Last night I made a sambar, using up a bunch of odds and ends - some cubed up butternut, the last sweet potato and Yukon gold in my potato bin, some peeled broccoli stems, and some of the solid innards of a cauliflower. Also, though not traditional, I added a couple of broken up papadum (lentil wafers), just to use up the last ones (have to make more now!).
I started by cooking the toor dal with some turmeric in the IP. While that cooked and pressure released, I cooked some chopped onion in coconut oil in a large saucepan, then cooked the sambar masala in the oil briefly, then added the veggies and 5 c water. This simmered for about 20 min, and I added the papadum with about 5 min left. While this simmered, I mashed the finished dal in the IP and added this to the saucepan, salted to taste, and simmered a few more min, while preparing the tadka - heated a little oil in a small saucepan, popped the mustard seed, then added 8 Thai peppers, along with some cumin seed, fenugreek seed, asafoetida, and 15 fresh curry leaves. When the peppers were browned, this was stirred into the sambar, which was somewhat thickened by this time, from the squash breaking down. Leftovers will be even thicker!
Earlier, I made some jowar roti to serve this with. I ground some sorghum in the VM, removed a little of the flour (in case it was to wet later), then added some hot water, and processed it, making a soft, but not too sticky dough. I also added some garlic, along with some ajwain seeds, to flavor the roti (I almost never make unflavored flatbreads!). I used my tortilla press to form these, then cooked them in a dry cast iron pan.