Instant Pot sambar is an easy, one-pot recipe for the best South Indian lentil and vegetable soup. Instructions to make freshly-ground sambar powder spice mix included.
Soak dal for 4 hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator. Rinse and drain.
Place ghee in an Instant Pot and set it to saute mode. Add onions and cook until softening.
Add tomatoes, sambar powder, turmeric, asafoetida, jalapeno, red chili, and salt to onions. Cook until the tomato breaks down. Use a large fork to mash the mixture together.
Add 3 cups of water and the drained soaked dal to the Instant Pot. Set the cooker to high pressure for 10 minutes and close the steam valve.
When cooking is finished, allow Instant Pot to sit for 10 minutes with the steam valve closed. Release any remaining steam manually.
Open the Instant Pot lid and whisk soup vigorously or blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
Add vegetables, turn the Instant Pot to soup mode, and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add ½ cup of water if needed to make a thin but not watery soup.
Add tamarind paste and adjust with salt and chili to taste.
Make tadka
While vegetables cook, heat plant-based ghee in a small skillet. Add mustard seed, cumin seed, curry leaves, and fresh chili if using. Stir and cook until the seeds crackle, and the curry leaves curl and crisp.
Serve
Ladle soup into bowls and drizzle tadka tempering over the top. Serve with steamed idli, fluffy rice, dosa, roti, naan, or tortillas as desired.
Homemade sambar powder
Toast chana dal and toor dal together in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until aroma is released and the dal is lightly browned. Remove and set aside in a bowl.
Place coriander and fenugreek seed in a skillet. Toast while stirring until seeds begin to crackle. Add to bowl with toasted dals.
Place black peppercorn, cumin seed, and curry leaves in a skillet. Stir and toast until curry leaves dry and curl. Add to bowl with other toasted spices.
Place red chilis, turmeric powder, and asafoetida, if using, in a skillet. Toast until chilis are pliable. Add to bowl with all the other spices. Cool completely to room temperature.
Place spice mixture in a blender or grinder and process to a uniform powder. Transfer to a jar and store in a cupboard for a month, or freeze for 3 months.
Notes
Recipe tipsTop tip - This recipe makes enough sambar powder to share with friends and stock your pantry. It's worth taking the time to toast groups of spices separately. This way, the perfume of each spice can be released without burning any. Watch closely! Make or buy sambar powder ahead of time.Dice tomatoes and onions small.Mash cooked tomatoes and onions before adding lentils and water.Let steam release naturally with the vent closed on the Instant Pot for 10 minutes.Blend soup inside the Instant Pot with an immersion blender or whisk vigorously.Add vegetables after the lentils are cooked to keep them from getting mushy.Make tadka topping while the vegetables cook in the Instant Pot sambar.Fry spices for the tadka in vegan ghee until very fragrant and crackly but take care not to burn them.