Sambar (lentil vegetable curry)

Tamara West

Sambar is a lentil-based vegetable curry or stew that has to be one of the most commonly eaten dishes in India — it was served at every place we went. Some versions add a bit of coconut milk to it.

Ingredients

1 cup	Red lentils (Main)
2 cups	Water
1 ½ cups	Tamarind water, (see below)
2 Tbsp	Vegetable oil
1	Onion, large, sliced
3 cloves	Garlic, minced
1 tsp	Black mustard seeds, (optional)
1 inch	Ginger, peeled and minced
1 tsp	Ground cumin
1 tsp	Ground coriander
1 tsp	Ground turmeric
½ tsp	Ground chilli
1 can	Crushed tomatoes, 400g (Main)
1 tsp	Salt
1	Carrot, large, sliced
1 cup	Cauliflower, chopped
100 g	Green beans
½	Eggplants, cut into 2cm chunks
1 Tbsp	Lemon juice
1 handful	Coriander, chopped, to garnish

Directions

1. Combine the lentils, water and tamarind water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are soft and mushy (about 30 minutes).
2. Heat oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until starting to turn golden brown (about 6-8 minutes).
3. Add a bit more oil, garlic, mustard seeds, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli. Cook a further 2-3 minutes until the mustard seeds start popping.
4. Add onion mixture, crushed tomatoes, salt, carrot, cauliflower, beans and eggplant to the pot of lentils. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.
5. Mix in lemon juice at the end, taste and add more salt and/or pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh coriander.

Tamarind water

To make tamarind water, soak 3 Tbsp tamarind pulp in 1 ½ cups hot water. Use a fork to mash it up a bit and when cool, use your hands to squeeze the tamarind pulp to break it up further and extract as much flavour as possible. Strain the liquid through a sieve. If you can’t find tamarind, just use an extra 1 ½ cups of water.