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The Tamil Nadu staple breakfast item of idli, sambar and vada served on a banana leaf. The stainless steel plates and cups are characteristic of South Indian dining tables.

Sambar or sambhar (Kannada:ಹುಳಿ, ், Malayalam: സാംബാറ്, Tamil:சாம்பார, Telugu:సాంబారు, is a dish common in South India and Sri Lankan cuisines, made of toovar dal.

Sambar is essentially a pea and vegetable stew or chowder based on a broth made with tamarind and toovar dal, and is very popular in the cooking of southern regions of India especially Tamil Nadu. The toovar dal are cooked until they are crumbling. Tamarind pulp is soaked in water to extract the flavour and then discarded. A mixture of ground spices known as sambar powder (which contains roasted coriander seeds, chillies, lentils, and other spices) and tamarind are added to the dal. Vegetables and spices such as turmeric and chilli powder are also added. The dal and vegetable stew is heated until the vegetables cook. A wide variety of vegetables may be added to sambar. Typical vegetables include okra, drumstick, carrot, radish, pumpkin,Potatoos, tomatoes, and whole or halved shallots or onions, but many different vegetables may be used with adequate results. Typically sambar will contain one or several seasonal vegetables as the main vegetables in the soup.

The cooked sambar is typically finished with an oil-fried spice mixture containing items such mustard seeds, urad dal, dried red chillies, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds, and asafoetida. Fresh curry leaves or coriander leaves may be added at the very end to enhance the flavor. Curry leaves in particular are an essential element of authentic sambar; their aroma and flavor provide sambar with a distinct and pleasant herbal essence.

Sambar is reflective of a broad and ancient tradition of dal-based vegetable stews in southern India. Many regions and families of the Indian subcontinent have developed and maintained their own adaptations of a dal and vegetable stew, and similar preparations are evident in such dishes known in local languages as rasam, charu, saaru, and pulusu. Most will be found to contain common elements of toor dal, tamarind, vegetables, sambar powder, and an oil-fried spice seed seasoning, although the soup can be made to have many different flavors depending on which vegetables and selection of spices are used.

The taste of the sambar is derived from the spices added to it.

Typical ingredients of the sambar powder include roasted lentils, coriander seeds, dried whole red chili, fenugreek seeds, and curry leaves. Regional variations may include versions with mustard seeds, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, or other spices.

This powder is prepared by pan roasting the whole spices and grinding them to a rather coarse powder.

In regions that grow coconuts, notably Kerala, coastal Karnataka, Udupi, Mangalore and Tamil Nadu, sambar is also made with a paste of ground coconuts and spices. Grated coconut is roasted with lentils and red chillies. It is then ground into a fine paste, added to the vegetables and tamarind broth, and cooked.

Many variants exist depending on the meal of the day, region, and the vegetables used. Sambar without dal (but with vegetables or fish) is called kozhambu (koolAMboo) in Tamil Nadu. There are several varieties of kozhambu (mor kozhambu, vetha kozhambu, rasavangi, etc). Minor but subtle differences in preparation and ingredients can vary the appearance and taste of the dish.

Sambar served on Idli, at a hotel in Guntur.

Sambar is usually served with steamed rice. Sambar with rice is one of the main courses of both formal and everyday south Indian cuisine. In Tamil Nadu, vada sambar and idli sambar are popular for breakfast or lunch, and sambar is often served as a side dish at dinner.

Sambar is also served for breakfast across much of urban north India, commonly with idli, vada or dosa, along with two chutneys, a cool green coconut chutney and a mildly spicy red tomato chutney.

Wikibooks Cookbook has an article on

Sambar (dish)

• Tamil cuisine
• Cuisine of Karnataka
• Kerala cuisine
• Indian cuisine
• Udupi cuisine