Tiffin Sambar with Drumstick

Ingredients

• 1 cup Toor Dal
• 1 unit/count Drumsticks (vegetable) (Chop into 2-inch pieces)
• 2 unit/count Tomatoes (Roughly chopped)
• 0.5 unit/count Onions (Roughly chopped)
• 5 unit/count Shallots (Chopped)
• 3 unit/count Green Chillies (Slit)
• 2 inch Tamarind (raw) (Soaked in warm water to extract pulp)
• 1 unit/count Carrot (Chopped into 1-inch pieces)
• 2 tsp Turmeric
• 3 tsp Red Chilli Powder
• 3 tbsp Sambar Powder (I use Shakti sambar powder)
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• 1 handful Cilantro (Chopped for garnish)
• 2 tsp Oil
• 3 tsp Salt (Adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
• 1 pinch Hing (Asafetida)
• 1 sprig Curry Leaves
• 3 unit/count Dry Red Chillies
• 1 tsp Jaggery (Optional, for sweetness)
• 3 cups Water (For pressure cooking)

Instructions

1. 1Chop the drumsticks into 2-inch pieces, roughly chop the tomatoes and onions, chop the carrot into 1-inch pieces, and slit the green chillies. Soak a lemon-sized piece of tamarind in warm water to extract the pulp.
2. 2In a pressure cooker, combine the toor dal, drumsticks, tomatoes, carrots, green chillies, onion, tamarind pulp, curry leaves, turmeric, oil, salt, and water. Pressure cook until the toor dal is fully mashed, approximately 3-4 whistles.
3. 3In a separate vessel, heat ghee and sauté the chopped shallots until translucent. Add turmeric, red chilli powder, and sambar powder. Fry until the raw aroma of the sambar powder dissipates.
4. 4Add the pressure-cooked dal and vegetable mixture to the sautéed shallots and spices. Mix well and bring to a boil. Add jaggery for sweetness and adjust salt as needed.
5. 5In a small pan, heat ghee and add mustard seeds, hing, dry red chillies, and curry leaves. Once the mustard seeds splutter, pour the tempering over the sambar.
6. 6Garnish the sambar with chopped cilantro and serve hot with Idli, Dosa, or Rice.