Instant Pot Sambar

5 from 7 votes

This Authentic Instant Pot Sambar recipe is an easy vegetable lentil stew recipe from the South Indian state of Kerala. This boldly flavored sambar is normally eaten with the South Indian staples of idli, dosa, vada, or rice but you could also eat it as a soup or stew. Use your choice of vegetables.

Servings

Ingredients

3 ½ cups water
½ cup toor dal rinsed well, till water runs clear
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 cup eggplant (about ½ eggplant) cubed into ¾ inch pieces
½ cup English cucumber (about ¼ cucumber) peeled and cubed into ¾ inch pieces
½ cup okra frozen or fresh
2 cups tomatoes chopped
1 cup onion chopped
1 teaspoon salt or to taste (I prefer 1 ¼ tsp)
1 tablespoon sambar powder or more to taste
1 ½ teaspoon granulated sugar or jaggery or brown sugar
2 teaspoon tamarind paste or to taste [See Notes]
¼ cup grated coconut fresh or frozen (optional)
water to blend coconut about 3 to 4 Tbsp
1 tablespoon coconut oil or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
12 curry leaves fresh or frozen
2 tablespoon cilantro chopped, to garnish

Instructions

Stir together 2 cups water, rinsed toor dal, and turmeric in the inner pot.
Close the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 10 minutes and allow for a natural pressure release. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods].
Press Cancel and open the lid.
Mash the dal with the back of a large spoon or potato masher.
Stir in 1 ½ cups water, eggplant, cucumber, okra, tomato, onion, salt, sambar powder, sugar and tamarind.
Close the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 1 minute, open the lid and do a quick release of pressure. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods].
Press Cancel and open the lid.
Optional:
- Dry roast the coconut over medium heat in a small frying pan, stirring constantly. Remove from heat when the coconut is a rich golden color. This can take about 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn!
- Transfer the coconut into a mini blender bowl and add 3 tablespoon water. Blend the coconut and water into a smooth paste. If the coconut mixture does not move in the blender, add a bit more water, one tablespoon at a time. Don't add too much water.
- Stir the coconut mixture into the sambar.
Preheat a small frying pan and add oil.
Once oil is hot, add mustard seeds and cover with a splatter screen or lid.
When the mustard seeds stop popping, turn off the heat, remove the lid and add the curry leaves.
Saute the curry leaves for a few seconds until fragrant.
Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves with the oil into the sambar.
Cook in Saute mode till heated through.
Add in chopped cilantro and stir to combine.

Video

Notes

Notes About Tamarind

When adding tamarind paste, taste as you go. Don't add it all at once.
If using homemade tamarind paste, use about 2 teaspoons
If using tamarind concentrate, start with 1 teaspoon mixed with 1 teaspoon hot water and add more to taste.
If using tamarind pulp, soak a 1-inch piece in ½ cup of hot water for 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, break up the lumps and squeeze with your hands. Discard the solids and use some or all of this liquid when cooking the vegetables. Reduce the vegetable cooking water by the same amount.

Nutrition