- ▢ ¾ cup dal (lentils) (refer notes)
- ▢ 2 cups water to cook dal
- ▢ 2 tablespoon tamarind (use as needed)
- ▢ Salt as needed
- ▢ 12 to 15 shallots or 1 medium onion diced
- ▢ 6 to 8 french beans (green beans)
- ▢ 1 medium carrot diced
- ▢ ½ cup pumpkin cubed (optional)
- ▢ 1 large tomato chopped or mashed
- ▢ ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
- ▢ ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chilli powder (optional, for heat)
- ▢ 2 tablespoons coriander leaves with stalks (chopped finely)
- ▢ 4½ cups water (adjust depending on quality of dal)
Tempering
- ▢ 1 tablespoon oil or ghee (adjust to taste)
- ▢ 2 sprigs curry leaves
- ▢ 1 dried red chili broken
- ▢ ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ▢ ¾ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ▢ 1 pinch methi seeds (fenugreek seeds)
- ▢ 1 pinch hing (asafoetida)
for idli sambar powder (or use 1 to 1½ tbsps store bought)
- ▢ ½ tablespoon urad dal (skinned black gram)
- ▢ 1 tablespoon chana dal (bengal gram)
- ▢ 3 dried red chilies (adjust to taste)
- ▢ 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- ▢ ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ▢ ¼ teaspoon methi seeds (fenugreek seeds)
- ▢ 2 tablespoon coconut grated fresh (optional)
- Rinse and pressure cook dal with 2 cups of water for 2 whistles or until soft.
- ▢ Or alternately cook in a pot until soft. If using a Instant pot, pressure cook on high pressure for 10 mins & wait for natural pressure release.
- ▢ Mash it and set aside. If you like the hotel style tiffin sambar, you can also add pumpkin to the dal for cooking.
- ▢ Mash everything together and set aside.
- ▢ Soak tamarind in little hot water, squeeze and extract the pulp. Keep this aside.
making tiffin sambar powder
- ▢ In a pan, dry roast red chilies, chana dal and urad dal on a medium flame until lightly golden.
- ▢ Next add coriander seeds and roast all of them until a nice smell comes.
- ▢ When the dals turn deep golden remove to a plate.
- ▢ Next in the same pan saute methi seeds until slightly dark then add cumin.
- ▢ When the cumin turns aromatic remove to a plate. Cool these completely and make a fine powder.
How to make idli sambar
- ▢ Add oil to a pot and heat up. Throw in the cumin, mustard and methi.
- ▢ When they pop, add red chilies, curry leaves and hing.
- ▢ When the leaves turn crisp, set aside half the tempering if you wish to add at the end.
- ▢ Add veggies and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and saute until soft.
- ▢ Sprinkle sambhar powder and red chilli powder if using. Saute for a minute without burning.
- ▢ Pour water and cook until the vegetables are soft cooked.
- ▢ Next pour filtered tamarind and then the mashed dal. Stir and bring the idli sambar to a boil.
- ▢ Taste test and add more tamarind or salt as needed. Add the rest of the tempering and coriander leaves.
- ▢ When it begins to bubble. Switch off. You can also make a fresh tempering but I don’t do.
- ▢ Serve idli sambar hot with soft idli, dosa, uthappam, pongal & vada.
