Palak Sambar

5 from 67 votes

Palak sambar is a delicious and nutritious South Indian stew made with spinach, lentils, tamarind, and sambar powder. Enjoy it with steamed rice or pair it with breakfast dishes like idli and dosa.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free, Hindu, Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 248kcal

Author: Shilpa Kerur

Equipment

Pressure cooker
Saucepan

Ingredients

For the sambar:

1 big bunch spinach
2 tablespoon sambar powder (use store-bought or homemade sambar powder)
1 cup toor dal (pigeon pea lentil)
½ cup kala chana brown chickpea
1 small onion (roughly chopped)
2 cloves garlic
1 small tomato (roughly chopped)
2 tablespoon coconut (fresh, grated)
2 tablespoon tamarind
1 tablespoon jaggery
1-1½ teaspoon salt (adjust as per taste)

For the tempering:

2 tablespoon ghee (use store-bought or homemade ghee)
1 dry red chili
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
½ teaspoon hing (asafetida)

Instructions

Prep:

Soak brown chickpea in water for 1-2 hours.
Soak tamarind in ½ cup water for 15-20 minutes. Extract tamarind water and discard the pulp. Set aside.
Wash and clean the spinach. Roughly chop it. Pick and wash the toor dal well.
Grind sambar powder and coconut into a smooth paste with some water. Set aside.

Make the sambar:

Take toor dal, chopped palak, brown chickpeas, onion, garlic, and tomato in a stovetop pressure cooker. Add three cups of water and pressure cook for three whistles.
If you use an Instant Pot, pressure cook it on high for 8 minutes, then do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes.
Add the ground paste, tamarind extract, jaggery, and salt to the cooked dal. Add some water to adjust the consistency and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
In a small pan, heat ghee and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add cumin seeds, dry red chili, hing, and curry leaves. Saute for a few seconds.
Pour this tempering onto the sambar. Mix well and serve with rice.

Notes

Traditionally, this South Indian stew is mostly made using tuvar dal. However, you can use masoor dal (red lentils), moong dal (yellow lentils), or a mix of dals to make it. Adjust the cooking time accordingly.

It is important to add the tamarind after pressure cooking the dal as the tamarind may prevent the dal from fully cooking.

Don't skip the jaggery, as it helps balance the spicy and tangy flavor. You can replace it with sugar.

I make spinach sambar all year round, and when fresh spinach is not in season, I replace it with frozen spinach. You can use frozen spinach directly without defrosting, making it a quick and convenient option.

Nutrition