Sambar Recipe for idli | Idli Sambar Recipe
A super easy and quick sambar recipe for idli! Learn how to make this delicious sambar in no time with our step-by-step photos. Perfect for busy mornings or when you’re craving a hearty meal.
Yes, you heard it right! We have a special sambar recipe made specifically for idlis. While it pairs beautifully with idlis, we also enjoy it with dosa. I learned this recipe from my mother-in-law and now make it regularly in my own style.
I absolutely love having this sambar with hot, soft idlis—it’s the combination that made idlis one of my favorite dishes! Typically, this sambar is prepared without any main vegetables, but you can always add your choice of veggies to make it more wholesome.
Ingredients Used:
Lentils : For this sambar, yellow moong dal and pigeon peas have been used as the main ingredient. Soaking dal 15 minutes prior to cooking will help it to get cooked faster and easy to digest.
Vegetables: Use vegetables of your choice. However, avoid the vegetables which gets mushy. As we are cooking dal and vegetable together.
Garlic and other spices: Used for flavouring the dish.
How to make sambar idli with step by step photos:
Preparing sambar; Heat oil / ghee in a pressure cooker. Add all the tempering ingredients. Sauté for few seconds till the garlic starts turning golden brown. Add green chillies, shallots / onion and little salt. Cover it loosely with the cooker lid. I usually do this to help the onion cook faster. Add all the remaining ingredients including soaked dals along with the water in which it was soaked. Cover the cooker tightly with the whistle on. Cook on low flame for 10 minutes. And your delicious onepot sambar is ready!
Substitutions and Variations:
1. Instead of using both lentils, you can choose to use either one to prepare this sambar. Also any one variety of dal.
2. Carrots can be substituted with vegetables of your choice.
3. If you don’t have tomatoes, you can add a small piece of raw mango instead.
Tips:
1. Soaking dal at least 15 minutes prior to cooking will help it to get cooked faster and easy to digest.
2. Sambar tastes even better when prepared a few hours in advance, as the flavors deepen over time. Pair it with a side of coconut chutney for the ultimate South Indian experience!
Even though it’s an idli sambar, you can also enjoy it with rice and dosa. Let me know in the comments below what variations you’ve tried.
Sambar Recipe for idli
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Yellow Moong dal
- 3 tbsp Tur dal / Pigeon Peas Dal
- 4 cups water
- 1 tbsp Ghee
- 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tsp Jeera / Cumin seeds
- 1 tsp Saunf Seeds / Fennel
- 20 no Curry leaves
- 3-4 no green chillies
- 5-6 no shallots
- 5 no big garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup Coriander leaves
- 1/8 tsp hing
- 1 no tomato
- 1/2 cup Carrots cut in roundels
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric
- 2 tsp sambar powder
Instructions
- Wash both the dals together and soak it in 1 cup water.
- Prepare all the veggies. Wash and chop onion, garlic, green chillies, and coriander leaves. Peel and slice carrot. Adding carrot is optional.
- Heat oil / ghee in a pressure cooker. Splutter mustard seeds. Add cumin seeds, saunf seeds, curry leaves, garlic. Sauté for few seconds till the garlic starts turning golden brown.
- Add green chillies, shallots / onion and little salt. Cover it loosely with the cooker lid. I usually do this to help the onion cook faster.
- 5 When the onions turn translucent, add all the remaining ingredients including soaked dals along with the water in which it was soaked.
- Pour another 2 cups of water and mix. Check for salt by tasting the water. Add if needed. Cover the cooker tightly with the whistle on. Cook on low flame for 10 minutes.
- Once the pressure releases, serve hot with idlis.
