This red radish sambar is easy to prepare and pairs perfectly with rice or South Indian tiffin items like idli and dosa! Follow the detailed step-by-step pictures to make this flavorful dish.
White radish, known as mullangi in Tamil, is a staple ingredient in sambar and is commonly used in Indian cuisine. In Hindi, it is called mooli and is widely incorporated into various dishes. I have tried several recipes using white radish, such as radish poriyal and radish paratha.
Jump to:
Red Radish
However, for this sambar, I opted for red radish, which is more readily available in the U.S. Unlike in India, where I never encountered red radish growing up, I discovered it is widely used in salads after moving to the U.S. But true to my love for Indian flavors, I decided to incorporate it into a delicious, comforting sambar! Guess what? You can easily grow red radish in your backyard, and it happens to be one of my favorite vegetables to grow!
What makes this mullangi sambar unique
Now, coming back to sambar—this isn’t my first sambar recipe! I have plenty of sambar variations on my blog, each with its unique twist. Even small changes in preparation can bring out incredible flavors.
So, what makes this sambar special?
- I cook the dal along with onions and tomatoes, mashing them together instead of adding onions and tomatoes separately.
- Additionally, cooking radish in tamarind water enhances the flavor of the dish. Cooking onions with the dal gives this sambar a hotel-style taste, making it a perfect accompaniment for both rice and tiffin.
- It’s also great for meal prep—make it once and enjoy it multiple times!
This sambar is my go-to sambar for weekend meal prep, though I like to switch up the vegetables. Sometimes, I use tender brinjal, okra, drumstick, or pumpkin—just one at a time, not all together!
Ingredients required
Dal Mixture: I used toor dal along with half a medium-sized onion and tomatoes. You can also substitute shallots for a slightly different flavor. As always, I add a bit of ground turmeric and a few drops of oil to help the dal turn soft and mushy.
Red Radish: The star ingredient of this sambar! I used 250 grams of red radish—it may seem like a lot, but this dish truly highlights its flavor. The juicy, tender radish cooked in tamarind water and sambar masala makes every bite delicious.
Sambar Base: This requires tamarind paste (homemade or store-bought) and sambar powder for the signature taste.
Tempering: Essential for enhancing the flavor, we use oil, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and asafoetida.
Other Ingredients: Salt, water, curry leaves, and cilantro complete the dish. For precise measurements, please refer to the recipe card.
Dietary specifications and storage suggestions
This radish sambar is naturally vegan and nut-free. You can use gluten-free asafoetida or skip it for a gluten-free version.
You can refrigerate this sambar for 3 to 4 days, and it will freeze well.
How to make red radish sambar
- I used my Instant Pot to cook the dal. Add the rinsed toor dal, 1.5 cups of water, chopped onion and tomatoes, turmeric powder, and oil. Pressure cook for 20 minutes at high-pressure mode and release the pressure naturally.
- Mash the dal along with onions and tomatoes and set aside. You can also cook the dal in the stove-top pressure cooker. You can cook for three to four whistles.
- Mix 1.5 tsp of tamarind paste with 1.5 cups of water. To this, add the chopped red radish and salt. Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Now remove the lid and add the curry leaves. Cook for 4 to 5 more minutes until the radishes are fork-tender.
- Now mix 1 tbsp of sambar powder in 1 cup of water without any lumps and add it to the radish mix. Reduce the heat to low, and cook for five more minutes till the raw smell of the sambar powder goes off.
- Finally, add the mashed toor dal mix and cilantro.
- Bring it to a boil and turn off the heat.
- You can prepare the tempering separately. Heat a tempering pan and add 2 tsp oil. When it is hot, add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and asafoetida. Let the mustard seeds splutter and add them to the sambar. That’s it. The sambar is ready. Enjoy it with rice idli or dosa.
Recipe Notes
- As I mentioned before, you can very cook the dal in a stove-top pressure cooker.
- Instead of toor dal, you can use masoor dal or a combination of toor, masoor, and yellow mung.
- Instead of red radish, you can use sliced white radish, tender brinjal, okra, drumstick, or pumpkin.
- Adjust the salt and spices to taste.
- If using tamarind pulp, soak small lime-sized tamarind and extract 1.5 cups of tamarind juice.
- If the red radishes are really tender, reduce the cooking time. We need firm and fork-tender radishes.
Explore more sambar varieties
Have you made this recipe?
If you’ve made this mullangi sambar, please share your photos with me on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or Twitter – I will be delighted to see your results!
📖 Recipe
Red Radish Sambar | Mullangi Sambar | South Indian Radish Sambar
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup = 240ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;
- ½ cup toor dal
- 4 cups water divided
- ½ medium-sized onion approx 68 grams roughly chopped
- 1 tomato roughly chopped, approx 70 grams
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp oil
- 250 grams red radish edges trimmed and cut into halves
- 10 curry leaves
- 1.5 tsp tamarind paste
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sambar powder
- 1 tbsp cilantro chopped
To Temper:
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
- ⅛ tsp asafoetida
Instructions
- I used my Instant Pot to cook the dal. Add the rinsed toor dal, 1.5 cups of water, chopped onion and tomatoes, turmeric powder, and oil. Pressure cook for 20 minutes at high-pressure mode and release the pressure naturally.
- Mash the dal along with onions and tomatoes and set aside. You can also cook the dal in the stove-top pressure cooker. You can cook for three to four whistles.
- Mix 1.5 tsp of tamarind paste with 1.5 cups of water. To this, add the chopped red radish and salt. Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Now remove the lid and add the curry leaves. Cook for 4 to 5 more minutes until the radishes are fork-tender.
- Now mix 1 tbsp of sambar powder in 1 cup of water without any lumps and add it to the radish mix. Reduce the heat to low, and cook for five more minutes till the raw smell of the sambar powder goes off.
- Finally, add the mashed toor dal mix and cilantro.
- Bring it to a boil and turn off the heat.
- You can prepare the tempering separately. Heat a tempering pan and add 2 tsp oil. When it is hot, add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and asafoetida. Let the mustard seeds splutter and add them to the sambar. That’s it. The sambar is ready. Enjoy it with rice idli or dosa.
Notes
- As I mentioned before, you can very cook the dal in a stove-top pressure cooker.
- Instead of toor dal, you can use masoor dal or a combination of toor, masoor, and yellow mung.
- Instead of red radish, you can use sliced white radish, tender brinjal, okra, drumstick, or pumpkin.
- Adjust the salt and spices to taste.
- If using tamarind pulp, soak small lime-sized tamarind and extract 1.5 cups of tamarind juice.
- If the red radishes are really tender, reduce the cooking time. We need firm and fork-tender radishes.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Great recipe! Can I leave out the tamarind or is it mandatory for the sambar recipe?
I would definitely include it. If not it will be more like dal.