What is Arachuvitta Sambar
‘Arachuvitta’ literally translates to ‘ground’ in Tamil. Since the spices are first roasted and then freshly ground with coconut for the masala in this sambar. Hence, the name Arachuvitta Sambar. Arachuvitta Sambar is an extremely popular, almost a specialty dish in Tambram (Tamil Brahmin) homes. I can totally vouch for this because I have experienced the flavor and aroma of the freshly ground spice blend in this sambar. It is simply mind-blowing. It may seem that there are many steps in the making of the Arachuvitta Sambar recipe. But it is simple and easy to make. You just need to prepare the masala carefully (as it is the ‘star’ in this sambar) and you are good to go.
More on this Arachuvitta Sambar
Yes, I’ll agree to the fact that the Arachuvitta Sambar is one of my favorite South Indian dishes. This version does not have onion, garlic, sambar powder and is also a 100% vegan. There’s absolutely nothing in this Arachuvitta Sambar recipe that you too would dislike. That’s my guarantee! Other than the robust freshly ground masala, the choice of vegetables that go into this Arachuvitta Sambar is interesting. This recipe has drumsticks, ash gourd and carrots in it. But you can add your favorites too. The more, the merrier. Personally, I am a fan of veggies and greens. Whenever I’m cooking at home, I love to use vegetables like okra (ladyfinger/bhindi), carrot, radish, capsicum, French beans, white or yellow pumpkin and drumsticks in the Arachuvitta Sambar recipe. Pearl onions, sambar onions and tomatoes give it a good taste too. You can add these as well. The color of this Arachuvitta Sambar depends on the type of red chilies you add. I have used Byadagi (bedgi) red chilies which impart an orange hue to the sambar. Turn this Arachuvitta Sambar into a complete meal full of goodness, by pairing it with steamed rice. Even I feel this is the best way to enjoy it. You can also savor this with Rava Idli, Set Dosa, vadas or uttapams.
How to make Arachuvitta Sambar
Prep
- First rinse ½ cup arhar dal/tur dal (pigeon pea lentils) and add them in a 2 litre pressure cooker. Next add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and 2 cups water. Stir well and pressure cook the lentils for 8 to 9 whistles on medium to medium-high heat.
- While the lentils are getting pressure cooked, take ½ cup hot water and 1.5 tablespoons tightly packed tamarind in a small bowl. Soak the tamarind in hot water for about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Next, heat 2 teaspoons sesame oil (not the Asian variety of sesame oil) in a small pan. Keep the heat to a low. Add the following spices:
4 to 5 dried red chilies (broken and seeds removed)1 tablespoon coriander seeds¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds1 teaspoon chana dal (husked and split Bengal gram)½ teaspoon black peppercorns
- Stir and roast the spices on low heat.
- Switch off the heat when the spices turn fragrant. Remove the pan from the burner and allow the spices to cool down.
Cooking Vegetables
- Next, heat 2 tablespoons sesame oil (gingelly oil) in a pot or pan. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and let them crackle.
- Once the mustard seeds crackle, add 2 dried red chilies (broken and seeds removed) and a pinch of asafoetida (hing). Stir and fry till the red chilies change color. Don’t burn them.
- Now, add 1 sprig curry leaves (about 12 to 15 curry leaves) and 2 drumsticks (peeled and chopped), 1 cup of diced ash gourd and 1 medium to large carrot (diced). Note that if you plan to add pearl onions or regular onions, sauté them with curry leaves till they turn translucent. Add the mixed vegetables after you sauté the onions. You can add about 1.5 cups of mixed vegetables except for drumsticks.
- Mix very well.
- By now the tamarind must have got soaked well. Squeeze the pulp from the tamarind in the bowl.
- Add the tamarind pulp and ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder to the vegetables and stir. If you don’t want a sour taste in the vegetables, add the tamarind pulp later.
- Next, add 1 cup water.
- Add 1 teaspoon salt or as required.
- Cover the pan and simmer on medium to high heat till the vegetables are cooked and tender.
Making Arachuvitta Sambar
- While the vegetables are cooking, take the roasted spices in a chutney grinder or a wet grinder jar. Add 4 tablespoons fresh grated coconut. If you do not have grated coconut, add desiccated coconut.
- Grind to a smooth paste with 5 to 6 tablespoons water. Add more water if required while grinding. Keep this ground sambar masala aside.
- When the pressure settles down naturally, open the lid of the cooker and mash the dal with a whisk or spoon.
- The vegetables will be cooked in 20 to 25 minutes. If the water is less while cooking, add some more water. I added ½ cup water while the vegetables were getting cooked.
- Next, add the mashed dal and the freshly ground sambar masala.
- Stir very well. If the sambar is thick, add some more water. If it is thin, add 1 to 2 tablespoons rice flour to thicken it. Check the taste and add more salt if required.
- Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes more on medium to high heat.
- Serve the Arachuvitta Sambar hot with steamed rice, idli, set dosa or any South Indian snack. If you want, you can garnish it with some chopped coriander leaves.
Expert Tips
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Idli Sambar (Hotel Style) | Tiffin Sambar Drumstick Sambar (Murungakkai Sambar) Mullangi Sambar | Radish Sambar Varutharacha Sambar This Arachuvitta Sambar post from the blog archives first published in May 2015 has been republished and updated on 14 April 2022.
title: “Arachuvitta Sambar” ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-28” author: “Mark Blackwell”
What is Arachuvitta Sambar
‘Arachuvitta’ literally translates to ‘ground’ in Tamil. Since the spices are first roasted and then freshly ground with coconut for the masala in this sambar. Hence, the name Arachuvitta Sambar. Arachuvitta Sambar is an extremely popular, almost a specialty dish in Tambram (Tamil Brahmin) homes. I can totally vouch for this because I have experienced the flavor and aroma of the freshly ground spice blend in this sambar. It is simply mind-blowing. It may seem that there are many steps in the making of the Arachuvitta Sambar recipe. But it is simple and easy to make. You just need to prepare the masala carefully (as it is the ‘star’ in this sambar) and you are good to go.
More on this Arachuvitta Sambar
Yes, I’ll agree to the fact that the Arachuvitta Sambar is one of my favorite South Indian dishes. This version does not have onion, garlic, sambar powder and is also a 100% vegan. There’s absolutely nothing in this Arachuvitta Sambar recipe that you too would dislike. That’s my guarantee! Other than the robust freshly ground masala, the choice of vegetables that go into this Arachuvitta Sambar is interesting. This recipe has drumsticks, ash gourd and carrots in it. But you can add your favorites too. The more, the merrier. Personally, I am a fan of veggies and greens. Whenever I’m cooking at home, I love to use vegetables like okra (ladyfinger/bhindi), carrot, radish, capsicum, French beans, white or yellow pumpkin and drumsticks in the Arachuvitta Sambar recipe. Pearl onions, sambar onions and tomatoes give it a good taste too. You can add these as well. The color of this Arachuvitta Sambar depends on the type of red chilies you add. I have used Byadagi (bedgi) red chilies which impart an orange hue to the sambar. Turn this Arachuvitta Sambar into a complete meal full of goodness, by pairing it with steamed rice. Even I feel this is the best way to enjoy it. You can also savor this with Rava Idli, Set Dosa, vadas or uttapams.
How to make Arachuvitta Sambar
Prep
- First rinse ½ cup arhar dal/tur dal (pigeon pea lentils) and add them in a 2 litre pressure cooker. Next add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and 2 cups water. Stir well and pressure cook the lentils for 8 to 9 whistles on medium to medium-high heat.
- While the lentils are getting pressure cooked, take ½ cup hot water and 1.5 tablespoons tightly packed tamarind in a small bowl. Soak the tamarind in hot water for about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Next, heat 2 teaspoons sesame oil (not the Asian variety of sesame oil) in a small pan. Keep the heat to a low. Add the following spices:
4 to 5 dried red chilies (broken and seeds removed)1 tablespoon coriander seeds¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds1 teaspoon chana dal (husked and split Bengal gram)½ teaspoon black peppercorns
- Stir and roast the spices on low heat.
- Switch off the heat when the spices turn fragrant. Remove the pan from the burner and allow the spices to cool down.
Cooking Vegetables
- Next, heat 2 tablespoons sesame oil (gingelly oil) in a pot or pan. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and let them crackle.
- Once the mustard seeds crackle, add 2 dried red chilies (broken and seeds removed) and a pinch of asafoetida (hing). Stir and fry till the red chilies change color. Don’t burn them.
- Now, add 1 sprig curry leaves (about 12 to 15 curry leaves) and 2 drumsticks (peeled and chopped), 1 cup of diced ash gourd and 1 medium to large carrot (diced). Note that if you plan to add pearl onions or regular onions, sauté them with curry leaves till they turn translucent. Add the mixed vegetables after you sauté the onions. You can add about 1.5 cups of mixed vegetables except for drumsticks.
- Mix very well.
- By now the tamarind must have got soaked well. Squeeze the pulp from the tamarind in the bowl.
- Add the tamarind pulp and ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder to the vegetables and stir. If you don’t want a sour taste in the vegetables, add the tamarind pulp later.
- Next, add 1 cup water.
- Add 1 teaspoon salt or as required.
- Cover the pan and simmer on medium to high heat till the vegetables are cooked and tender.
Making Arachuvitta Sambar
- While the vegetables are cooking, take the roasted spices in a chutney grinder or a wet grinder jar. Add 4 tablespoons fresh grated coconut. If you do not have grated coconut, add desiccated coconut.
- Grind to a smooth paste with 5 to 6 tablespoons water. Add more water if required while grinding. Keep this ground sambar masala aside.
- When the pressure settles down naturally, open the lid of the cooker and mash the dal with a whisk or spoon.
- The vegetables will be cooked in 20 to 25 minutes. If the water is less while cooking, add some more water. I added ½ cup water while the vegetables were getting cooked.
- Next, add the mashed dal and the freshly ground sambar masala.
- Stir very well. If the sambar is thick, add some more water. If it is thin, add 1 to 2 tablespoons rice flour to thicken it. Check the taste and add more salt if required.
- Simmer for 4 to 5 minutes more on medium to high heat.
- Serve the Arachuvitta Sambar hot with steamed rice, idli, set dosa or any South Indian snack. If you want, you can garnish it with some chopped coriander leaves.
Expert Tips
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Idli Sambar (Hotel Style) | Tiffin Sambar Drumstick Sambar (Murungakkai Sambar) Mullangi Sambar | Radish Sambar Varutharacha Sambar This Arachuvitta Sambar post from the blog archives first published in May 2015 has been republished and updated on 14 April 2022.
