Vendakkai Sambar Recipe without Tamarind | Okra or Bhindi Sambar Lentil Stew Recipe

Vegan Vendakkai Sambar Recipe

Vendakkai Sambar Recipe without Tamarind. Without Oil. How to Make it? Super Simple. Try it Today.

Sambar traditionally calls for tamarind to be used as the souring agent in the lentil-based dish. Tamarind was in widespread use in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and surrounding areas for many reasons – one important reason being, the ground water contained a lot of fluoride, and tamarind impeded fluoride absorption. It also helps prevent kidney stone formation when your food is dry on a daily basis.

In a healthy diet, tamarind is not necessary and does not give any additional benefits. On the other hand, it only causes more harm than good, leading to that well-known feeling of acidity after eating that puliyogre and sambar rice. The good news is, you can make amazing sambar by using any other sour food – tomato, amla (nellikkai / gooseberry), kokum (punarpuli / garcinia), raw mango, dry mango powder, or even lemon juice! In this recipe, we have used tomato. To really get the flavour out, we have ground up the tomatoes into a paste.

Oil-based tadka / oggarane was used in places and times when fresh nuts weren’t easily available. Fresh oil inside fresh nuts is best quality oil. Extracted oil is lower quality. We have used peanut butter instead of the usual tadka. You could use any fresh nuts. If they are dried, soak them before grinding to make it easier.

We hope you enjoy it! 🙂

Whole Food Plant Based Vendakkai Sambar Recipe Without Tamarind

Course: Side Dish for Course 3 (Grain Dishes) for Lunch & Dinner Meals
Cuisine: Tamil Recipe from South India
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Passive Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4 people

INGREDIENTS

Dal / Paruppu

1/2 cup Toor dal Pigeon Peas

Vegetable base

10 pieces Ladies finger Vendakka / Bhindi
6 Tomato
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
To taste Asafoetida
4 tsp Miso Paste (Healthy Salt Alternative. See Nutrition Science Highlights)
2 Green Chili

Sambar Powder

2 tsp Bengal Gram Dal
2 tsp Toor dal
1/2 tsp Urad Dal
1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds Methi seeds
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Jeera Cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds Dhaniya seeds
10 leaves Curry Leaves
1 tsp Mustard Seeds

Garnishing

2 tbsp Peanut Butter
1 small bunch Coriander plants

INSTRUCTIONS

Dal / Paruppu

1. Soak dal in water overnight, or for 2 - 3 hours. This makes iT more nutritious and easier to cook. If you are unable to soak it, no issues, use dry dal.
2. Boil dal with 1 cup water in a closed vessel. Stir every few minutes and add more water as the dal cooks if required, to prevent burning.
3. Once fully cooked, remove from stove and mash well.

Sambar Powder Recipe

1. Dry roast all the ingredients - dals, methi seeds, pepper, jeera, dhaniya and curry leaves - on low flame. If you wish to make it spicy, use 2 tsp of pepper powder. Use a small, thick-bottomed pan to prevent burning. To ensure that each one is roasted the right amount, roast each separately. Otherwise, put the dals and methi on the stove first, roast until half done, then add the other spices to roast fully. Remember, do not let any of the ingredients get burnt or browned too much.
2. Grind to a fine powder.
3. Dry roast mustard seeds. As soon it starts sputtering, mix into the powder. Keep aside to cook with vegetable base.

Vegetable Base for Vendakkai Sambar

1. Wash vegetables, cut ladies fingers into 1 inch pieces after removing stalks. Grind tomatoes to a paste. Put them in an open vessel and cook.
2. Add the sambar powder you have prepared, turmeric powder, and asafoetida. Cook with a closed lid until the ladies finger is cooked well and the raw smell goes away. Add dal towards the end and mix well.

Vendakkai Sambar Recipe

1. After the vendakkai sambar is cooked, remove from stove. Grind peanut butter to a smooth paste with miso paste, adding water if required, and mix.
2. Add chopped coriander plants (leaves and stems) on top before serving. Serve with a cereal dish - rice, porridge, modakas, etc.

Plant Based Chef Pro Tips for Best Vendakkai Sambar Recipe

1. To try different varieties of Sambar, use amla / kokum / raw mango / lemon juice instead of tomato! Sourness gives Sambar its trademark taste, and prevents ladies finger from becoming gooey! 😀
2. If you wish to make the curry leaf flavour stand out, pinch some fresh curry leaves and drop them in.
3. If you wish to make it spicy, you can add one or two green chilis. Slit along one side and drop them in. This makes it easier to remove them while eating.
4. You could also try using some cinnamon in the sambar powder, or fresh herbs like pudina in the garnish to give your own spin to the Sambar! Have fun! 🙂

Nutrition Science Highlights for Vendakkai Sambar

1. Why Miso Paste? Miso paste is fermented & salted soya bean paste. American Heart Association Maximum recommended maximum daily salt intake of 3.75 grams per person to minimise risk of high blood pressure, stomach cancer and chronic kidney disease. In addition to helping us restrict salt intake, replacing salt with miso paste also helps by neutralising the negative effects of salt by soya phytonutrients. You can easily make fresh miso paste at home by mixing 100 grams of cooked soya paste with 10 grams of salt, or 10 tablespoons of cooked soya paste with 1 tablespoon of salt. If making at home, ensure to use immediately, or freeze in batches to use later. Or, simply use 3.75 grams of salt or less per day per person and add 18 to 20 grams (dry weight) of soya beans in any dishes, spread through the day!
2. Why legumes? Legumes are the #1 number food associated with long life in many recent large studies! They also fuel your gut microbiome through their resistant starch content and slow down glucose absorption, keeping your blood sugar levels steady - even in the next meal! This has been called the Second Meal Effect. This recipe is one of the yummiest ways to include pulses and legumes in your daily diet.
3. Why not tadka? Tadka, thaaLippu, oggaraNe. Tempering spices in oil is quintessential to Indian cuisine. This practice may have started as a compromise when whole nuts were unavailable, and indeed, is more common in inland, drier areas where nuts do not grow easily, all year round. You can enjoy the taste and fragrance, though, by just dry roasting the spices you require, without the oil, or even better, mixing spice powders directly into your dish!
4. Why nuts instead of oil? Whole foods are healthier than processed foods. When nuts are pressed and oil is extracted, fiber and phytonutrients are lost, along with many other nutrients. Therefore, whole nuts are much healthier than oils, whether cold-pressed or refined. In addition, they provide the oil content we need to absorb fat-soluble phytonutrients from other whole plant foods! This may be why nuts are used to garnish nearly every traditional Indian dish!