Sanjivani Sambhar

Health Benefits:

 Sambhar is a delicious accompaniment of South Indian dishes which is high on protein, antioxidants and fibers due to lentils and different vegetables. It is a wholesome lentil soup that goes well with Idli, Dosa, Uttapam and Rice.

Ingredients:

• Toor dal/Pigeon Pea-1 cup, rinsed and soaked for 15 minutes
• Opo Squash, diced-1 cup
• Tomato, diced-1 cup
• Carrot, diced-½ cup
• Pumpkin, diced-1 cup
• Onion, white/red, diced-1 cup
• Radish,diced-1 cup
• Sweet Potato, diced-½ cup
• Drumstick, cut into 3’’ pieces, boiled-2 sticks
• Garlic, finely chopped-2 cloves (optional)
• Urad dal-1 teaspoon

Spices:

• Mustard Seeds-1 teaspoon
• Turmeric-1 teaspoon
• Tamarindpulp/paste-1 tablespoon
• Curry leaves-7 to 8
• Sambhar Masala-3 to 4 tablespoons
• Jaggery-1 teaspoon (optional)
• Asafoetida-one pinch
• Salt to taste

Liquids:

• Water – 6 to 8 cups
• Avocado/Cooking oil – 2 Tablespoons

Cooking Instructions:

• Rinse and soak toor dal for 15 minutes. Rinse again and put it in a pressure cooker.
• Add opo squash, tomato, carrot, pumpkin, onion (white or red), radish, sweet potato, tamarind and garlic (optional) in dal.
• Add 6-8 cups of water and pressure cook the mixture for 15 minutes.
• Blend all the vegetables with dal in a blender. You may also boil all the vegetables separately and then mix them in a blended dal. However we recommend you to blend all the vegetables with dal so that the taste and nutrition of vegetables seep into the Sambhar otherwise sometimes people especially kids tend to remove the pieces of vegetables.
• Now, heat the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once they crackle, add urad dal, curry leaves, turmeric, asafetida, Sambhar Masala and salt to taste. Mix well. Pour the tempering onto the Sambhar. Also add boiled drumstick.
• Let the Sambhar boil on the medium flame for 5-10 minutes. Stir occasionally. If you wish, you may add jaggery now.
• Serve it hot with Rice, Idli, Dosa or Uttapam.