Sambar/Vegetable Lentil Stew
Of course, a dish as popular as Sambar must have a real tall tale to showcase its mighty origin! One day, Sambaji (none other than the son of the great Maratha warrior Sivaji), who also happens to be a great cook, finds himself without his favorite ingredients in his cousin’s kingly court kitchen in Tanjore. He magically creates this world-famous dish with local ingredients and aptly names it after himself – Sambar! Whether you relegate this to the great storytelling ability of our people or assign it to historians for further research, it is in general agreed, that the origin of this dish must have been from a modest Tanjore Brahmin’s kitchen and has since spread across South India over time. In doing so, it has incorporated elements of local cuisine, such as adding coconut in Kerala or even jaggery in Karnataka. But the real credit goes to the Udupi hoteliers who popularized their version of Sambar, which is sometimes referred to as ‘Hotel Sambar.’ It is this version that has ‘travelled the world and the seven seas’ to become ubiquitous in all Madrasi restaurants and kitchens alike.
When my mother heard that I am going abroad for my studies, she immediately made sure that I learned to cook Sambar, and she sent me off with a packet of Sambar powder. Ever since then, I have been evolving my Sambar recipe. Now it contains all the key elements of all the Sambar recipes that I have come across. Try it for yourself…I think you’ll really enjoy it!