Sambar

This is a yummy “cleaning out the veggie drawer” sort of soup. It’s lentil based, but uses pretty much whatever veggies you happen to have on hand. I’ve made it most often with zucchini because we buy an annual share in a CSA, and what farm doesn’t have too much zucchini in late summer? This is a great one to get going in a slow cooker, too, and reheats really well from leftover.

Ingredients:

1 cup red lentils
3 cups water
1 Tbsp tamarind pulp
1 large onion, chopped fine
2 cups zucchini, chopped (or 2 cups of another veg, chopped)
1 cup carrot, chopped
2 Tbsp ghee or oil
1 Tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp black mustard seed

Rinse lentils. Place in saucepan with 2 cups of water and simmer until soft. Heat remaining cup of water and soak tamarind pulp for 10 min. Remove pulp, reserving the soaking water, and squeeze out remaining liquid. Add to simmering soup, along with the reserved liquid.

Chop onion, zucchini and carrot — add to soup.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in small frying pan and fry coriander, cumin, black pepper and turmeric for a couple minutes. Add to soup.

Continue to simmer soup until vegetables are tender and lentils have thickened. Add salt and garam masala and simmer 5 min more.