Sambar – vata balancing

SAMBAR – VATA BALANCING

This is a perfect Autumn dish. And sambar is one of the dishes many people remember from their visits in India. It is often served with dosa or as a part of thali meal. 

This recipe is to balance vata. For kapha balancing sambar click here and for pitta balancing sambar click here. Make sure you chose the right ingredients for your PDE.

If you need more sauce, add an additional cup of water when cooking the vegetables.

Use one pinch fenugreek and ten curry leaves if available. If tamarind paste is available, use one tsp instead of lemon.

½ cup red lentils
2 + 1 cup water
1 tomato
5 asparagus
1 yellow onion
1 tbsp fresh ginger
2 green chilies
2 potatoes
1 eggplant (medium size)
100 g pumpkin
2 ½ tbsp olive oil 
4 tbsp shredded coconut 
2 tsp coriander powder 
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp lime juice 
1 tsp mustard seeds 
salt
½ cup chopped fresh coriander 

Boil the lentils in 2 cups of water until soft.

Wash and cut the vegetables (tomato in 8 pieces, asparagus in 1 1/2 inch long pieces, onion in rings, ginger in thin slivers, green chili lengthwise and potato, aubergine and pumpkin in cubes. Peel onion, ginger, potato and pumpkin before cutting.).

In a heated pan add 1 tablespoon oil. Add the vegetables including onion, ginger and chili and stir on high heat for 3 minutes. 

Add 1 cup of water, cover with a lid and cook on medium heat until the vegetables are cooked. 

Add the boiled lentils to the vegetables and stir. Lower the heat and let simmer under the lid for 5 more minutes.

In a small frying pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil, coconut and coriander powder and stir until it becomes golden brown. Transfer to a bowl and add turmeric powder and lime juice. When it has cooled down grind it in a blender.

Add the coconut mix to the vegetables.

Add salt for taste. 

In a heated pan, add ½ tbsp of oil and mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to break, add to the vegetables.

Add coriander leaves and stir.

Remember to post a photo of your meal on your social media and tag me (FB JaneshVaidyaAyurveda and Instagram janesh_vaidya_ayurveda) to share the inspiration.

Swedish readers – you will find this recipe in my cookbook ‘Maten från min by‘.