Sambar (dish)
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| Type | Stew or chowder |
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| Place of origin | India |
| Region or state | South India |
| Main ingredients | Tamarind broth, lentils, vegetables |
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Sambar, also spelt sambhar, is a lentil-based vegetable stew or chowder based on a broth made with tamarind. It is popular in South Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil cuisines.
One of the stories is that it originated in the kitchen of Thanjavur Marathas ruler Shahuji during the 17th century from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shahuji trying to make a dish called amti, experimented with pigeon peas instead of mung bean, and tamarind pulp for kokum and the court named it sambhar after the guest of the day, Sambhaji, second emperor of the Maratha Empire.
Other sources point to origin as Karnataka where sambaru padartha in Kannada means mix of spices and condiments. There is also an alternate explanation that the origin of the name is from the old Tamil word, chaampu, meaning ground or paste, in the context of grinding coconut and spices to be dissolved in tamarind pulp. This word is also the root for the unrelated South East Asian dish sambol.
The word Sambar (old Tamil:Champaar - சாம்பார்) stems from Tamil word Champaaram (சம்பாரம்) meaning spicy condiments. Chambaram kootu (சம்பாரங்கூட்டு) and chambaram podi (சம்பாரப்பொடி) means curry powder.
A Tamil inscription of 1530 CE, evidences the use of the word champaaram, in the sense of meaning a dish of rice accompanying other rice dishes or spice ingredients with which a dish of vegetable rice is cooked:
“அமுதுபடி கறியமுது பல சம்பாரம் நெய்யமுதுள்ப்பட தளிகை ஒன்றுக்கு பணம் ஒன்றாக”
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