We all love sambar; it accompanies most South Indian delicacies like idli, dosa, uttapam, etc. But how did this delicious combination of spicy, tangy & sweet become an integral part of kitchens across India? Well, the story behind the invention of the sambar is quite interesting!

 The credit for the name " Samber" goes to the Maratha King Shivaji's son Sambhaji. But wait there... he didn't actually prepare the dish as some of us assume. So as the legend goes, the first sambar was prepared in the royal kitchen of Shahuji Maharaj, the eldest son of Venkoji who became kind when he was 12 years old. The Thanjavur Maratha Kingdom of the Bhonsle dynasty was a principality of Tamil Nady between the 17th & 19th centuries and Venkoji was the founder of this dynasty. One day Sambhaji, Shivaji's eldest son was visiting the place of Shahuji. The Royal Kitchens wanted to prepare Amti, the Maharashtrian curry made of moong dal and kokum, a common and essential part of Maratha cuisine. But that day, the royal kitchen had run out of moong dal and kokum, So the royal cook tweaked the recipe of anti and made a similar carry using tur dal instead of moong dal & tamarind instead of Kolum. He also added ground coconut and vegetables. The royal guest Sambahji loved the new preparation and showered praises on the royal cook.

Everyone who partook in the feast was also impressed with this new invention and the dish was named " Sambar " om the honor of Sambhaji. Today, there are numerous varieties of Sambar but the recipe that is more commonly followed is Thanjavur brahmin sambar. It has no onion and garlic and is low on spices compared to an anti. The changes sambar has gone through over time are very interesting. Some of them are orange-brown in color whereas others are yellowish orange. The spice types are different too. In Tamil Nadu, dry powders are used whereas in Karnataka, wet pastes of spices are used. As per traditional tam-bram meal, sambar is served before rasam whereas it is opposite in Karnataka.