Pressure Cooker Sambar

To those who are familiar with sambar, the title of this post perhaps makes little sense. This is basically an easier, one pot (well almost) version of making sambar - a vegetable and lentil gravy cooked in a tamarind broth. Usually, yellow lentils are cooked separately, the vegetables and spices are stewed in tamarind juice, and then the two are mixed together. In this version, everything is plopped into a pressure cooker and the sambar is ready within minutes. While the cooker is working, I usually saute some onion and tomatoes in spices and then add it to the sambar to make the dish a little more tastier. If you choose to not do this extra, then this is truly a one-pot-dish!

I must thank my cousin for introducing me to this version. It is one of my frequent go-to methods of making dinner. I rummage the fridge and throw in all the veggies I can get my hands on into the cooker, add the lentils, spices, and tamarind juice and after two whistles, sambar is ready, and surprisingly it's so much more tastier because the flavors of the vegetables truly seep in to the sambar. The only thing to do ahead of time is to soak the lentils for at least 30 minutes so that they cook in time with the vegetables in the cooker.

Ingredients (serves 4-5):

1. 1 cup of uncooked toor dal / yellow lentils / thuvaram paruppu ( I like to add extra lentils; use just 3/4 cup if you don't want as much lentils)
2. 2 bell peppers, diced
3. 1/2 a small eggplant, diced
4. 1/2 a radish, sliced
5. 1 potato, diced
6. 1 small red onion, sliced
7. 1 tomato, diced
8. 2 heaped teaspoons sambar powder
9. 1.5 teaspoons coriander powder
10. 1.5 " ball of tamarind soaked in 1 cup of hot water for 20 minutes
11. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
12. 1 tablespoon ghee / clarified butter
13. 3/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds
14. 1/2 teaspoon jeera / cumin seeds
15. a few curry leaves
16. 1/4 teaspoon hing / asafoetida
17. salt, as needed

Preparation:

1. Soak the toor dal for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. 
2. In a pressure cooker, add all the diced vegetables except onion and tomato. Extract the tamarind juice and add to the vegetables. Add 1/2 cup of warm water to the tamarind pulp and extract more juice and add to the vegetables. Add 1 heaped teaspoon of sambar powder, and salt and mix. Add the drained (soaked) toor dal, and a little water if needed, just to make sure the dal and veggies are just about covered with water. Pressure cook this for 2-3 whistles. 
3. As the pressure cooker is working away, heat oil and ghee in a skillet. When hot, splutter mustard seeds. Add hing, curry leaves, and cumin seeds. Add onion and saute until translucent. Add tomato, 1 more heaped teaspoon of sambar powder and coriander powder. Saute and cook until the tomato is mushy. Remove from heat. 
4. Meanwhile, after the pressure settles down in the cooker, open it and gently mix everything. Add the sauteed onion and tomato to the sambar and mix well. If needed, add a little water to bring the sambar to the right consistency. Cook over low heat for 5-7 minutes, just to incorporate everything and remove from heat. Garnish with coriander leaves

Serve over rice, idlis or dosas.

Note: if the sambar is watery, mix 1.5 teaspoons of rice flour and make a thick paste. Add this is to the sambar and cook for 5 minutes to thicken it.
Depending on the kinds of vegetables added, some of them might overcook and blend with the sambar because the pressure cooker is too strong. But it actually makes the sambar creamy and more flavorful! If you are not a fan of this, separately cook such veggies with onion and tomato.