I made South Indian Sambar the other day. It's a sort of spicy vegetable stew with tamarind stock. And were we might use something like cornflour to thicken it, instead are lentils boiled till they are overcooked and added to provide the basis for a good sambar.
First, I needed to make the sambar powder - it's similar to making your own regional version of curry powder. So I Googled a few recipes.
Then I stumbled across this on YouTube. You don't need to watch all of it to get the gist of what is going on. The elderly Indian lady is cooking on the ground, no scales or measuring, just handfuls of everything. Oh, and lots of chili and spicy sambar powder. That will be one hot sambar.
My sambar tasted pretty good but I would bet hers is fantastic.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlMoHNjAA7E[/youtube]