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Special Pongal Sambar
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Special Pongal Sambar

My mom's Special Pongal Sambar with 30+ vegetables that is typically cooked on Pongal day. Our family recipe that is everyone's favorite too and goes well with sweet/ white pongal or best with idli dosa the next day!

Course Side Dish
Cuisine Indian
Keyword Pongal, Sambar
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 people
Author Senthil Sadasivam

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Eggplant
  • 1/2 lb Drumsticks
  • 1 lb Yellow pumpkin
  • 1 lb White pumpkin
  • 1 lb Bottle gourd
  • 1 lb Valor beans (Avaraikai) 2/3 varieties mixed
  • 1/4 lb Green beans
  • 1/4 lb Long beans
  • 1/4 lb Cluster beans
  • 1/2 lb Carrot
  • 1/2 lb Radish (white)
  • 1/4 lb Radish (red)
  • 1 lb Ridge gourd
  • 1 lb Chayote squash
  • 1/4 lb Bitter gourd
  • 1/4 lb Raw green banana
  • 1/4 lb Green Turkey berry (Sundaikai)
  • 5 slices Mango
  • 1 lb White potato
  • 1/4 lb Red potato
  • 1/4 lb Sweet potato
  • 1/4 lb Yam
  • 1/4 lb Suran
  • 1/2 cup White chana soaked
  • 1/2 cup Black chana soaked
  • 1/2 cup Yellow peas soaked
  • 1/2 cup Green peas soaked
  • 1/2 cup Raw peanuts soaked
  • 1/2 cup Mochai (green) or soaked

Other ingredients

  • 4 tbsp Sambar powder
  • Tamarind juice to taste
  • Jaggery to taste
  • salt to taste

To pressure cook dal

  • 3 cups Tool dal
  • 10 cloves Garlic
  • 1/2 tbsp Turmeric powder
  • 3 tsp Hing powder
  • 1 tbsp Sesame oil

For tadka

  • 2 tbsp Mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tbsp Methi seeds
  • 1 tbsp Cumin seeds
  • 5 Red chilies
  • 3 sprigs Curry leaves
  • 2 cups Onion (or shallots) sliced
  • 5 Green chilies sliced
  • 2 cups Tomatoes chopped
  • 5 tbsp Sesame oil

To make sambar powder

  • 10 Red chilies
  • 1/2 cup Coriander seeds
  • 1 tbsp Methi seeds
  • 2 tbsp Cumin seeds
  • 2 tbsp Chana dal
  • 1/2 cup Coconut

To garnish

  • 1/2 cup Coriander leaves chopped

Instructions

  1. Soak the chana, dry peas (vatana), raw peanuts and mochai (if you don't have fresh shelled ones) overnight in water.

  2. Wash and cut vegetables and group them into 3 batches in the order they need to be added into the pot (instructions below).

  3. Wash and pressure cook dal for three whistles along with the ingredients listed.  Mash the dal and keep it separate.

  4. Dry roast the ingredients listed under sambar powder one at a time in medium heat, cool the contents and grind them into a fine powder.

  5. Find the biggest pot you can find in your kitchen and fill it with 40% water, 4 tbsp sambar powder and salt to taste.

  6. Add the first batch of veggies (soaked white/ black chana, yellow/ green peas, peanuts,
    mochai, cut cubes of white/ red/ sweet potato, yam). Cover and cook for about 20 mins opening the lid and stirring the contents gently every 5 mins or so.

  7. Add the second batch of veggies (cut drumstick, eggplant, yellow/ white pumpkin,
    bottle gourd, carrot, radish, chayote squash, bitter gourd, suran). Cover and cook for about 10 mins opening the lid and stirring the contents gently every 5 mins or so.

  8. Add the third batch of veggies (valor beans (avaraikai), green beans, cluster
    beans (kothavarangai), long beans (payathangai), ridge gourd (peerkangai), raw banana, Turkey berry (sundaikai), green mango slices). Cover and cook for about 10 mins opening the lid and stirring the contents gently every 5 mins or so.

  9. On a separate pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds.  When they splutter, add methi seeds and let them brown slightly.  Quickly add jeera seeds, and after few seconds, add red chilies and fry for some time.  Add curry leaves, then sliced onion and green chilies and fry well. Follow up with tomatoes and fry them until they are mashed.

  10. Check the consistency of the cooked vegetables and if required, continue cooking for additional time until about the vegetables are about 80% cooked. Time the tadka such that you are ready to add the tadka along with sauteed onion/ tomato to the pot when the vegetables are about 80% cooked.

  11. Add the mashed dal, mix the contents well and continue cooking until the vegetables turn soft.

  12. Add special sambar powder, tamarind juice, adjust salt level and let it cook for another 5 mins. My mom does not add jaggery as there is enough natural sweetness from the sweet potatoes, yam and carrots, but you can add some jaggery if you prefer so.

  13. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and enjoy with Sweet and White Pongal, or with idli or dosa. This sambar tastes the best the next day when the flavors set it.