The sambar has nice roasted coconut aroma with loads of vegetables. We roast all the spices as a whole and grind with coconut, then adding to the sambar unlike we add the spice powders in another curry. How to make Kerala style Sambar Cook the toor dal in a pressure cooker till mushy.
You can chop the veggies and keep them ready before you cook the dal and make the sambar masala. Heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a pan. Add 7 to 8 pearl onions or shallots and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes on a low to medium flame.
This Kerala style sambar, Makes use of mixed vegetables. You could use any vegetables you have or you like. I have used shallots, aubergines and okra. Since I was also making beans upkari with potatoes, I did not add beans nor potatoes to the sambar.
Add some jaggery, more sambar powder, red chilli powder and salt to bring down the sourness in sambar. The other option is to add more cooked and mashed dal.