• Pressure cook the dal with little turmeric for upto 3 whistles in the god old pressure cooker or cook for 10 -12 mins in Instapot.  Mash it to while the dal is hot to get smooth consistency.
• Now roast the masala ingredients in  little oil in this order mentioned above one at a time to get max flaver and even cooking.
• Once the mixture cools down grind it into a smooth paste
• Now in a heavy bottom pan add the veggies, tamarind paste, salt, turmeric powder and some water and let the veggies cook 3/4th .
• Once its hard to touch yet mashable add in the ground masala paste. Let this cook a bit, about 5 minutes.
• Now add in the cooked dal to this mixture and add little water to adjust the consistency. Little bit runny consistency is fine because the vadas will soak it all. Do not too much water though as this will beat the tartness and the spice.
• Let this mixture simmer  in medium heat till a layer of froth forms on the top. do not let the sambar over boil as the flavors will reduce.
• Temper mustard seeds, broken red chills(optional) and curry leaves in some ghee /oil .

Sambar Vada Assembly:

• Have some finely chopped onions and coriander leaves handy.
• Divide the sambar into two 1/2s.
• In one half of the hot  sambar add in the hot vadas. It is key that both the sambar and vada hot to get good texture.
• Let it sit in the sambar for 5 mins and set it aside in a seperate bowl.
• Do the same for all the vadas.
• Just before serving heat the other half of the sambar and pour it on your desired portion of vadas and garnish with onions and coriander leaves and serve it hot.