Easy Cooker Sambar

 Ingredients:-

Any chopped vegetable (white pumpkin, drumstick, carrot, brinjal etc.) suitable for sambar including or excluding onion

Tur Dal - 1/2 cup (rice cup)

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Sambar Powder - 2 tsp ( adjust according to your taste)

Salt to taste

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida - small piece

tamarind - small lemon size

Curry Leaves - few

Red Chillies - 2 nos.

Version I

In a cooker add oil and when it is hot add mustard seeds, asafoetida and red chilles.  When the mustard seeds crackles add curry leaves and mix it and remove it to a small cup.

Now add the chopped onion saute till they are cooked completely and then add vegetables of your choice, tur dal and turmeric powder.  Add enough water to cook and close the cooker and leave it for four whistles.   When the pressure drops down open the cooker and add tamarind juice and salt, boil it and switch off the stove.  Now add the mustard seeds and curry leaves tadka to the sambar and serve it hot with rice, idli, dosa etc.   This is very easy method to make sambar.

Version II

Instead of adding sambar powder, you can make this powder and addd it at the end and finish the sambar.

In a tawa add oil, two tsp of coriander seeds, one tsp channa dal, 1/8 tsp vendhayam, small piece of asafoetida and four red chillies.  Saute till the channa dal becomes golden brown.  Then add three to four tsp of grated coconut and fresh tamarind saute for a minute, remove from fire and grind it with water to fine coarse paste.   Add this paste to the cooked dal and vegetables and add salt and finish the sambar.  Add little jaggery at the end.  In tadka avoid adding asafoetida here since we are adding it in the paste.