Piping Hot Mixed Vegetable Sambar made in Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker). Sambar is primarily a South Indian delicacy, but because of it’s benefits and taste popular all over India. This recipe is to make the popular South Indian Lentils “Sambar” in an instant pot. It is very easy to make sambar and even easier in an instant pot.
I am a North Indian, but eating sambar with idli and dosa has always been my favorite breakfast. I can eat it anytime, for lunch or dinner too. It can also be eaten as a soup. Now I make this frequently for my family. I make sambar mostly with split pigeon pea (toor or arhar dal), but it can be made with red lentils (masoor dal) as well. Also, the vegetables you add to the sambar can be varied, I usually add carrots, baby eggplants and pumpkin. You can serve sambar with a variety of things – idli, dosa, medu vada, rice or just as a soup.
Idli, sambar and chutney is considered one of India’s healthiest breakfasts. It is rich in carbohydrates and proteins. It is a complete meal which includes lentils, vegetables and spices.
Important Ingredients of Sambar
One of the main ingredients of Sambar is sambar powder which gives it the distinctive taste. I use the MTR brand sambar powder. You can find it easily on Amazon or in your nearby Indian grocery store. If you don’t have sambar powder, grind these spices to a fine powder – 2 whole red chilies, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp whole black peppers, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder.
Another important ingredient of sambar is tamarind paste. You can use a store brought paste or you can make it at home. To make tamarind paste, soak about 2 tbsp of seedless tamarind in 1/4 cup water and microwave for 30 seconds. It will become soft enough to use.
How to make Sambar in Instant Pot?
I am preparing Sambar in Instant Pot, however the same recipe can be followed in a stovetop pressure cooker.
Start with heating the instant pot in Sauté mode and heat oil in it. Add mustard, asafoetida, ginger and curry leaves to it. In about 30 seconds, add the onion and sauté for couple of minutes. Then add tomatoes, sambar powder and salt. Now add the veggies, toor dal and water. That is it! Close the instant pot and cook the sambar for 8 minutes under high pressure.
When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally. You will notice that all the veggies are cooked well and almost mixed with the lentils. Add in the tamarind paste to get the tangy flavor. You will definitely taste the difference. Garnish with cilantro and sambar is ready to be served.
I served this sambar with idli and coconut chutney. You can also serve it with white or brown rice or enjoy it as a soup. Yum!
Instant Pot Vegetable Sambar / South Indian Lentils Recipe (Pressure Cooker)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Split Pigeon Pea (Toor dal) washed
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1/2 Onion medium size, chopped
- 2 Tomato medium size, chopped
- 4 tsp Sambar powder
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Tamarind (Imli) paste
- 4 cup Water
- Cilantro to garnish
Tempering
- 1 tsp Mustard Seeds (Rai)
- 6 leaves Curry Leaves (Kadi Patta)
- 1 pinch Asafoetida (Hing)
- 1" Ginger finely chopped
- 1 Green Chili Pepper (optional)
Vegetables
- 1 cup Pumpkin about 120 gms, cut in medium sized pieces
- 1 Carrot cut into small pieces
- 3 Baby Eggplant cut into 4 pieces each
Instructions
- Start the instant pot in sauté mode and heat oil in it. Add all the tempering ingredients.
- When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the chopped onions and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, sambar powder and salt. Sauté for another 2 minutes.
- Add all the vegetables, toor dal and water to the instant pot. Change the instant pot setting to manual or pressure cook mode for 8 minutes at high pressure with vent in sealing position.
- When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally. Stir in the tamarind paste. Stir the sambar so it is mixed well.
- Garnish with cilantro and sambar is ready to be served.
Notes
- If you don't have tamarind paste, you can soak seedless tamarind in 1/4 cup water and microwave for 30 seconds. It will become soft enough to use.
- If you don't have sambar powder, grind all these spices - 2 whole red chilies, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp whole black peppers, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder.
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Really good sambar and so simple! Next time I think I will put another cup of water in, and increase pressure cooker time to 10 min so the lentils really dissolve into the sambar. Also, I added the tamarind but I guess it wasn’t sour enough, so I add the juice of one half of a lemon. That helped!
I usually just add carrots, but what other vegetables could I add?
Hi Madhur – Glad to hear you enjoyed the sambar. You can add carrots, beans, eggplant, pumpkin, peas or potato to the sambar. I usually add the first 4 veggies, and my family loves it.
Delicious, great every time. Now my mother regularly requests that I make it for her–the role reversal is telling and quite a good recommendation for this recipe!
The only thing I do differently is that I cook it first without the vegetables, then QR, blend with a hand blender, then add the veggies for 2-5 more minutes on high. I t takes longer but we prefer the smoother dal. I’ve added the imli-tamarind both at the point where I add the vegetables and at the end after the veggies are cooked, great either way.
Hi Angana – This is a great compliment that your mother loves the sambar. I can give one suggestion for cooking the veggies together. You can put the veggies pot-in-pot in a steamer basket while the sambar is cooking in the main steel insert. Then after you have whisked the sambar, add the veggies to it 🙂
Love this simple recipe! Do you find you need to blend the sambhar after with immersion blender? I find the dal is not fully mashed.
Hey Amisha – Thank you. I usually just mix the sambar for a minute with the ladle and the dal mixes well. If that is not the case for you, you can cook for few extra minutes and using a whisk or hand blender would work well too.
can I use drumsticks and white radish instead of carrots eggplant
Hey Swarna – Yes, you can add drumstick and radishes. They will work well in the same cooking time. Hope you enjoy the sambar!
Hi, I wanted to cook rice as well using PIP. Can I keep basmathi rice (1 cup of rice to 1.25 cups of water) for 8 minutes too?
Hey Aswin – yes, this time will work perfectly with basmati rice. I do that in my dal tadka recipe – https://www.pipingpotcurry.com/dal-tadka-instant-pot/
This recipe is absolutely delish! Thank you! I now keep coming back to your site for additional recipes.
Hey RS – Glad you enjoyed the sambar. Thank you for sharing back your experience.
Can sambar be keep in fridge n preheat for next days will it get sour of anything or bad to eat…
Hello Indra – I have stored sambar easily for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. That said, it does depend on the settings of your refrigerator.
This was so tasty! I made a double batch in order to use an abundance of veggies (eggplant, cauliflower, carrots and broccoli). I also made my own sambar powder as you suggested. I served it with rice, grilled mushrooms and onions, and mint chutney.
Thank you for posting this recipe. Your website is full of delicious recipes.
Hey Cyndi – Wow..so glad to hear you enjoyed the Sambar. I love that you made so many things to go along with the Sambar. Thank you for your kind words and hope you enjoy more indian recipes 🙂
Is there no need to heat (cook) adter adding tamarind? Will it not leave a raw taste ? Thanks.
Hey Kris – I usually just add the tamarind and it works great. The sambar is super hot which helps to mix in the tamarind juices. If you like, you can cook the sambar on sauté for a couple of minutes after adding tamarind. Hope you enjoy the sambar!