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Tamilnadu · Lunch

Muringakkai Sambar (முருங்கக்காய் சாம்பார்)

Traditional 12. Muringakkai Sambar recipe

🧺 Ingredients

• 2 muringakkai (drumstick) pods, cut into 5 cm pieces (about 15–18 pieces)
• ½ cup toor dal, pressure cooked and whisked smooth
• Tamarind — lemon-sized ball (30 g), soaked in 1 cup hot water
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 medium ripe tomato, chopped
• 2.5 tsp sambar powder
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1 tsp jaggery
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 10 curry leaves
• 2 dried red chilies, broken
• 4 shallots, peeled and halved
• ¼ tsp asafoetida (hing)

👩‍🍳 How to make Muringakkai Sambar

1. Rinse toor dal.
2. Pressure cook with 1.5 cups water for 4–5 whistles.
3. Whisk until smooth.
4. Set aside.
5. Soak tamarind in hot water, extract, and strain.
6. Set aside tamarind liquid.
7. Heat 2 tbsp sesame oil in a pot over high heat.
8. Add mustard seeds — crackle 20 seconds.
9. Add urad dal — fry 30 seconds.
10. Add shallots — fry 1.5 minutes until lightly golden.
11. Add broken red chilies and curry leaves — sizzle.
12. Add asafoetida.
13. Add diced onion and tomato — fry on medium heat for 3 minutes.
14. Add drumstick pieces, tamarind water, and 2 cups fresh water.
15. Add sambar powder, turmeric, and salt.
16. Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce to medium heat and cook for 15 minutes until drumstick pieces are completely tender — they should feel soft when pressed with a spoon and the flesh should be easily extractable from the skin.
17. Add whisked cooked toor dal.
18. Stir well.
19. Add jaggery.
20. Cook on medium heat for 5 more minutes until sambar is thick and creamy.
21. Taste for balance — adjust tamarind, salt, or jaggery.
22. Serve hot over rice.
23. The drumstick pieces are sucked clean at the table — the fibrous outer skin is discarded, the inner soft flesh and its juices eaten.

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