Sambhar is nothing new to South Indian households, but I am sharing the easy way of preparing it with an Instant Pot. It’s a delicious way to get your daily dose of vegetables because you can add a variety of vegetables to this recipe to get easy variations. I agree to be sent email.
The combination of spices gives it an irresistible flavor, and the cooked vegetables add a hearty texture. What I like most about this is that the cooking time is cut down in more than half by using an Instant Pot instead of a pressure cooker. Any way you look at it, we have a winner with this Instant Pot sambar recipe! Check out the recipe details below, and let me know how you like it! I also have a collection of instant pot recipes just like this one.
What is sambar?
Sambar is a traditional South Indian stew dish featuring various vegetables and lentils cooked in spices and tamarind. This recipe is to recreate the simple South Indian-style mixed vegetable sambar in an Instant Pot.
Ingredients notes
How to make this recipe
Pairing suggestion
This vegetable Sambar is usually paired with Dosa or Idli. But pairing it with steamed rice or roti is also equally good. Vegetables: Use your choice of vegetables. Scot only used vegetables are potatoes, eggplant, radish, carrot, onion, and tomatoes. Sambar powder: Homemade sambar powder gives the freshest and authentic flavor to the sambar. But store-bought powder is good too. Spices: You will need Mustard seeds, curry leaves, and split black gram for the tempering to enhance the flavor. Other supporting spices are green chilies to suit your taste preference. As the mustard seeds start to sputter, add curry leaves and green chilies and stir well for a minute. Add onions and continue to saute for at least a minute. Close the lid of the instant pot. Turn the steam release handle to sealing position. Press on Pressure cooking( high pressure) setting and set the timer for 6 minutes. Garnish with cilantro, and Instant Pot Sambar is ready!
Expert tips
Soak the toor dal for 30 minutes before using it in the recipe. This helps in getting the right texture for the sambar and cooking the lentils faster. Try this recipe with red onions. The white or yellow kind is milder than the red version and hence will need more spices to support it. Add your choice of vegetables to the sambar recipe. The addition of jaggery and tamarind pulp water is optional. But that’s what gives the authentic Udupi-style taste. Use any type or brand of sambhar powder. If you feel your sambar is light in color, add Kashmiri red chili powder and sambar powder. If you prefer a thinner sambar, add more water while cooking the vegetables. Adding half a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds (optional) to the tempering is another traditional way.
Related recipes
Just subscribe to my newsletter for more delicious vegan recipes such as this sent directly to your inbox. Vegetables: Feel free to add seasonal vegetables of your choice. Carrots, potatoes, green beans, cauliflower, zucchini, beets, tindora, etc., would all work perfectly in this recipe. Spices: Add turmeric powder for its health benefits. Add more or less red chili powder and sambar masala for a milder or spicier flavor. Other spices: Add cumin seeds instead of urad dal. Tamarind: A teaspoon of tomato paste would also work instead of tamarind extract or tamarind paste. Follow me on social media Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
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