Udupi Sambar
- 85 min
- medium
- Serves 4
Udupi sambar is a sweet and sour toor dal sambar with vegetables, tamarind, jaggery and a roasted coconut masala. Medium-spicy, serves 4, about 85 minutes.
You’ll need: Pressure Cooker
Good for: Tamil New Year, Onam
Ingredients
Tamarind, For Soaking20 grams
Water, For Soaking100 ml
Toor Dal150 grams
Turmeric Powder1 grams
Carrot100 grams
Drumstick100 grams
Brinjal100 grams
Small Onion (Shallots), Peeled10
Tomato, Chopped1
Salt1½ tsp
Oil1 tsp
Coriander Seeds12 grams
Chana Dal1 tsp
Dry Red Chilli7 grams
Cumin2 grams
Fenugreek Seeds0.5 grams
Coconut, Grated45 grams
Jaggery, Powdered15 grams
Mustard Seeds1 tsp
Curry leaves2 grams
Asafoetida¼ tsp
Coriander Leaves, Chopped15 grams
Contains: wheat.
Nutrition
Per 1 person, and for all 4 people. Worked out from the ingredients, so treat it as a close guide.
| Nutrient | Per 1 person | All 4 people |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 314kcal | 1256kcal |
| Protein | 12g | 48g |
| Carbohydrate | 46g | 183g |
| Fat | 11g | 44g |
| Fibre | 13g | 50g |
| Sugar | 12g | 48g |
Method
Rinse the dal, and wash the vegetables, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Peel the carrot and shallots. Cut the carrot, drumstick and brinjal, chop the tomato and coriander leaves, grate the coconut, pluck the curry leaves, remove the stalks from five chillies and break the other two. Soak the tamarind in 100 ml water for 15 minutes, then squeeze it well and discard the pulp and fibres.
Add the dal, 500 ml water and turmeric powder to a pressure cooker. Pressure cook for 4 whistles on medium flame. Let the pressure release naturally for about 10 minutes, until the cooker pin drops. Open the cooker and mash the dal when it is soft and easy to mash.
Add the carrot, drumstick, brinjal, shallots, tomato, 300 ml water and salt to a kadai. Cover and cook on medium flame for 12 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender but still hold their shape.
Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a small kadai on low flame for 30 seconds until warm. Add the coriander seeds, chana dal, five dry red chillies, cumin and fenugreek seeds. Roast for 2 to 3 minutes until the chana dal is golden and the chillies are crisp. Cool for 5 minutes, then grind with the coconut and 150 ml water to a smooth paste.
Add the mashed dal, ground coconut paste, tamarind water, jaggery, salt and up to 100 ml water to the cooked vegetables. Cook on medium flame for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring often, until the raw tamarind smell goes and the sambar gently bubbles and thickens slightly.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small pan on medium flame for 30 seconds until warm. Add the mustard seeds and fry for 30 seconds, until the crackling slows. Add the broken dry chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida. Fry for 30 seconds until the curry leaves are crisp.
Pour the tempering into the sambar and mix. Simmer on low flame for 2 minutes, until the sambar gently bubbles. Add the coriander leaves and switch off the flame.
Before you start
- How long does Udupi Sambar take?
- 1 hour 25 minutes from start to finish. That is 20 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 5 minutes of cooking.
- How many people does Udupi Sambar serve?
- 4. The ingredient quantities on this page rescale if you are cooking for a different number.
- Is Udupi Sambar vegetarian?
- Yes. No meat, no fish and no egg.
- Is Udupi Sambar spicy?
- It is medium: 2 on our scale of 3. Chilli scales gently when you change the servings, so doubling the recipe does not double the heat.
- What do I need to make Udupi Sambar?
- 20 grams Tamarind, 150 grams Toor Dal, 1 grams Turmeric Powder, 100 grams Carrot, 100 grams Drumstick, 100 grams Brinjal, and a few more listed on this page.
- Do I need a pressure cooker for Udupi Sambar?
- No, it is cooked in an open pot.
- How many calories are in Udupi Sambar?
- About 314 a serving. The full nutrition table is on this page, per serving and for the whole batch.
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