Swaadista

If someone asked me to try beetroot sambar earlier, I would have flatly refused. But my opinion completely changed when I made it recently and tasted it for the first time – it turned out so delicious that my family and I enjoyed it to the last bite. Thanks to my husband for recommending me to give this dish a shot, as he grew up eating and loving this sambar quite often.

Preparing this sambar in the pressure cooker is easy and the recipe in straightforward. It takes about 30 minutes overall from prep to finish and is an interesting way to include beetroot in our diet. Pair it with brown rice topped with a teaspoon of ghee, pickles and vegetables stir-fry on the side, to make a wholesome meal.

Ingredients

Beetroot – you’ll need red beets that have a sweet, earthy, and slightly mineral flavor for this recipe.

Lentils – you’ll need toor dal or split pigeon peas

Onion– Red onions work perfectly for this sambar.

Tomatoes– Globe tomatoes or on-the-vine tomatoes go well with this recipe.

Spices – you’ll need turmeric powder, sambar powder, salt, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dried red chilies

Water – you’ll need room temperature water for pressure cooking lentils and vegetables and adjusting the consistency of the sambar

Herbs – curry leaves and coriander leaves

Oil – you’ll need cold-pressed peanut oil or virgin coconut oil

How to make beetroot sambar in pressure cooker

Here is the photo-wise recipe of beetroot sambar, followed by the full recipe.

Recipe

Beetroot Sambar in Pressure Cooker

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 3 people

Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

  

For pressure cooking

• 1 cup toor dal (approximately 200g) Rinse in a mesh strainer under cold running water 2-3 times until the water runs clear
• 2 cups water
• ½ medium red onion sliced
• 1 ½ medium tomatoes chopped
• 1 medium red beetroot skin peeled and diced into 1/4 inch cubes
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder

Others

• 2 tbsp sambar powder (I used MTR Sambar powder)
• salt to taste
• water to adjust consistency
• a handful of chopped coriander leaves

For Tempering

• 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil or peanut oil
• ¼ tsp mustard seeds
• ¼ tsp cumin seeds
• a few curry leaves
• a couple split red chilies

Equipment

• Pressure Cooker
• a small pan for tempering spices
• Ladle

Method

 

1. Pressure cook: Add rinsed toor dal, sliced onions, chopped tomatoes, diced beetroot, turmeric powder, and water to the pressure cooker. Stir well, cover, and pressure cook over medium heat for 4-5 whistles or until the toor dal is cooked well. Turn off the heat and allow the pressure to release naturally.
2. Season: once the pressure is released, gently stir the cooked ingredients and turn on the heat again and set it to low.

   Adjust consistency by adding water if necessary. Then, stir in the salt and sambar powder, ensuring there are no lumps. Alternatively, you can mix the sambar powder in about 50 ml of water until its lump-free, then add the liquid to the cooked ingredients.

   Allow the sambar to boil.
3. Taste: Taste for salt and seasoning, and adjust if necessary.

   Turn off the heat.
4. Temper spices: Heat oil in a small pan on medium heat. Add mustard and cumin seeds and allow them to pop and sizzle. Then add the curry leaves and split red chilies, and allow the curry leaves to splutter. Turn off the heat.
5. Pour tempering over sambar: carefully pour the hot tempering over sambar.
6. Garnish: garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves and give the sambar a gentle mix.
7. Serve: Serve delicious beetroot sambar with brown rice, pickles, and vegetable stir-fry. Enjoy!

Still hungry?

If you tried this recipe, let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment below or tagging a picture of your preparation on Instagram @swaadista

Happy cooking, happy eating!