Sambar recipe - Restaurant style

Sambar Recipe

Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Tomato - 1 small diced
Onion - 1 small sliced
Green chilli - 1 slit
Garlic - 2 pods
Tamarind - 1 small gooseberry size(put in 1/4 cup hot water and extract juice)
Jaggery - 1/4 tsp powdered(optional)
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Coconut - 1/4 cup ground to paste(optional)

Oil - Sesame oil(if available)
Vegetables - (1 small potato cut to cubes, 1 drumstick cut to 2 inch pieces)
Curry leaves - 10

Seasoning:
Ghee - 1 tsp
Shallots - 2
Sambar powder - 1/4 tsp
Dry red chilli - 2
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek(vendhayam) - 1/4 tsp
Aesofoetida - 1 pinch
Curry leaves - 3

Method:

1. Wash toor dal in water and keep soaked for 15 mins.
2. Meanwhile cut all the vegetables and keep aside.
3. Heat sesame oil in preassure cooker and toss in the onion and green chilly and saute for 2 mins. Add Dal and preassure cook for 4 whistles.
4. Open and add salt. Then add garlic,tamarind paste,sambar powder and all the vegetables except tomato. Preassure cook for 1 whistle.
5. Open and add tomato and curry leaves and bring to boil for 5 mins.
6. Add coconut paste and enough water approximately 1/2 cup. Again bring to boil and add jaggery and mix well. Check salt and turn off flame.

For seasoning:
Heat ghee in a pan and splutter mustard and then add fenugreek and aesofoetida, shallots, dried red chilly,curry leaves. Fry on low flame for a minute till shallots starts
turning golden brown. Now sprinkle 1/4 tsp sambar powder and mix well.
Pour it over the curry and keep covered for 10 mins so that the flavours infuse into the gravy. Serve hot with rice,dosa or idly.