Sambar (dish)

Sambar (, romanized: Sāmbār) is a lentil-based vegetable stew, cooked with pigeon pea and tamarind broth. It originates from South Indian cuisine and is now popular in large parts of India and beyond. The stew is similar to another Burmese cuisine dish used as a popular accompaniment to Burmese curries. It has also been introduced into the culinary habits of Sri Lanka since the 20th century, among many other elements of South Indian cookery.

History
According to food historian K. T. Achaya, the earliest extant mention of sambar in literature can be dated to the 17th century in Tamil Nadu.

The word sambar (சாம்பார்) stems from the Tamil word champāram (சம்பாரம்).

A Tamil inscription of 1530 CE, shows the use of the word champāram 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

Cooked rice offerings, including curry rice (pepper rice or vegetable rice), many types of spiced rice (pala champaaram) and ghee rice, at the rate of one pa’nam (a denomination of money) per one portion."

A story from a 2002 blog post by Padmini Natarajan titled 'The Story of Sambhar' claimed that the recipe for Sambar can be traced to Maratha ruler Sambhaji who attempted to make Amti for himself when his head chef was away. This was then picked up and repeated by several websources and newspapers.

Regional variations
Some claims that Sambar is variously called thizone chinyay hin (သီးစုံချဉ်ရည်ဟင်း; lit. 'assorted vegetables sour soup'), thizone pe kala hin (သီးစုံပဲကလားဟင်း, lit. 'assorted vegetables chickpea soup'), or derivatives like thizone hin or pe kala hin in the Burmese language. The Burmese version incorporates dried salted fish and a variety of vegetables including eggplants, okra, moringa, gourd, green beans, and potatoes in a soup base of pureed chickpeas, which is seasoned with ripe tamarind, curry leaf, pyindawthein leaf, masala, cumin, chilies, onions and garlic.

In southern states of India namely Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Sambar is made using different vegetables and fruits along with lentils or coconut. Each region has its own version of making sambar; even though the same vegetables are used, the condiments and ingredients, and the method differ regionwise. In Tulu speaking areas of coastal Karnataka coconut is predominantly used to prepare Koddel (Sambar). The grated coconut is ground with spices to form a paste which is added to vegetables boiled.

British Indian Restaurant (BIR) version
The 'Samber' is a staple of British curry houses, where it is served in the form of a thicker sauce than the original, with meat added to the dish. Typically it is hot, sour, and, like the original dish, contains lentils.