• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Edible Garden

  • Popular Categories
    • Dal Recipes
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Egg Recipes
    • Indo-Chinese Recipes
    • Mushroom Recipes
  • Kerala Recipes
  • Chocolate
  • About
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
You are here: Home / Sambar Recipes / Radish Sambar, How to Make Radish Sambar Step by Step

Radish Sambar, How to Make Radish Sambar Step by Step

December 14, 2015 43 Comments

radish sambar, how to make radish sambar mullangi sambar

Radish sambar (mullangi sambar, mooli sambar) recipe, a very flavourful sambar from South India that’s made with radish, a vegetable that I don’t know what else to do with besides making a radish stir fry. Yes I know you can make mooli paratha but really guys, what else do you do with this vegetable? We get really fresh radish in the markets here and I usually just glance over them because I am stuck, so do help me.

Anyway, talking about this sambar, TH loves radish sambar for some inexplicable reason. I think it’s the way the vegetable soaks up the sourness and saltiness of the sambar which makes it delicious.

radish sambar, how to make radish sambar mullangi sambar

I have evolved the way I prepare sambar over the years. My favourite method continues to be to cook the dal separately until really soft and mushy and then adding it to the cooked tamarind with sambar powder and other additions like vegetables and shallots. Since I like my dal really soft and mushed up, I soak the toor dal for an hour or so before pressure cooking it, and I absolutely love the results of that. I also add turmeric to the dal while pressure cooking it. I read somewhere this enhances the taste of the dal but to be very honest, I can’t say I can tell the difference. I just do it anyway.

radish sambar, how to make radish sambar mullangi sambar
Rice with radish sambar, capsicum besan zunka, and carrot thoran

Ok, so radish sambar. Cut up your radish in bite-sized chunks, definitely add some shallots (ulli, chinna vengayam) because it really enhances teh taste of sambar. There’s a reason they call it sambar onion in Tamil Nadu after all. Oh, and also, if you have the time and the interest, do make your sambar powder fresh. It makes a ton of difference. Since I am most often lazy than not, I use my sister’s homemade sambar powder which is fantastic and fragrant. I keep all spice powders in the freezer for maximum freshness since I store them for many years to a year sometimes.

More sambar recipes:
Kerala-style sambar recipe
Sambar sadam
Tiffin sambar
Methi sambar

Ok, that’s a lot of yada yada, let’s get down to some serious sambar business.

5.0 from 2 reviews
Radish Sambar Recipe
 
Print
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
40 mins
Total time
55 mins
 
Radish sambar is an easy to make fragrant sambar using white radish or mooli. Perfect with some steamed rice.
Author: nags
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 cup of toor dal, soaked in water for 1 hour
  • ¼ tsp of turmeric powder
  • ½ cup of radish, cut into small pieces
  • ½ cup of shallots (sambar onion, chinna vengayam)
  • 1 of small lemon-sized ball of tamarind, soaked in ¼ cup water
  • 1-2 tsp of sambar powder
  • A few curry leaves
For tempering:
  • 1 tsp of oil
  • ½ tsp of black mustard seeds
  • ¼ tsp of hing (asafoetida, perungayam)
  • ¼ cup of finely chopped shallots
  • 3 tbsp of chopped coriander leaves, for garnish
Instructions
  1. Pressure cook the soaked dal with turmeric powder for 4-5 whistles or 20 minutes
  2. Meanwhile, extract the juice from the tamarind and discard the pulp
  3. Add 3 more cups of water to it along with the shallots, radish, curry leaves, and sambar powder
  4. Bring to boil and let it simmer until the radish pieces are tender, about 10-15 minutes
  5. Add salt and cooked, mashed toor dal to this
  6. Stir well to combine and heat until it just begins to boil
  7. Heat oil in a small pan (or tadka pan), heat oil for tempering
  8. When it starts smoking, add the mustard seeds
  9. When they pop, add the shallots and hing
  10. Fry until the shallots are golden brown
  11. Dunk the entire tempering into the cooked sambar
  12. Adjust salt as needed and garnish with chopped coriander leaves
  13. I also add a pinch of sugar at the end, it enhances the taste quite a bit but mostly because my grand mom used to do that
3.5.3208

Step by Step Pictures for Making Radish Sambar:

Pressure cook the soaked toor dal with turmeric for 20 minutes or 4-5 whistles. Meanwhile, extract the juice from the tamarind and discard the pulp. Add 3 more cups of water to it along with the shallots, radish, curry leaves, and sambar powder

radish sambar, how to make radish sambar mullangi sambar

Bring to boil and let it simmer until the radish pieces are tender, about 10-15 minutes

radish sambar, how to make radish sambar mullangi sambar

Add salt and cooked, mashed toor dal to this.

radish sambar, how to make radish sambar mullangi sambar

Stir well to combine and heat until it just begins to boil

radish sambar, how to make radish sambar mullangi sambar

Heat oil in a small pan (or tadka pan), heat oil for tempering. When it starts smoking, add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the shallots and asafoetida. Fry until the shallots are golden brown

radish sambar, how to make radish sambar mullangi sambar

Dunk the tempering into the cooked sambar and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

radish sambar, how to make radish sambar mullangi sambar

Mix well, adjust salt as needed, and serve hot with rice and curry of your choice.

radish sambar, how to make radish sambar mullangi sambar

Radish sambar tastes best with a coconut based curry like thoran.

For radish sambar recipe in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Urdu etc please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.

Share This Recipe
  • Facebook0
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest0
  • Twitter
  • Google+0
  • Email
  • Print
0

By nags Filed Under: Sambar Recipes, Tamil Recipes

logo
Food Advertising by

Subscribe

for your weekly recipe fix.

Previous Post: « Ribbon Pakoda Recipe, How to Make Ribbon Pakoda
Next Post: Chilli Chicken Recipe, How to Make Chilli Chicken »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. bnanno

    August 31, 2016 at 4:51 pm

    Mooli parantha are my favourite! My home recipe here
    http://www.akinotxilis.com/2016/02/01/mooli-parantha-pan-relleno-de-nabos/

    A fresh mooli pickle is wonderful. If you can get the Punjabi style pickling spice mix it’s easier. In mustard oil, pour over sliced radish & leave for a day or so. Carrots can also be added to make it colourful.

    I will try and post the recipe of mooli sabji which used to be made in our local temple for Janamashtami as langar. Really tasty.

    I always add it to stir-fried noodles if I have some.

    Reply
  2. anusha praveen

    November 15, 2015 at 5:43 pm

    Hey nags I love radish sambar. I also make radish raita, thugayal and radish and chickpea curry with it.just to give you some ideas. And you add turmeric to the dal for that color and also it acts as an antiseptic or more likely an anti microbial here. Lovely pictures by the way.

    Reply
    • nags

      August 31, 2016 at 4:33 pm

      thanks anusha!

      Reply
  3. Anonymous

    October 7, 2012 at 4:35 am

    Nice one

    Reply
  4. sai

    December 10, 2011 at 4:28 pm

    thanks for the recipe it was awesome ith steamed rice and fish fry as side dish 🙂

    Reply
  5. Anonymous

    April 9, 2011 at 4:54 pm

    Thank you for your fantastic recipe. I was struggling with the radish n was going to mess up the whole thing but this came handy…Parag Rao

    Reply
  6. Nags

    April 10, 2011 at 12:38 am

    So glad the sambar recipe helped, parag 🙂

    Reply
  7. Jess

    March 2, 2011 at 5:19 pm

    Hi Nags, I cooked the radish on the stove as I realised I also didn't have any lentils. Otherwise, I followed the spices as in your recipe and it was flavourful and very delicious! Thank you very much!

    Reply
  8. Jess

    March 2, 2011 at 4:05 am

    I do not own a pressure cooker – do you think I can use a slow cooker or just cook over stovetop for this recipe? Any idea how long that should be? Thanks.

    Reply
  9. Nags

    March 2, 2011 at 4:07 am

    I haven't used a slow cooker ever but my guess would be that it will take about 1.5 to 2 hours for the lentils to cook.

    Reply
  10. Superchef

    April 1, 2010 at 1:11 pm

    you have murugan idli kadai there?? can i relocate pls..

    Reply
  11. Hb

    April 1, 2010 at 1:11 pm

    Pretty!

    Reply
  12. Priya

    April 1, 2010 at 1:11 pm

    I love this flavourful sambar very much..Looks too yummy Nags!

    Reply
  13. Sushma Mallya

    April 1, 2010 at 1:11 pm

    lovely click nags…sambar looks delicious with radish…have tried it once long back …

    Reply
  14. my kitchen

    April 1, 2010 at 1:11 pm

    Flavorful sambhar,Loves it

    Reply
  15. Veggie Belly

    April 1, 2010 at 1:11 pm

    aaah you bring back so many memories…i love little india!

    Reply
  16. my kitchen

    November 10, 2009 at 5:23 pm

    Flavorful sambhar,Loves it

    Reply
  17. Veggie Belly

    November 9, 2009 at 10:30 pm

    aaah you bring back so many memories…i love little india!

    Reply
  18. Namratha

    November 8, 2009 at 8:34 pm

    I love Mullangi sambar but the hubby shuns it, so I don't make it. As of now I'm content looking at yours 😀

    Reply
  19. CHAITRA

    November 8, 2009 at 9:52 am

    Dear Naagu,
    Tried your Paneer butter masala recipe and posted it today.
    Here's the link-
    http://aathidhyam.blogspot.com/2009/11/paneer-butter-masala.html
    Thank you very much.We all enjoyed it a lot!!!

    Reply
  20. Madhuram

    November 6, 2009 at 9:40 pm

    We usually cook the radish in tamarind water and then add cooked dal to it. Also try adding some fenugreek seeds while the tamarind is cooking, it imparts a very good flavor to the sambar, especially radish and lady's finger sambar.

    Reply
    • nags

      December 29, 2015 at 7:46 pm

      Thank you for the tips Madhura!

      Reply
  21. Nags

    November 7, 2009 at 12:31 am

    Madhu, that's a great tip. There are fenugreek seeds added to my sambar powder recipe but am sure adding them to the tamarind or while tempering would increase the flavour greatly.

    Reply
  22. Shobana senthilkumar

    November 6, 2009 at 2:08 pm

    Yummy sambhar….i can smell it:)

    Reply
  23. Supriya

    November 5, 2009 at 9:57 pm

    Lovely radish sambar. My dad loves the flavor of radish in dal, so when he visits, I often make my regular Marathi style amti with radish.

    Reply
  24. Seena

    November 5, 2009 at 5:05 pm

    Sure, it looks beautiful! 🙂 love radish..

    Reply
  25. Sudeshna

    November 5, 2009 at 4:21 pm

    I love radish, but never had them with sambhar. The pics looks so tempting, have to try this one.

    Reply
  26. Miri

    November 5, 2009 at 10:33 am

    I love mullangi sambar – next only to drumstick sambar!! 🙂

    Reply
  27. Supriya

    November 5, 2009 at 1:36 am

    We love raddish and I have tried this sambar before. Great comfort food 🙂

    Reply
  28. VS

    November 4, 2009 at 7:22 pm

    I love mullangi sambhar and the pictures are so warm and tempting. Yummy one nags!

    Reply
  29. Sushma Mallya

    November 4, 2009 at 4:58 pm

    lovely click nags…sambar looks delicious with radish…have tried it once long back …

    Reply
  30. Anupama

    November 4, 2009 at 3:56 pm

    I make it in a slightly different way, but hey, any sambar with mullangi will go for me… great click!

    Reply
  31. myspicykitchen

    November 4, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    looks yummy… last night I made pappu chaaru, telugu version of sambar, wihtour sambar powder…. I use raddish sometimes but yesterday it was bottle gourd & pearl onions.

    Reply
  32. SJ

    November 4, 2009 at 10:12 am

    Murukku and mulangi sambhar go v well together.

    Reply
  33. Priya

    November 4, 2009 at 8:14 am

    I love this flavourful sambar very much..Looks too yummy Nags!

    Reply
  34. Prathibha

    November 4, 2009 at 6:07 am

    I had made this yesterday..even I have in to-post list…looks yummy..I love the flavor of radish in this..

    Reply
  35. sowmya.s

    November 4, 2009 at 2:02 pm

    I also bought a raddish from wet market this week just to make mulangi sambar..looks delicious..

    Reply
  36. Mahimaa's kitchen

    November 4, 2009 at 5:54 am

    looks delicious.. hearty and yummy.

    Reply
  37. Hb

    November 4, 2009 at 5:18 am

    Pretty!

    Reply
  38. Superchef

    November 4, 2009 at 5:18 am

    you have murugan idli kadai there?? can i relocate pls..

    Reply
  39. Tina

    November 4, 2009 at 10:22 am

    Looks Yummy Yummyyy…

    Reply
  40. RAKS KITCHEN

    November 4, 2009 at 8:07 am

    Yes radish sambar is one of the flavorful sambars,though i used to hate in my childhoods,I just love them now!!

    Reply
  41. Sharmilee! :)

    November 4, 2009 at 5:13 am

    Though radish is not on my fav veggie list, I like raddish sambar,it tastes so gud!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe:  

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Hello!

I am Nags, the face behind Edible Garden, a food and recipes website for the busy (and sometimes lazy!) cook since 2007. My recipes are meant to be quick yet healthy and delicious - Nothing fancy, nothing too difficult. Follow Me On Instagram for real-time food and life updates.

ADS

logo
Food Advertising by

Popular Recipes

Instant Oats Idli Recipe with Rava, Step by Step
Kerala plum cake recipe
Butter Chicken Recipe, Indian Butter Chicken Masala Recipe
dosa recipe-how to make dosa
pressure cooker eggless sponge cake recipe (no oven cake)
vegetable pulao recipe
Eggless No-Bake Mango Cheesecake Recipe Step by Step
garlic pull-apart rolls recipe, eggless
paneer butter masala recipe restaurant style

Browse Older Recipes

Translate

Copyright © 2022