Vegetable Sambar (Huli) for Rice

No. of servings:  6
Preparation Time:  15 mins	Cook Time:  25 mins

This traditional staple from Karnataka is comfort food that reminds of home.  Wafting with the fragrance of coconut, spices and vegetables, it is the most satiating lunch (or dinner)!
This recipe can be used to make sambar from many vegetables or a combination of vegetables that go along well - potatoes, carrots, green beans, drumsticks, long gourd, pumpkin, chayote, ridge gourd, onions, jackfruit seeds, etc.

Ingredients:

• Chopped vegetable (combination) of choice - 3 cups
• Tur daal - 0.5 cup
• Turmeric - 0.5 tsp
• Grated coconut - 0.75 cup
• Sambar powder - 2 tsp
• Salt - 2 tsp
• Tamarind - 1 lemon sized
• Jaggery (or) brown sugar - 1 lemon sized
• Tomato - 1 small (optional)
• Onion - 1 small (optional)
• Oil - for seasoning
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 2 pinches
• Curry leaves - 2 stalks

Method:

• In a cooker vessel, wash the tur daal and add 1.5 cups of water and turmeric to it
• Put the chopped vegetables directly on the daal
• Sprinkle half of the salt on the veggies and sprinkle half a cup of water over it 
• Close the lid and pressure cook this  (3 to 5 mins 'Pressure Cook' mode in IP, depending on the vegetable)
• Grind coconut, sambar powder, salt, tamarind and jaggery into a fine paste (can add a small tomato and a small onion if preferred)
• When the veggies are cooked, add the ground paste and bring to boil ('Soup' mode in IP)
• In another vessel, season mustard seeds, cumin, asafoetida and curry leaves 
• Pour the seasoning onto the boiling sambar and mix well
• Serve with hot rice and a dollop of ghee (optional)

Tips and Tricks:

• Putting the daal at the bottom keeps it directly in contact with water fully and aids in cooking it well
• Turmeric in the water makes sure the daal cook softly
• Adding half the salt on the vegetables ensures even taste in the sambar.  Otherwise, the gravy will be too salty and the veggies will remain bland
• Sprinkling some water on top dissolves the salt and spreads it evenly among the vegetables during cooking
• While using vegetables in combination, make sure to put firmer and harder veggies first over the daal and then layer with quick-cooking veggies.  Ex: On the daal, layer potatoes first, green beans next and carrots last 

Pictures: 

Final Outcome: