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Tamilnadu · Lunch

Keerai Sambar (கீரை சாம்பார்)

Traditional 2. Keerai Sambar recipe

🧺 Ingredients

• ½ cup toor dal (pigeon pea), pressure cooked
• Tamarind — lemon-sized ball (about 30 g), soaked in 1 cup hot water
• 2 cups keerai (spinach / mulai keerai / palak), washed and roughly chopped
• 1 medium onion, roughly diced
• 1 medium ripe tomato, chopped
• 2.5 tsp sambar powder (MTR or homemade)
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sesame oil (gingelly oil)
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 10–12 curry leaves
• 2 dried red chilies, broken
• ¼ tsp asafoetida (hing)
• 3–4 shallots (small red onions), peeled and halved
• 1 tsp jaggery (or sugar) — the Tamil Nadu secret for balanced sambar
• 2 cups water (for sambar consistency)

👩‍🍳 How to make Keerai Sambar

1. Rinse toor dal.
2. Pressure cook with 1.5 cups water for 4–5 whistles until completely mushy.
3. The cooked dal should be smooth, not grainy.
4. Whisk until completely smooth.
5. Set aside.
6. Soak tamarind in 1 cup hot water for 10 minutes.
7. Squeeze with fingers, extracting all pulp.
8. Strain through fine sieve — keep the thick tamarind water, discard fibres.
9. Heat 2 tbsp sesame oil in a wide pot over high heat.
10. Add mustard seeds — crackle 20 seconds.
11. Add cumin seeds and urad dal — fry 30 seconds until golden.
12. Add shallots — fry 1 minute until lightly golden.
13. Add broken red chilies — fry 10 seconds.
14. Add curry leaves and asafoetida — sizzle 10 seconds.
15. Add diced onion to tempering — fry on medium-high heat for 2 minutes.
16. Add chopped tomato — fry 2 minutes.
17. Add tamarind water (from Step 2).
18. Add 2 cups fresh water.
19. Add sambar powder, turmeric, and salt.
20. Bring to boil over high heat.
21. Reduce to medium heat and cook for 10 minutes — the raw tamarind smell should transform to a cooked, tangy aroma.
22. Add chopped spinach/keerai.
23. Stir well.
24. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes until greens are completely wilted and softened.
25. They will dramatically reduce in volume.
26. Add the whisked, cooked toor dal to the pot.
27. Stir well — the sambar should now be thick and creamy from the dal.
28. Add jaggery.
29. Stir.
30. Taste — the flavor should be: tangy (tamarind) + savory (dal) + slightly spiced (sambar powder) + a background sweetness (jaggery).
31. All four should be in balance.
32. Adjust with more tamarind water (for tang), salt, or jaggery as needed.
33. Cook on low-medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sambar reaches a medium-thick consistency — thick enough to coat a spoon but not too thick.
34. Serve hot with rice.
35. The sambar should be spooned over rice and mixed.

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