There are many staples in Indian cuisine, but two of the biggest are onions and sambar. Onions are used in just about every savory dish you can find on the subcontinent, and sambar is eaten in just about every household. It can be said that if you master this onion sambar dish, then you would have made a major breakthrough in your mastery of Indian cuisine. At the very least you will undoubtedly impress the next Indian dinner guest you have.
Health Benefits
There is a reason that onions are a food staple in different cuisine cultures all around the world, and it isn’t that they taste so great (although they actually do taste fantastic). Onions are most prized for their health benefits. Eating them can boosts a person’s heart health, reduce inflammation throughout the body, and even prevent the development of particular cancers by killing off free radicals. Onions can also help to build strong bones by increasing a person’s bone density
Ingredients
arhar dal: 1 cup
pearl onions: 1 cup
tomato – chopped: 1
tamarind water: 1 cup
sambar powder: 2 tbsp
turmeric powder: 1 tsp
salt to taste
mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
methi seeds (fenugreek seeds): 1 tsp
red chilis: 2 dry
asafoetida: 1 pinch
curry leaves – roughly torn: 1 sprig
How To Make Onion Sambar
- Pressure cook the dal with salt, turmeric powder, and 2 cups water for 5 whistles or until the dal is done.
- Mash the toor dal and set aside.
- Pour a teaspoon of oil into the pressure cooker.
- Add the pearl onions.
- Roast the pearl onions for about 4 - 5 minutes until a roasted aroma permeates the air.
- Add the tomatoes and the homemade sambar powder, salt, turmeric powder and the tamarind water.
- Cover the pressure cooker.
- Let the masala pressure cook for 2 whistles.
- Turn off the heat.
- Release the pressure.
- Open the cooker.
- Add the mashed toor dal and the onion sambar.
- Adjust salt to taste.
For tempering
- Heat a small tadka pan with oil.
- Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, dry red chilli and pinch of hing.
- Cook until they start to crackle.
- Add the curry leaves.
- Turn off the heat.
- Pour the tempering over the onion sambar.
- Give the sambar a brisk boil.
- Stir in the chopped coriander leaves
Trivia
Onions were used as currency, for goods and services during the middle age.