Add toor dal to a pressure cooker or pot.

Pour 2 cups water and pressure cook on a medium heat for 2 to 4 whistles

The dal needs to be cooked till smooth....

Wash all the veggies.Chop them to 2 inch pieces.

While the daal cooks, make the sambar powder. Dry roast red chilies, urad daal and chana daal until golden & crisp.. Add coriander seeds

Next add methi seeds.Pour 5 cups of water to a pot, add the chopped veggies and cook on a medium flame until soft..

When the water turns slightly hot, transfer about ¼ cup hot water with a ladle to a separate bowl

When the pressure goes off, mash the dal to smooth. The dal needs to be very smooth otherwise it doesn’t taste good.

When the vegetables are completely cooked, add sambhar powder, turmeric and salt. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes..

Add smooth dal, mix well to blend the dal with water. Bring it to a boil. Check if there is enough salt

Heat another pan with oil or ghee add mustard, cumin and methi.

Add curry leaves, broken red chilli. When the leaves turn crisp, off the heat add hing. You can also add 1/8 to 1/4 tsp of sambar powder to the hot pan.Mix daal or veggies

Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes for the sambar to become flavorful

Serve with rice, idli, vada or dosa