with rice, idli , dosai, pongal.

Note:
If we are using tomatoes only (not adding mango or tamarind ) along with other vegetables, then we can pressure cook everything together in one step itself. After pressure is released, add tadka and garnish with cilantro.
This tamarind-less sambar can be prepared in just 15 minutes. 
But if we add tamarind, then follow my 2 stage method (to ensure soft cooked dal).

Pachai payaru Sambar

Green gram sambar became my favorite after tasting it in a friend's house . It was yummy to the core with those soft thick dosas and from then I longed to test run it in my kitchen. However did not get a chance to make a sambar with whole green gram and end up with just a chutney. Finally one day I tried this and it came out very well. Actually I made it with venn pongal.
Pardon me for my poor picture:( My camera didn't do any justice.
Hope everyone loves a sambar loaded with tons of fiber!



Ingredients:
Whole green gram (with skin) - 3/4 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tamarind- an amla size
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 2 tsp
asafoetida - a pinch
salt - to taste
Brinjal - 2
Tomato - 1
curry leaf - 1 brig
oil - 1 tsp
mustard seed - 1 tsp
cumin seed - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Soak the green gram for whole night or let it germinate.
Pressure cook it along with 2 cups of water , asafoetida , Turmeric powder, chopped onion for 5 whistles or till the green gram becomes tender.
Once the pressure gets released, mash the cooked dhal with cumin seeds gently using a ladle .keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok. Splutter the mustard seeds.
Add few curry leaves and fry the chopped vegetables for some time.
Then add the tamarind extract, chilli powder, coriander powder and bring it to a boil.Add salt to taste. Let the vegetables get cooked.
Add 2 cups of water.

Then add the mashed green gram and switch off once the sambar comes to a boil.

Green gram sambar is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish with Venn pongal , Idly , dosai.

Tirunelveli Idli sambar

This sambar is specifically made with greengram dhal (Payatham paruppu/ moong dhal) without sambar powder.
In Tamilnadu , almost all the hotels serve 'toor dal sambar' for Idly,dosa and pongal throughout the day. But in Tirunelveli, this paasi paruppu sambar is served especially for dinner (as moong dal is believed to be on the lighter side than the thoor dal).  This belongs to Tamil Saiva pillai cuisine and I learned it from my Rukmani aunty (appa's adopted sister , we say ☺).
Traditionally this sambar is made entirely in stove top (see my method below). The green gram in stove top needs little more attention as it tends to spill while boiling. Nowadays people do this in cooker also, but then the dal wouldn't show its texture, which is more important for this recipe (so cook this in stove top only..☺). The entire cooking time will be less than 20 minutes, if we keep everything ready.
So aunty would start making this sambar (with my assistance in preparations ☺) simultaneously while making idli or dosai ......and an extremely delicious piping hot sambar would be ready for dinner in minutes. My mom loved the way I learned aunty's recipes and used to appreciate my helps on weekends. Though mom would insist me on studying day and night like any other kid☺ she used to appreciate the surprise bed coffee and kitchen holidays I gave her on my vacations ☺. Now I consider myself lucky for learning those recipes as these are the most yummy and healthy homemade foods from my town and my hubby dear loves them very much.

Tirunelveli Idli sambar with sponge dosai . (paasi paruppu sambar) (updated on Jan 2016)

Idli sambar (green gram sambar)

Ingredients:
Moong dal - 3/4 cup.
Drumstick - 1 (cut into 2 inch size pieces)
Carrot- 1 (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
brinjal-1(cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
Potato -1 (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
Green chilies - 6
tomato - 2
onion - 1/2

garlic - 4 pieces
coriander powder - 1 tbsp.
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
asafoetida / hing- a pinch
Salt for taste

For tempering/tadka/thalikka:
Oil - 2 tsp
Chopped onion(chopped) - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
fenugreek (methi seeds) - 1/4 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig

To garnish:
Chopped cilantro _ 1 tsp.


Method:
Rinse and clean the moong dal.
Add 2 cups of water and bring it to boil.Add turmeric, garlic, asafoetida . Cook till dal has doubled in size (10 min) and almost cooked . Then add all the vegetables except tomato.
Put a lid half closed and cook the dal completely.
Add the tomato and salt after the dhal gets cooked.(It takes 15 minutes to cook the dhal.)
Now add coriander powder.
In a tempering vessel heat the oil add mustard and methi seeds. Let the mustard splutter. Then add the onion , curry leaf , fry  till golden brown and add to the sambar.
Finally garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with idly.

Makes 500 ml of samber.

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish with idli, dosai.

To cook in Instant pot / pressure cooker (updated 2021 May):