Sambar Tales

Maratha ruler Sambhaji (1657 – 1689) once tried to make dal (lentil) curry in the absence of his chef. He added tamarind to the dal and ended up creating a dish which came to be known as Sambar – today a part of any South Indian meal.

Rulers seem to have similar tastes, even in the animal kingdom. Case in point, the gent in this picture.

The Sambar deer is the favourite food of the Asiatic lion and Bengal tiger.

When you are on a safari, the alarm call of a Sambar deer is usually taken as a sign that a tiger or animal of prey is around. Sadly, the sambar deer is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List. Not because of too many big cats eating too many deer, but because of human appetite for hunting and threat to their habitat.