Being south Indian, I love sambar as usual. I will do it weekly once with all vegetables in it. Normally we add drumsticks, brinjal, lady's finger, bottle gourd, pumpkin. It is more tasty and healthy for kids also with all vegetables in it.
I loves my mom's sambar most. My mom first puts tempering, then add vegetables, then cooked dal and tamarind water. I will usually follow this process always. My mother in law prepares in complete opposite way. First boiling vegetables in tamarind water, then adding dal and then she will add tempering. This comes a little thicker version.
The main flavor of sambar is because of sambar powder. I will always use home made sambar powder. My grandmother prepares in bulk and distributes to her children and grand children. Like that I will always get my share. Dal also plays a vital role. It should be of good quality. Initially in shanghai, we couldn't get good tur dal due to which sambar used to taste very bland.
For this turn, I added red pumpkin and Radish. Actually the vegetables here are very tender and will have more water content. When I added pumpkin initially, I couldn't find pieces as it got smashed completely. So when I add vegetables, I will saute them for 10 minutes on medium flame without adding salt, then the shape remains intact.