Butternut Squash Sambar
Published Nov. 5, 2024
- Total Time
- 1 hour 35 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1cup toor dal (dried split pigeon peas), rinsed until the water runs clear, and drained
- 2dried red Kashmiri chiles
- 1½teaspoons chana dal (dried split chickpeas)
- ½teaspoon urad dal (dried husked split black lentils)
- 1½teaspoons coriander seeds
- ½teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- ¼teaspoon black peppercorns (about 20)
- 5curry leaves
- ⅛teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½small butternut squash (from a 2-pound squash, or use 8 ounces pre-cut cubes; see Tip)
- 1large Yukon Gold or russet potato
- 1large carrot
- 1large yellow onion
- 1tablespoon vegetable oil
- Twelve 2½-inch-long pieces thawed frozen moringa (a.k.a. drumsticks, optional, see Tip)
- 5fresh or thawed frozen okra, chopped (optional)
- 1large tomato, cut into 1½-inch pieces
- ½teaspoon Kashmiri red chile powder, plus more to taste
- ¼teaspoon ground turmeric
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 1teaspoon tamarind paste, plus more to taste
- ½cup roughly chopped cilantro
- 1tablespoon ghee or vegetable oil
- ½teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 2dried red Kashmiri chiles, broken in half or thirds
- 10curry leaves
For the Sambar Powder
For the Sambar
For the Tadka (spiced Ghee or Oil)
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
827 calories; 44 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 20 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 31 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 75 grams protein; 1669 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Place the toor dal and 4 cups of water in a medium pot and bring to a boil, skimming off the foam as best as you can. Adjust heat to medium low, partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the toor dal is completely soft and most of the water has been absorbed, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add more water as needed if the dal needs to cook longer. Remove from the heat and use the back of a wooden spoon to mash until creamy. Set aside.
- Step 2
While the toor dal cooks, prepare the sambar powder: In a small dry pan, toast the chiles, chana dal and urad dal over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the dals are golden brown, about 2 minutes; transfer to a small bowl. Add the coriander, cumin, fenugreek and peppercorns to the pan. Toast, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the curry leaves and toast, stirring frequently, until crisp, about 30 seconds more. Transfer to the bowl, adding the turmeric, and set aside to cool. When completely cool, transfer the mixture to a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. (Makes about 2 tablespoons of sambar powder.)
- Step 3
Prepare the sambar: Peel the squash, remove the seeds and cut into 1-inch cubes. Peel and chop the potato, carrot and onion into 1-inch pieces.
- Step 4
In a large pot, heat the oil over medium. Add the butternut squash, potato, carrot and onion; stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the moringa (if using), okra (if using), tomato, chile powder, turmeric and 2 teaspoons salt. Stir and cook for 1 minute. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables (about 4 cups) and bring to a boil. Cover, adjust heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are fork-tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes.
- Step 5
Stir in 2 tablespoons of sambar powder, the tamarind paste and the mashed toor dal. Bring to a boil, uncovered. Season with more salt, tamarind and chile powder to taste, being mindful you’ll also be adding the tadka. Stir in the cilantro and turn off the heat.
- Step 6
Prepare the tadka: In the same pan you used for the sambar powder, heat the ghee over medium. Add the mustard seeds and cook until they begin to pop, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the chiles and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stand back and carefully add the curry leaves (they will splatter). Stir until the curry leaves crisp up, about 30 seconds. Pour the hot tadka over the sambar (it will sizzle), stir and serve.
- You can also use pumpkin instead of butternut squash.
- Moringa, called drumsticks for their resemblance to the musical implements, are the elongated immature seed pods of the moringa tree native to South Asia. You can buy moringa fresh and cut them into 2½-inch-long pieces, or use pre-cut frozen moringa available at Indian markets. The outer shell of the drumstick is hard and not edible. As you eat, split the drumstick in half and scrape out the flesh and seed with your teeth as you would an artichoke leaf.
Private Notes
Comments
I make sambar frequently, this looks complicated for a newbie so here are some tips. (Keep in mind that I’m not a professional chef just a home cook who is a bit lazy and uses shortcuts): 1) if you have an instant pot, cook the Toor dal in high pressure setting for 8 minutes with natural release. 2) Indian grocery stores carry sambar powder. I rarely make it fresh. 3) you don’t necessarily need to use all the vegetables listed here. I personally find okra to be slimy in sambar. The frozen section of an Indian grocery store usually has a vegetable package called ‘sambar mix’ and that usually works well.
I am south Indian and we make sambar quite a lot. This recipe is not beginner friendly. Buy sambar powder as Mina below recommended. This recipe is a fairly complex variant of what ought to be a 20 min recipe. There is no right or wrong way to make sambar; it is forgiving as long as you have vegetables, dal, and tamarind. But this one is not worth the effort. Anyone who consults NYT for a sambar recipe instead of seeing how Indian bloggers make it deserves what they get.
As a South Indian, I make sambar frequently for my family. It's very much a menu staple. The recipe here didn't give serving suggestions. Sambar is eaten with hot rice, or with idlis (you can get frozen nowadays) or dosais, along with chutney (coconut chutney or tomato chutney or peanut chutney are the usual choices).
I enjoy the rousing discussions, and pick up fabulous tips. Enthusiasm can sometimes be loud. Thank you, everyone, hope to make a version of this soon.
I have been looking for a good Sambar recipe for a very long time and a riff on this is amazing. The end result is as good as anything that I’ve eaten in Tamil Nadu! The key is the spice mixture. Without a good spice mixture sambar does not really taste authentic . I followed the wonderful spice mixture recipe as directed. Where I altered the recipe had to do the vegetables that I put in: generous onion, a small zucchini and 1/2 cup peas, 5 okra, some frozen drum sticks, a big carrot and a cut up tomato. I did not use potato or winter squash because I don’t recall these ingredients when eating in India. The first time I made this I used the toor dal but red lentils are more available and I found that the red lentils suffice. Other than the vege swaps I followed the directions and it is perfectly delicious and authentic.
I made this dish tonight following many of the helpful comments provided by others. At the start of cooking, I fried some methi ( fenugreek) seeds, mustard seeds, & curry leaves in ghee and grapeseed oil, then proceeded with the rest of the recipe. I was surprised by some bitterness in the soup. Found it was due to the fenugreek. Suggest soaking fenugreek beforehand, then toasting in a pan before using in the recipe. Any other suggestions for reducing bitterness are welcome.
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