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Home » SAMBAR RECIPES » Keerai sambar recipe, South Indian sambar recipes

Keerai sambar recipe, South Indian sambar recipes

October 17, 2008 by Raks Anand 27 Comments / Jump to Recipe

Keerai-sambar-recipe
Keerai sambar recipe with full detailed video, stepwise pictures for easy learning. Keerai (in tamil) means spinach variety we get in South India.

This is one of our family favorite. Both at mom’s place and in-law’s place. Initially I never got a hold on keerai sambar and got it very runny, then later by experience realized that keerai will leave water and have to be careful while adding water. And usually add more dal, sambar powder to make it thicker and spicier otherwise it will be bland.
Click here for cup measurements
Green chilli can be replaced with one red chilli while tempering
Small onions can be replaced with one large onion

Keerai-Sambar
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5 from 3 votes

Keerai sambar recipe

Keerai sambar recipe with detailed full video, stepwise pictures for easy learning. Keerai (Tamil) means a spinach variety we get in South india. 
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 4
Cup measurements

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch Keerai / amaranth leaves
  • 1/2 cup Toor dal
  • 1.5 tsp Sambar powder
  • 1 small gooseberry sized Tamarind 1 tsp packed
  • 1 Onion
  • 1/4 tsp Turmeric
  • Salt - As needed

TEMPER:

  • 2 tsp Oil
  • 1 Red chilli
  • 1/8 tsp Fenugreek seeds
  • 1/8 tsp Asafetida
  • 1/2 tsp Mustard
  • 1 tsp Cumin seeds

Instructions

  • Peel off small onion skin and slit green chilies.
  • Pressure cook toor dal with 1 & 1/2 cup water for 4-5 whistles or until done. Mash well and keep aside.
  • Extract tamarind juice by soaking in warm water for 30 mins.
  • I usually extract tamarind juice easily by keeping inside a small bowl along with dal and pressure cooking. This way, we can get the juice efficiently with less effort and water.
  • Clean the keerai by washing it well 2-3 times and chop it. Do not chop too fine.
  • Heat a kadai with oil and add the items under To Temper table in order.
  • Then add onions and green chillies and fry till onions turn golden brown here and there.
  • Add to the tamarind extract, with salt,turmeric and sambar powder and bring to boil.
  • Once it starts boiling, add the chopped keerai.
  • Stir well so that the keerai so gets immersed.
  • Boil till keerai gets cooked, check the stem for doneness by pressing between two fingers.
  • Lastly add cooked toor dal and mix well.Boil for 2 minutes and now keerai sambar is ready!

Video

Notes

  • We can use any variety of keerai like arai keerai, mulai keerai or siru keerai.
  • I have used the stem too, you can use leaves alone.
  • Water should be added carefully-very less, since this sambar should be bit thicker in consistency than our usual sambars. Keerai by itself leaves out water and cannot take more water.

Keerai sambar method:

    1. Peel off onion skin and slit green chilies. I have updated the recipe with video where I have used red chillies while tempering instead of green chilli.
    2. Pressure cook toor dal with 1 & 1/2 cup water for 4-5 whistles or until done. Mash well and keep aside.
    3. Extract tamarind juice by soaking in warm water for 30 mins. I usually extract tamarind juice easily by keeping inside a small bowl along with dal and pressure cooking. This way, we can get the juice efficiently with less effort and water.
    4. Clean the keerai by washing it well 2-3 times and chop it. Do not chop too fine.how to make keerai sambar step1
    5. Heat a kadai with oil and add the items under To Temper table in order.Then add onions and green chillies and fry till onions turn golden brown here and there.how to make keerai sambar step1a
    6. Add to the tamarind extract, with salt,turmeric and sambar powder and bring to boil.how to make keerai sambar step2
    7. Once it starts boiling, add the chopped keerai.how to make keerai sambar step2a
    8. Stir well so that the keerai so gets immersed.how to make keerai sambar step3
    9. Boil till keerai gets cooked, check the stem for doneness by pressing between two fingers.how to make keerai sambar step3A
    10. Lastly add cooked toor dal and mix well.how to make keerai sambar step4
    11. Boil for 2 minutes and now keerai sambar is ready!how to make keerai sambar step4a

NOTE

  • We can use any variety of keerai like arai keerai, mulai keerai or siru keerai.
  • I have used the stem too, you can use leaves alone.
  • Water should be added carefully-very less, since this sambar should be bit thicker in consistency than our usual sambars. Keerai by itself leaves out water and cannot take more water.

Serve with cooked rice and ghee on top of it..

Keerai-Sambar

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Filed Under: SAMBAR RECIPES

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sireesha

    October 17, 2008 at 7:40 am

    Keerai sambar looks awesome …

    Reply
  2. Happy cook

    October 17, 2008 at 9:54 am

    Delicious, just give ma a whole plate of plain rice with it.

    Reply
  3. LG

    October 17, 2008 at 10:40 am

    even we make it Raks. I always love it. That plate looks delicious.

    Reply
  4. Daily Meals

    October 17, 2008 at 12:58 pm

    Looks yummy…

    Reply
  5. Uma

    October 18, 2008 at 6:06 am

    what a yummy sambhar! love to have it with rice and some curd chilies. BTW, does keerai mean spinach?

    Reply
  6. n33ma

    October 18, 2008 at 2:32 pm

    Its looks nice.especially with that hot rice.

    Reply
  7. Jaishree

    October 18, 2008 at 3:46 pm

    Keerai sambar looks yummy…

    Reply
  8. RAKS KITCHEN

    October 19, 2008 at 10:16 am

    ,Yes Uma,Keerai mean Indian spinach!

    Reply
  9. Laavanya

    October 19, 2008 at 12:17 pm

    Ive not heard of keerai sambhar before.. nutritious and yummy.

    Reply
  10. raaji

    October 20, 2008 at 7:22 pm

    what is keerai raji….i dont have a clue what it is……

    Reply
  11. RAKS KITCHEN

    January 26, 2009 at 10:18 am

    Keerai is Indian spinach! 🙂

    Reply
  12. Suganya Devi

    August 8, 2012 at 1:08 am

    Keerai sambar looks good

    Reply
  13. Vijay Raghavan

    June 23, 2013 at 10:06 am

    spinach is murunga keerai

    Reply
  14. jong belegen kaas

    June 2, 2014 at 12:34 pm

    love ur recipe.Learn alot from you, wishing i know tamil or hindi words for certain ingredients.( I am chinese wife married to an indian boy),really want to learn how to cook indian food from simple and illustrative recipes from yours.Thanks for sharing. http://hellosweetdessert.wordpress.com/

    Reply
  15. Unknown

    August 4, 2014 at 5:18 am

    Spinach is siru keerai, amaranth. Murungai keerai is drumstick leaves

    Reply
  16. Dhivya Anand

    December 29, 2014 at 9:59 am

    Hi..I made this sambar yesterday and all my family members loved it…Usually we make dhaal palak with dhaal and palak combo but the tamarind and sambar powder and sequence of steps made this sambar so favorable… Thanks Raji…

    Reply
  17. Sharmila Sharma

    August 19, 2015 at 7:35 am

    Tomorrow I will try this recipe……. Looks yummy

    Reply
  18. anbarasan wildfire

    November 7, 2015 at 4:32 am

    Thanks good help for me…

    Reply
  19. Misba Ashiq

    December 2, 2015 at 12:19 am

    Can I use Chana daal instead of toor daal

    Reply
  20. Misba Ashiq

    December 2, 2015 at 12:19 am

    Can I use Chana daal instead of toor daal

    Reply
  21. Raks anand

    December 2, 2015 at 2:01 am

    It will change the taste. It will be seen and not blended. If you like that texture, you can try. But its called kootu

    Reply
  22. akshaya

    March 7, 2016 at 11:45 am

    may i know why u never added tomato for sambar??????

    Reply
  23. Raks anand

    March 7, 2016 at 11:48 am

    You can add if you want – sautee after onion and proceed

    Reply
  24. Nandy

    May 9, 2017 at 1:04 am

    Raks, this recipe is superb. Made this sambar with mulai keerai and it turned out yummy

    Reply
  25. Raks anand

    May 9, 2017 at 11:22 am

    Thank you 🙂

    Reply
  26. Karthik Natarajan

    June 28, 2018 at 1:10 am

    Nice recipe loved it

    Reply
  27. Unknown

    June 28, 2018 at 9:33 am

    Very nice

    Reply

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I am Raks anand, writer and photographer of this recipe website. My real name is Rajeswari Vijayanand. It has been almost 10+ years of blogging and I thought if you want to know more about me, I should introduce myself to you all… I am also like most of the house wives, who learnt cooking only after marriage... Read More

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