Sambar Vada

Get the urad dal ready. Rinse it well and soak it in the water for 4 hours. Drain it fully before grinding.

Urad Dal (whole)Water

Get the other ingredients ready. Finely chop the green chillies, ginger and one sprig of curry leaves. Peel the shallots, cut the carrot and potato into cubes, chop the tomatoes and coriander, and rinse the toor dal. Soak the tamarind in its water for 15 minutes, squeeze it well and strain the tamarind water.

Grind the soaked urad dal in a mixie, adding the grinding water little by little, for 4 to 5 minutes until smooth and thick. Mix in the green chilli, ginger, chopped curry leaves and salt. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes until the batter feels light and holds its shape.

WaterGreen ChilliGingerCurry leavesSalt

Heat the frying oil in a kadai on medium flame for 5 minutes until hot but not smoking. Wet your hand, shape a small portion of batter with a hole in the centre and slide it carefully into the oil. Deep fry 3 to 4 vadas in each batch for 4 to 5 minutes, turning them, until golden outside with no wet batter inside. Continue for 18 to 20 minutes until all the batter is used, then drain the vadas.

Oil

Add the rinsed toor dal, cooking water and turmeric to a pressure cooker. Pressure cook on medium flame for 4 whistles, then let the pressure release naturally. Open the cooker and check that the dal is soft enough to mash, then mash it until smooth.

Toor DalWaterTurmeric Powder

Add the carrot, potato, tomato, shallots, tamarind water, Cookd Idly Dosa Sambar Masala, salt and consistency water to a large kadai. Boil on medium flame for 15 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Add the mashed dal and simmer on low flame for 8 minutes until the sambar is slightly thick and the raw tamarind smell is gone.

CarrotPotatoTomatoSmall Onion (Shallots)TamarindWaterWaterCookd Idly Dosa Sambar MasalaSalt

Heat the oil in a small pan on medium flame for 2 minutes until hot. Add the mustard seeds and fry for 1 minute until they splutter. Add the dry red chilli, curry leaves and asafoetida, and fry for 1 minute until the curry leaves are crisp.

OilMustard SeedsDry Red ChilliCurry leavesAsafoetida

Pour the tempering into the sambar. Boil on medium flame for 2 minutes until the sambar bubbles evenly, then switch off the flame. Mix in most of the coriander and keep a little for serving.

Coriander Leaves

Heat the water in a wide pan on high flame for 8 minutes until hot but not boiling, then switch off the flame. Soak the fried vadas in it for 2 minutes and press them gently to remove excess water. Add them to the hot sambar and rest for 5 minutes until they absorb some sambar. Serve hot with the remaining coriander on top.

Water