Ever thought you could use salad radish in south Indian sambar?

Being a south Indian, radish(white) sambar was a frequently prepared dish at my parents’ house, and we would enjoy it with white rice and ghee or pickle. Here in the US, when I tried making the same radish sambar or moolangi saaru(that’s what it’s called in Kannada) for the first time with salad radish (red radish), I was surprised! It tasted as good as the regular white radish sambar but slightly sweet. Ever since then, this recipe has become a regular at our house.

Preparing this recipe is simple and easy. Unlike the white radish, you could use the red radish directly without peeling its skin. And I have not used radish leaves in this sambar. But I use them in salads after washing well – yes, they are edible and taste good. Click here to read more about them.

The ingredients list is the same as that of regular sambar. Here I have used potatoes with radish since they go well together. You could skip potato if don’t prefer them.

Continue reading to know how to make this yummy Salad Radish Sambar.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: 3-4 adult servings

Ingredients:

For pressure cooking:
1 cup of toor dal, washed
2 cups of water
5-6 red salad radish, sliced into medium sized rounds
1 small potato, skin-peeled and diced
Salt

For tempering:
3 tablespoons of cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2-3 dried red chilies, broken into half
8-10 curry leaves
A pinch of hing
1 small onion, sliced
1 large tomato, diced
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons of kashmiri red chili powder
1 tablespoon of tamarind extract
Salt to taste
Cilantro, chopped

Procedure:

1. Pressure cook: Add toor dal and water into the pressure cooker. Add radish, potatoes into a separate (smaller) bowl, pour some water into it, add salt, place it inside the cooker, and pressure cook until toor dal and veggies are well-cooked. (Usually, three whistles are sufficient)
   
   Allow the pressure to release naturally, then mash dal and keep aside. Store the cooked vegetables and water used to cook them as is.
   
   If you feel that the toor dal takes longer to cook, you could cook toor dal and vegetables separately, one after the other.
   
2. Heat oil in a cooking pot. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and allow them to pop and sizzle. Add minced ginger & garlic and sauté on low heat for 20 seconds until aromatic. Then add dried red chilies, curry leaves, Hing and onion, and sauté until onion translucent.
   
3. Add tomatoes, sprinkle some salt over them, cover and cook on low heat until tomatoes are soft and mushy.
   
4. Add turmeric powder and red chili powder, and sauté for 30 seconds. Then add tamarind extract and mix well.
   
5. Transfer the cooked vegetables along with water into the cooking pot. Immediately pour the mashed dal and gently combine everything. If you need to adjust the sambar consistency, add more water.
   
6. Allow the sambar to come to a boil and become frothy.
   
7. Taste for salt and adjust.
   
8. Lastly, garnish with chopped cilantro.
   
9. Serve delicious radish sambar with white rice and ghee or pickle. Enjoy!

Note:

• Add salt and spices according to your taste and preference.
• Do not overcook vegetables – they should be just well-cooked, not mushy.

If you tried this recipe, let me know how you like it? 🙂