Do you want to try some authentic sambar to go with your idli and dosa? Then you are absolutely on the right page! Try out the delicious sambar recipe that we have picked for you!
Sambar is a traditional soup-like fluid that contains loads of veggies! People of South India vouch for this as their staple diet. It contains loads of nutrients which is extremely beneficial for your health overall. So, you can make this to enjoy a South Indian food and avail yourself of all the benefits.
So, let’s not waste anymore time in checking out what the best sambar recipes are! And we’re sure if you try them out even once, you will love this wonderful recipe.
Table of Contents
Sambar Recipe
Well, sambar is a vegetable-based soup cooked with tamarind broth and pigeon pea. It is popular in the South Indian states and in Sri Lanka. It is generally spicy for the South Indian twist they like to put in their dishes. You can have sambar along with dosa, idli or even plain rice. Many times, people have this recipe plain as well. It is extremely delicious and does give your tastebuds a stir. So, scroll down for amazing sambar recipes popular all over India!
Sambar recipe for idli
You need your sambar to be yummy yet healthy to enjoy it with your idli. Let’s not waste any more time and get straight to the recipe!
Recipe Overview: The recipe is for 4 servings. You can adjust your recipe accordingly.
Time to arrange ingredients: Around 10 minutes
Time to make recipe: Around 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard
- ¼ tsp methi
- 1 tsp Hing
- 5-6 curry leaves
- 4 shallots cut into halves
- 2 chilis
- 1 chopped tomato
- ½ chopped carrot
- 1 cubed potato
- 5 chopped beans
- 5 pieces of drumstick
- ½ cubed brinjal
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp jaggery
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- ¾ cup tamarind broth
- 4 tsp sambar powder
- 1 cup boiled toor dal
- 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander
Instructions:
- In a pan, add 2 tsp oil and let it heat.
- After the oil is hot enough, add 1 tsp mustard, ¼ tsp methi, 1 tsp hing, and 6 curry leaves and stir it for the flavor to release in the oil.
- Proceed to add 4 shallots and 2 green chilis and mix thoroughly for a minute or so.
- Go on to add 1 finely chopped tomato, ½ chopped carrot, 1 cubed potato, 5 chopped beans, 5 pieces of drumstick, and ½ cubed brinjal. Now sauté it for 2 minutes.
- Proceed to add ¼ tsp turmeric, ½ tsp jaggery, 1 tsp salt, and 1 cup water.
- Mix thoroughly and cover the pan. Let it boil for the next 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, add ¾ cup of tamarind broth and stir well.
- Cover the pan and let it boil for another 10 minutes.
- Proceed to add 1 cup of Toor dal, water and give it a mix.
- Now add 4 tsp of sambar powder and let it boil for 1 minute. This will help the flavors to get absorbed well into the soup.
- Go on to add 2 tbsp of finely chopped coriander leaves and stir well.
- Serve your hot sambar with soft, fluffy idlis, and enjoy!
Sambar recipe for dosa
Try out this immensely delicious sambar recipe to go with your dosa!
Recipe Overview: This recipe is for 4 people. Feel free to adjust your ingredients according to your needs.
Time to arrange ingredients: Around 10 minutes
Time to make recipe: Around 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup toor dal
- One diced drumstick
- 1 diced brinjal
- 1 cup of diced pumpkin
- One chopped onion
- 1 finely chopped tomato
- 20gm of tamarind paste
- 7-10 curry leaves
- 1 tsp Hing
- 7-8 cloves of chopped garlic
- 1 finely chopped ginger
- 2 chopped green chilis
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- Half tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- 1 tbsp sambar masala
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- Oil
- Salt according to your taste
- 1 finely chopped coriander leaves
Instructions:
- In a pressure cooker, add 1 cup of Toor dal, 1 chopped brinjal, 1 diced pumpkin, 1 finely chopped drumstick, and 1 chopped tomato.
- Proceed to add salt and turmeric powder and cook it until 3-4 whistles.
- In a pan, add 1 tbsp of oil and let it heat.
- Go on to add 1 tsp of hing, 1 tsp of mustard seeds, 1 tsp of cumin seeds, and stir it well.
- Proceed to add the curry leaves, the crushed garlic cloves, and 1 finely chopped ginger. Further, add sliced onions and green chilis and sauté it well for 2 minutes.
- Add 1 finely chopped tomato and stir it continuously till it is mashy, tender, and cooked.
- Proceed to add ½ tsp red chili powder, 3 tbsp of sambar powder, 20 gm of tamarind paste in the pan and stir it well on low flame for 3 minutes.
- Further, add cooked dal and the vegetables to the stew and water according to the consistency of the same.
- Let the soup simmer and bring it to a boil for 4-5 minutes.
- Garnish your sambar with finely chopped coriander leaves.
- Serve the hot sambar with your dosa and enjoy!
This is a traditional recipe that you must try out and don’t forget to tell us how you liked this recipe!
Udupi sambar recipe
Udupi sambar is the regular sambar, but it has the richness of exotic vegetables and a sweet flavor twist to its name. Without further ado, let’s check out the recipe!
Recipe Overview: The recipe is for 4 people. You can always make changes according to your need.
Time to arrange ingredients: Around 15 minutes
Time to make recipe: Around 30 minutes
Ingredients:
For Masala Paste –
- 2 tsp oil
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp urad dal
- ¼ tsp methi seeds
- 5 Kashmiri dried red chilis
- ½ cup coconut
- ¼ cup water
Remaining ingredients –
- 1 cubed potato
- 2 finely chopped onions
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup tamarind broth
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 tsp jaggery
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- Salt as per your taste
- 1 cup of cooked toor dal
- Oil
- ¾ tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp urad dal
- 2 dried red chilis
- 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
Instructions:
Masala paste –
- Add 2 tsp oil and let it heat up.
- After the oil is heated up, add coriander seed, cumin seeds, urad dal, methi seeds, and the Kashmiri dried red chili and roast them.
- After the ingredients are roasted, put them into a blender and ½ cup of grated coconut.
- Add water into the same and blend till smooth.
Udupi Sambar –
- In a pan, add chopped onions and the cubed potato, and water.
- Let it simmer on low flame for 15 minutes.
- Proceed to add tamarind broth, 5 curry leaves, turmeric powder, jaggery, and salt according to your taste.
- Stir them well and allow them to boil for 5 minutes.
- Go on to add the cooked toor dal, the masala paste and stir well for 2 mins. Let it simmer on low flame for 5 minutes.
- In another pan, heat 2 tbsp oil and add mustard seeds, dried red chilis, urad dal, and the rest of the curry leaves.
- Stir them well till the flavor is well released into the oil, and then go on to add it into the sambar.
- Mix it well and garnish it well with finely chopped coriander leaves.
- Serve your Udupi sambar or potato onion sambar with steamed hot rice, idli, or dosa, and enjoy!
Temple style sambar
This type of sambar is generally served in the temple in Karnataka and anywhere else in South India. It is made using dal, coconut, any assortment of vegetables, and ground masala. It is a healthier version of sambar, and it is tasty as well.
You can use any type of vegetable in this recipe. But since it is a temple-style sambar, you cannot add onions and garlic. This type of recipe is called “satvika.” Jaggery is also highly recommended for this recipe. So, without any delay, let’s check out the recipe!
Recipe Overview: The recipe is for 4 people. You are always welcome to adjust your ingredients accordingly.
Time to arrange ingredients: Around 15 minutes
Time to make recipe: Around 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- Two cups of chopped vegetables (any type of vegetable you prefer)
- ¼ cup of toor dal
- 1-2 finely chopped tomatoes
- ¼ tsp of turmeric powder
- 2 tsp salt
- Jaggery (recommend but the recipe can do without it)
- Small tamarind
- 1 tbsp of finely chopped coriander
- 5-6 red chilis
- ½ cup of grated coconut
- 2-3 tsp of coriander seeds
- 1 tsp of urad dal
- 4 tsp of gram dal
- ½ tsp of jeera or cumin seeds
- 8 fenugreek seeds
- Curry leaves
- Cooking oil
- 6 curry leaves
- ½ tsp of mustard seeds
Instructions:
- Cook the toor dal in a pressure cooker.
- Add in turmeric powder, oil, and water accordingly. Keep it in the pressure cooker for some time and wait until 2 to 3 whistles.
- In the same pressure cooker, add in the chopped vegetables of your choice, along with salt and water. Cook until it turns soft, which is approximately 2 whistles.
- In another pan, add oil and heat it up.
- After the oil is heated up, add 3 red chilis, ½ cup of grated coconut, 3 tsp of coriander seeds, 1 tsp of urad dal, 4 tsp of gram dal, ½ tsp of cumin seeds, 8 fenugreek seeds, and sauté them in the pan. Be careful not to burn the ingredients.
- After the masala ingredients have turned golden brown, add in your curry leaves. Mix it well.
- Now, grind the roasted spices in a mixer along with the grated coconut. Add water. The consistency should be smooth.
- Add this mixture into the pan, along with the tamarind extract. Add salt according to your taste.
- You can skip this option, but it is highly recommended. Add in the jaggery according to your taste, as it is the key ingredient to make your sambar delicious.
- Mix the stew well on a low flame.
- Garnish it with 1 tbsp of finely chopped coriander.
- Serve your hot temple-style sambar with hot rice.
Sambar like this tastes extremely delicious with hot rice. And don’t to accompany it with some papad as well. It tastes scrumptious.
Sambar recipe Kerala style
Another way to give your sambar a flavorful twist is to cook a sambar in Kerala style. Therefore, without wasting any further time, let’s get straight into the recipe!
Recipe Overview: The recipe is for 5 people. But as always, you can make adjustments accordingly.
Time to arrange ingredients: Around 15 minutes
Time to make recipe: Around 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- ½ cup toor dal
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 cup water
- Salt as per taste
- 2 finely chopped onions
- 1 tsp ground garlic
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 4 tsp sambar powder
- ½ tsp fenugreek powder
- ¼ tsp Hing
- 1 chopped potato
- One chopped carrot
- 1 chopped drumstick
- 2 chopped brinjals
- 4 chopped lady’s fingers
- 1 chopped tomato
- One tbsp coriander leaves
- 1 cup tamarind broth
- ¼ tsp mustard seeds
- 3 dried red chilis
- 5 curry leaves
Instructions:
- In a pressure cooker, add toor dal, turmeric powder, salt according to your taste, and water. Let it cook for 3 whistles.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and shallow fry the lady’s finger; keep them aside in a dish.
- In the pan, add the chopped onions, ground garlic, red chili powder, fenugreek powder, coriander powder, hing, turmeric powder, and sambar powder, and sauté it well.
- Proceed to add your chopped potato, carrot, drumstick, tomato. Stir the vegetables for around 15 minutes and refrain from adding water. If you feel, you may add 2 tbsp of oil. Continue stirring, or your vegetables might get burned.
- After the vegetables are well cooked, go on to add them to the pressure cooker where you have your toor dal.
- Go on to add 2 cups of water into the pressure cooker and cook till 1 whistle. Let it rest for a while.
- In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil. Go on to add ¼ tsp of mustard seeds, 3 dried red chilis, and the curry leaves. Stir it well so that the flavors are well released into the oil.
- Proceed to add the mixture from the pressure cooker into the pan. Add 1 cup of tamarind broth into your sambar along with the fried lady’s finger.
- Mix the contents thoroughly and garnish your sambar with 1 tbsp of finely chopped coriander leaves.
- Serve your sambar in Kerala style along with hot rice, idli, or dosa, and enjoy!
Do let us know how you liked this recipe!
Final Thoughts
We have come to the end of your blog – Sambar recipe, today. We hope that we have been able to introduce some new recipes to you, and we are sure that you can’t wait to try them out. So, incorporate these recipes and try out each of them. And of course, don’t forget to tell us in the comment section below which sambar recipe is your favorite!