This easy Indian cucumber sambar is yummy, simple & easy to make and goes great with rice, dosa and idli for lunch, breakfast or snack.
This is not a traditional Mangalore style cucumber sambar recipe which is quite popular (especially in Karnataka) & delicious too, but this is a much simple recipe for cucumber sambar which is yummy as well and you can prepare this easily and quickly for breakfast or lunch so you can use this cucumber sambar for rice or as a side dish for dosa or idli.
This is kind of Kerala style vellarikka parippu curry (cucumber dal curry) which is made into a delicious sambar (vellarikka means cucumber and parippu means dal).
Thus cucumber sambar makes a simple and tasty South Indian style or Kerala style vegetarian/vegan curry perfect for vegetarian lunch, dinner or even breakfast.
There are many different sambar varieties with different sambar recipes.
There are also other yummy side dishes for dosa & idli which you can easily make at home.
I have added seasoning to this sambar after preparing the sambar, so I used a small pan to make the seasoning or tadka.
Below picture is before adding the seasoning
Below picture is after adding the seasoning
If you prepare the seasoning ahead of making the sambar using the same pressure cooker, you can make this as a one pot sambar too, which will make it more quick and easy.
When I have time, I prefer to make the seasoning separately and add it to the dish after the dish is prepared, which looks more pretty & delicious to me :), but you can make this ahead as well to save time and to make it a one pot dish.
I made this sambar without tamarind pulp, so I used two fresh tomatoes to add sourness to the sambar.
If you don't have tomatoes or if you don't want to use tomatoes, feel free to use tamarind extract as you use in regular sambar recipes.
Just make sure you dissolve the tamarind (about 1 teaspoon is enough in this recipe) and filter the extract before you add it to the cooker to prepare the dish.
As an alternative to tamarind and tomatoes, you may also use 1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to add the required sourness to the sambar, if you do not have tomatoes or tamarind!
If you follow this cucumber recipe, you can easily make the sambar using fresh cucumber & few tomatoes and also the exotic spices for sambar.
So here is how I prepared this simple and yummy cucumber sambar following this easy cucumber sambar recipe.
How to make cucumber sambar for rice, dosa and idli?
We use the following ingredients to make cucumber sambar.
ingredients used
1 cucumber
2 fresh tomatoes
¾ cup toor dal (yellow pigeon peas split)
salt as required
3.5 cups water or little more if needed
Spice Powders
2 tablespoons sambar powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
2 tablespoons coriander powder
For seasoning
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
5 red chilies dry broken
1 string curry leaves
Step by step instructions
Wash and peel the skin of the cucumber.
Cut the cucumber lengthwise and cut in half, and scrape off the seeds to remove them easily.
Dice the cucumber in little long and medium uniform sized pieces.
Transfer the diced cucumber pieces to a pressure cooker.
Wash and cut tomatoes in medium sized pieces and add the cut tomatoes to the pressure cooker.
Wash the toor dal (yellow pigeon peas) and add it to the cooker which contains cucumber and tomatoes also.
Add salt and all the spices & sambar powder to the cooker, mix everything well.
Add the water and mix all contents very well (make sure the dal is not sticking to the bottom of the cooker).
Close the lid of the pressure cooker with the safety valve and cook in medium heat for about 12 minutes or until 3 whistles come.
After cooking for about 12 minutes, switch off the cooker and wait for it to cool down.
Once the pressure cooker is cooled enough, open the cooker and mix the contents.
See if all the contents are cooked enough and blended with the spices to make the yummy sambar.
In case you need little more gravy, you may add more water (but this is usually not needed for cucumber sambar).
Cucumber sambar is ready now we can make the seasoning for the sambar.
To make the seasoning for cucumber sambar
To make the seasoning, heat oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds.
When the mustard seeds splutter, add the broken dried red chilies and curry leaves (make sure there is no water in the leaves or chilies) and fry for few seconds.
The seasoning is ready, so you can pour this hot seasoning to the sambar and gently mix the contents.
Cucumber sambar made using fresh cucumber, tomatoes and spices is ready to serve!
Below you can get the detailed recipe for Indian sambar using cucumbers and tomatoes to serve with rice, dosa or idli!
Cucumber Sambar For Rice, Dosa & idli
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber
- 2 fresh tomatoes
- ¾ cup toor dal (yellow pigeon peas split)
- salt as required
- 3.5 cups water or little more if needed
Spice Powders
- 2 tablespoons sambar powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 2 tablespoons coriander powder
For seasoning
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 5 red chilies dry broken
- 1 string curry leaves
Instructions
- Wash and peel the skin of the cucumber.
- Cut the cucumber lengthwise and cut in half, and scrape off the seeds to remove them easily.
- Dice the cucumber in little long and medium uniform sized pieces.
- Transfer the diced cucumber pieces to a pressure cooker.
- Wash and cut tomatoes in medium sized pieces and add the cut tomatoes to the pressure cooker.
- Wash the toor dal (yellow pigeon peas) and add it to the cooker which contains cucumber and tomatoes also.
- Add salt and all the spices & sambar powder to the cooker, mix everything well.
- Add the water and mix all contents very well (make sure the dal is not sticking to the bottom of the cooker).
- Close the lid of the pressure cooker with the safety valve and cook in medium heat for about 12 minutes or until 3 whistles come.
- After cooking for about 12 minutes, switch off the cooker and wait for it to cool down.
- Once the pressure cooker is cooled enough, open the cooker and mix the contents. See if all the contents are cooked enough and blended with the spices to make the yummy sambar. In case you need little more gravy, you may add more water (but this is usually not needed for cucumber sambar).
- Cucumber sambar is ready now we can make the seasoning for the sambar.
To make the seasoning for cucumber sambar
- To make the seasoning, heat oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds.
- When the mustard seeds splutter, add the broken dried red chilies and curry leaves (make sure there is no water in leaves or chilies) and fry for few seconds.
- The seasoning is ready, so you can pour this hot seasoning to the sambar and gently mix the contents.
- Cucumber sambar made using fresh cucumber, tomatoes and spices is ready to serve!
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