I learnt this instant tomato sambar recipe / Thakkali sambar for idli without dal and coconut from my mom. This is our family's all time favourite sambar. Its very simple to do and its made without cooked dal & coconut. Sambar onions, hing and coriander leaves are the star ingredients. This sambar should be served adding sesame oil / gingely oil. It gives a nice taste and flavour. So add gingely oil on top of sambar before you eat . I have used Bangalore tomatoes here. Please adjust the quantity of green chillies based on the Tamil nadu tomato you use. Try this easy, instant tomato sambar for idli, you’ll like it for sure. It tastes similar to tomato soup with sauteed onions ;)
Tomato sambar / thakkali sambar without coconut, dal for idli dosa.
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Side dish
Serves:3
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:20 Minutes
Total time:30 Minutes
INGREDIENTS 1 cup - 250ml
Ripe Tomato – 5 nos
Green chilli – 5 -7 nos (Use 7 for spicy sambar)
Hing / Asafetida – 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder – A pinch
Salt & water – as needed
To temper
Oil – 1.5 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Urad dal – 1/2 tsp
Sambar onion – 3/4 - 1 cup ( finely chopped )
Coriander leaves – a quarter bunch chopped for garnishing (must)
METHOD
Heat a tsp of oil in a pan and saute the slitted green chillies for a while till the skin shrinks. Cook the tomato and the green chilli with required water and let it cool. It should be well cooked ( Usually My mom pressure cooks it)
Filter the cooked water and grind the tomato, green chillies to a smooth paste adding the cooked water after it cools down. Add salt , turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp of hing to the paste and set aside. Chop the onions finely.
Heat 1.5 tbsp of oil in a kadai and season with mustard seeds and urad dal. Now add the chopped onions and saute till they are transparent. Add the cooked tomato water. Give a boil.. Finally add the ground paste and add the remaining water, salt.(This sambar should be slightly watery. )
Sprinkle few chopped coriander leaves and give a boil. Switch off the flame and garnish with the remaining coriander leaves.
NB:Please don't try this sambar without coriander leaves. You wont get the exact flavour and taste. Also small onion gives a special flavour to this sambar. So we don't use big onions. Please don’t use curry leaves in this recipe. It will change the flavour of this sambar. Enjoy !
Tasty tomato sambar is ready to serve hot with idlis !! Top with sesame oil / Gingely oil.
It tastes divine !!!
When I was searching for idli sambarrecipes, I got this one titled as Saravana Bhavan sambar in many blogs & sites. Saravana bhavan is one of the hotels in which I am longing to have my breakfast and dinner and very recently I had a chance to visit it. As I have tasted this sambar, I wanted to try in my kitchen because this recipe is totally new from my usualhotel sambarrecipe. No need to make additional powder for sambar. Our usual sambar powder is enough. I have tried the original recipe many times and I felt its less tangy because of Bangalore tomato. So I changed the recipe according to our taste buds. Nowadays I am making this sambar regularly for idli & rice upma. It tastes great !
Idli Sambar Recipe - Hotel Style
Hotel Saravana bhavan style Idli Sambar Recipe
Cuisine:South Indian
Category:Side dish for Idli,dosa
Serves:Serves 4
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:20 Minutes
Total time:30 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup =250ml
To pressure cook
Toor dal – 1/3 cup ( less than 1/2 cup)
Hing /Asafetida – a pinch
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Cooking Oil – few drops
Vegetables – Brinjal , carrot , potato & drumstick ( cook separately and add if using)
Tamarind – a small gooseberry size
Sugar or jaggery – 1/4 tsp
To saute
Sambar onion/ small onion – 10 nos
Tomato – 1 no
Green chillies – 1 no ( slit)
Curry leaves – few
To grind
Grated coconut – 2 tbsp
Fried gram dal – 1 tbsp
Sambar powder - 1 tbsp ( any sambar powder is fine ) OR ( chilli powder – 1.5 tsp + dhania powder – 1.5 tsp)
Tomato – 1 no
To temper
Cooking oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Urad dal – 1/2 tsp
Methi seeds – 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
Red chilly – 1 no ( pinched )
Hing – 1/4 tsp
To garnish
Coriander leaves – few chopped
HOW TO MAKE SARAVANA BHAVAN SAMBAR - METHOD
Pressure cook all the ingredients given under “pressure cook” till mushy. Remove & mix well.( Cook drumstick seperately in a bow. and place inside the cooker without adding water. Use drumstick for best tasting sambar).
Grind all the ingredients adding little water to make a smooth paste.( given under “to grind”)
Add this ground paste and the tamarind extract ( do not add tamarind extract if you are using tangy tomatoes), salt to the cooked dal mixture and allow it to boil well till the raw smell emanates. It will thicken. Add water when necessary.
Heat oil and add onions and green chillies , curry leaves and saute till onion turns transparent. Add tomato pieces and saute until mushy. Add this to the boiling sambar. Boil for some more time. Add sugar or jaggery while boiling. Finally temper the ingredients given under “To temper” and add to sambar. Garnish with coriander leaves and close it with a lid. Serve after 30 minutes. For guests , add a tsp of ghee before serving : ))
Note
The actual recipe did not use tamarind. As I used Bangalore tomatoes, I felt its bland. So I added little tamarind extract. If you use Tamil nadu tomato( Naatu thakkali) , tamarind may not be necessary. Make sure the sambar should be mild in tanginess.
Tempering at the end gives a nice flavor. If you want, you can do this step while sauteing onions.
Adding sambar onion gives a nice taste. U can replace with big onion if you don’t have it.
If you wish, you can use moong dal or a combination of toor dal & moong dal.
Try this yummy Saravana bhavan style Idli sambar at home and enjoy your breakfast/dinner !!
(Updated picture)
I got this Chidambaram Kathirikai gosthu / brinjal gosthu recipe from my friend Swarna. She had learnt it from a Chidambaram cook. I have tried this 3 times so far. Recipe for Kathirikkai gothsu powder is so simple. We can make it once & store for weeks.
Basically I am a big fan of brinjal but my husband hates it. But the good thing about this recipe is he liked it a lot and gave approval to make it often. The consistency of this gothsu should be very thick like a paste but we love to have it in semi gravy consistency. As I haven't tasted the original authentic gosthu in hotel & temple style gosthu, I tried in both the ways and shared the pictures here. Please make it as you like. It tastes the best when made with sambar onions. So use small onions only. I heard this is the best side dish for Pongal. But we like to have it with idli.
For gothsu powder, I followed my friend’s recipe but I saw so many variations in this recipe like adding methi seeds, toor dal etc. Anyways it tasted great. Please have a look at the notes section too. Do try and let me know how u like it. Lets see how to make Chidambaram special Kathirikai gothsu.
Check out my another easy, one pot brinjal gosthu version HERE.
Here is the old picture !
Chidambaram special Kathirikai gothsu / Brinjal gothsu
Chidambaram special Kathirikai gothsu recipe for idli, dosa.
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Side dish for idli pongal
Serves:Serves 3
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:20 Minutes
Total time:30 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
Brinjal – 5 nos (medium sized)
Tamarind – Big gooseberry size (adjust)
Small onion – 15 to 20 nos
Salt & water – As needed
For gothsu powder ( to dry roast & powder)
Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp
Red chillies – 4-6 nos ( long variety)
Chana dal - 1/2 tbsp
For large quantity (to grind n store)
Coriander seeds - 1/4 cup
Red chillies - 12-15 nos (long variety)
Chana dal - 1.5 tbsp
To temper
Cooking oil – 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Urad dal – 1 tsp
Hing – 1/8 tsp (optional)
Curry leaves – few ( pinched)
Gingely oil/Nalla ennai – 1 tbsp( to add at the end)
HOW TO MAKE CHIDAMBARAM GOSTHU - METHOD
Dry roast dhania , chana dal & red chillies (1/2 tsp methi seeds – optional) in low flame for 2-3 mins till dhania starts to splutter. Make sure you dont burn them. Then grind them to a fine powder and set aside. Please add the mentioned amount of red chillies while making gotsu powder because if you reduce the chillies, gothsu powder may taste bitter and it will spoil the taste of gothsu.
In that case , add little red chilly powder and proceed. Cut brinjal into small pieces and keep in water to avoid brinjal turning black in color. Cut small onions into cubes and set aside. Soak tamarind in little water.
Heat a kadai with oil and add mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves & hing. Now add the small onions and saute till it turns transparent.. Then add the finely chopped brinjal pieces. Add the required salt. Saute till it shrinks and becomes mushy. Add little water if needed and cover cook the brinjal for sometime.
Add the tamarind extract and cover cook till the brinjal is cooked well. Mash the brinjal with ladle but still some pieces should be visible.Now add 2 tsp of gotsu powder,mix well. Add little water if necessary. Boil it for sometime. The gravy thickens. yoAdjust the water if u want in thin consistency OR enjoy as it is !! Add coriander leaves for garnishing but it is not needed. Lastly add 1 tbsp of sesame oil on top of gravy. Close it with a lid to retain the aroma. Enjoy with hot idlies / pongal adding sesame oil/ ghee. Sesame oil enhances the taste. For pongal , no need to add sesame oil. Check out my easy Brinjal gosthu recipeHERE
Note
I’ve given the gothsu powder for larger amount which you can store and use. U can use 2 tsp of this powder for one time..
My friend told that the authentic version calls for burning the brinjal in flame with skin and they mash it & add. But nowadays everybody follow this easy method.
If you feel the gravy is bitter, you can try adding more tamarind extract because the bitterness completely depends on the brinjal we use.
Enjoy this yummy side dish with Idli or pongal. Tastes yumm !!
Salna is a spicy, delicious side dish served with parotta in roadside hotels of Tamil nadu (Kai endhi bhavan). It is very popular in Madurai. Empty Salna recipe is nothing but a plain, watery, tomato based spicy gravy packed with awesome flavour. But today I made vegetable salna recipe for parotta. Whenever I think about parotta, the side dish that immediately strikes my mind is Salna. This road side hotel gravy is my favorite more than vegetable kurma that is served in restaurants. Nothing can beat this combo.
Before marriage, my dad used to buy parotta salna almost twice in a month. We used to buy the parotta just for salna which tastes good for dosa, idli and chapathi as well. So we buy less parotta and ask for more salna ;). My mom makes idli /dosa additionally and we relish the salna with it. Even nowadays when I visit my mom’s place , my lovable dad never forgets to buy this for me.
Last week I bought frozen parotta for the first time just to prepare this salna. When I searched for the recipe, I got so many. Finally I made my own by combining all the recipes based on the salna I tasted. Usually in vegetarian salna , you can’t find any vegetables except onions, skin of tomato and a layer of oil floating on top and may be some pieces of cauliflower. I have also shared a plain tomato salna. But I added some vegetables just to make it healthy. We loved its taste. Its taste will surely remind road side hotels salna to you.
Lets see how to make parotta salna at home. Give a try and let me know how it turned out for you. Hope you will love it like me ;). If you have salna and parotta leftover in hand, you can make delicious kothu parotta too.
Mixed Vegetables ( carrot , beans , peas and potato, cauliflower) – 1/2 cup ( I add 1 cup)
Ginger – Garlic paste – 1/2 tsp
Big onion –1 no (finely chopped)
Tomato - 1 no (-do-)
Mint leaves – a few
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
Bay leaf – 1 (optional)
Black stone flower – 1 (optional)
Salt & water - as needed
To grind:
Cooking oil – 1 tbsp
Tomato – 2 nos
Red chilli powder – 1.5 tsp (use 3/4 tsp for less spice)
Coriander powder – 2 tsp
Jeera powder – 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder OR Chicken masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon – 1 small stick
Cloves – 2-3 nos
Elachi / cardamom – 1 seed
Fennel seeds /soambu – 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut – 3 tbsp
Khus khus / Poppy seeds – 1/2 tsp
Cashew nuts – 3 nos
Salt & water – as needed
HOW TO MAKE VEGETABLE SALNA
Wash and Cut all the vegetables of small size uniformly.
In a kadai, heat oil and add the spices, ginger, garlic, onion, tomato and spice powders.
Mix well till tomato mushes. Then add the grated coconut, cashews, poppy seeds. Mix well and switch off the flame. After it cools down, add little water and grind to a smooth paste.
In a cooker base, add oil, bay leaf, black stone flower and Ginger garlic paste, onions, mint leaves and sauté till raw smell emanates. Now add the chopped tomato pieces and saute well till it turns mushy.
Now add the ground masala paste,required salt and all the vegetables. Add enough water and pressure cook for one whistle.
When you open the cooker, you’ll see a layer of oil floating on top and you get a nice aroma. If you feel the water is more, allow it to boil for sometime by simmering the flame which makes the oil separate more. Remove and garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with Parotta, dosa, idli and biryani. Enjoy !
NOTE
If you want the salna to be watery, add little more water after opening the cooker and allow to boil.
U can also add coconut milk at the end instead of grinding coconut .
For variations, try adding all the masala while sauting instead of grinding part.
Adjust the amount of chilli powder according to your taste. You can even add it at the end and boil for sometime if required.
I think most of you would have tried varieties of Tamil nadu hotel style idli sambar recipes at home. Even I too posted an idli sambar with toor dal long time back which learnt from my MIL. It tastes similar to the hotel ones. But I should say this is the exact recipe for restaurant style sambar. I got this recipe from Aval vikatan’s supplementary.
Yesterday I tried this for my guests. My guests liked it so much, I was showered with compliments and they were asking for the recipe. Thanks to Mrs. Revathy shanmugam for this yummy hotel kind of recipe. It tastes mildly tangy with more of dal, less spicy and you can even drink this sambar.
You can use this as basic Tiffin sambar recipe for making sambar vada,Mini idli sambar etc. It’s a great side dish for Idli, dosa recipes. My friend Jayarani gave me a tip recently. She told me to add pumpkin instead of jaggery and she also suggested me to use drumstick.
Yes, as she told adding pumpkin gave a mild sweetness and drumstick gave a nice flavour. I have updated the recipe adding them. Do try this, I am sure you’ll get the exact taste as in most of the restaurants. It goes well with idli , dosa , Venpongal and vada.
Hotel Idli Sambar Recipe - Restaurant style Tiffin Sambar Recipe
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Side dish
Serves:Serves 4
Prep time:15 Minutes
Cook time:15 Minutes
Total time:30 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 250ml
Toor dal OR Moong dal – 1/3 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Cooking Oil – A drop
Pumpkin – 4-6 pieces ( cube sized)
Drumstick – 1 no ( Chop into small pieces)
Vegetables ( Carrot & potato) – If needed.
Tamarind – 2 seeds (approx. small gooseberry size)
To roast and grind
Cooking Oil - 1 tsp
Dhania / Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp
Chana dal – 2 tbsp
Red chillies – 6 nos
Methi seeds – 1/2 tsp
To temper & saute
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Urad dal –1tsp
Jeera / cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
Red chillies – 2 nos (pinched)
Curry leaves – a few
Asafetida/Hing – few pinches
Small onion - a cup
Tomato – 1- 2 nos
Sambar powder – 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves – to garnish
Jaggery – 1 tsp ( Add if you don’t use pumpkin)
Ghee – 1 tbsp
HOW TO MAKE HOTEL IDLI SAMBAR - METHOD
Soak tamarind in warm water for 20 minutes and take the extract. Set aside.
Peel the onions and chop the tomatoes. Pressure cook the dals with turmeric powder, pumpkin pieces and a drop of oil. Mash and set aside. Cook drumstick and other vegetables separately and set aside
In a kadai roast all the above said ingredients and make it a fine powder.
In the same kadai , add oil and temper all the items in the same order. Now add the sambar onions and saute till transparent. Then add the tomatoes ( crush it with your hands before adding , this makes the sauting process faster ) and required salt. Saute till tomatoes turn mushy and juicy. Add the tamarind extract , raw pinched curry leaves , hing, sambar powder and turmeric powder.
Allow to boil till the onions get cooked. Now add the mashed dal,cooked vegetables ( if using) and the ground powder. Mix well so that there are no lumps.
Boil for few minutes. It will thicken. Add more water if necessary. Switch off the flame add garnish with coriander leaves.
Last but not the least, don’t forget to add a tbsp of ghee & Cover it with a lid until you serve..
Enjoy with idli, dosa and pongal!
Note
U can use the combination of moong dal and toor dal in equal quantities and make this sambar.
Adding pumpkin gives a sweetness to the sambar. So no need to add jaggery or sugar. If you don’t add pumpkin use either jaggery or sugar while sambar boils.
Make this sambar atleast 3-4 hours before serving because all the tastes blends well. U can reheat it while serving.
For variations, you can add a tbsp of grated coconut while roasting the powder ingredients and powder them.
Tastes great the next day with full aroma !!
ENJOY THIS SAMBAR WITH SOFT IDLIES.CRISPY DOSA & VEN PONGAL !!
I learnt this Sāmbar from my neighbor. Its very simple. Usually for hotel style sambar recipe,we used to add freshly roasted & ground spices.For this sambar, just besan flour is enough.I had tasted this kind of sambar in some hotels especially in Tirunelveli and Madurai.Do try this and let me know how it turned out.Lets see how to make this easy, South Indian Idli Sambar recipe.
In a pressure cooker, take the toor dal, chopped vegetables, turmeric powder, hing and a drop of oil. Add the required water and cook for one whistle in low flame. Mash the dal and keep it apart.Dilute besan flour in 1/4 cup of water without lumps and set aside.
Heat a kadai with oil and temper the ingredients given under “To temper”. Sauté the onions, slitted chillies,curry leaves, hing & tomatoes. Saute till tomato turns mushy. Now add the tamarind extract and sambar powder.
Add more water if necessary.Add the cooked vegetables , little asafetida and fresh curry leaves. Allow it to boil for few minutes. Then add the cooked and mashed toor dal.
Add besan water to the sambar. Boil well for few minutes without lumps .The sambar starts to thicken. Add more water if necessary.
Finally switch off the stove and garnish with coriander leaves.
**For relatives, add a tsp of ghee at the end and close the bowl.
Yummy , aromatic sambar is ready to enjoy with piping hot idlis , vada or pongal !!
Note
For idli sambar, dal should be dominant and hence less tamarind is added. If u want the sambar to be more tangy add lime juice at the end after switching off the flame.
For more spiciness, add more green chillies while sautéing onions and tomatoes.
If u feel the sambar is too thick, add more water, little tamarind extract, salt and sambar powder. Boil for sometime. Similarly if u think the sambar is more spicy or tangy, add little besan flour and water, allow it to boil. Adjust salt.
I find the above step as very useful to get the correct taste. That too for beginners these points would be very useful , thanks to my neighbor for sharing these tips with me/>
I enjoyed this yummy sambar with my oats barley idli and onion thokku !
I've posted varieties of idli sambar learning from my MOM & MIL.This one is my MIL's special sambar. Sendhil loves this a lot . So I make it at least once in a week.It tastes similar to hotel sambar. I make this sambar for Idli, dosa and pongal specially for my guests.
Other common names of Toor Dal
Other common names are तुवरि (tuvari) in sanskrit, arhar(Hindi/Bangla:অরহর), Rohor (Assamese), Rahar (Nepali), red gram, toovar/toor (Gujarati/Marathi/Punjabi), tuvaram paruppu (Tamil: துவரம்பருப்பு),tuvara (Malayalam :"തുവര" ),togari (Kannada), Kandi(కంది)(Telugu), Yewof ater (Amharic), gandul, guandul, guandu, Congo pea, Gungo pea, Gunga pea, and no-eye pea.
Idli sambar with toor dal
How to make idli sambar with toor dal - Side dish for idli,dosa,pongal
Soak the tamarind in warm water for 20 minutes and take the extract using a cup of water. Set aside.
Pressure cook all the ingredients given under "to pressure cook" till one whistle.Mash the dal and set aside. Heat oil in a kadai and roast all the items given above in the same order till nice aroma arises.Powder coarsely and keep aside.
In the same kadai , add oil and saute the items given under “To Saute”.Saute till tomato turns mushy.Then add the sambar powder, tamarind extract, hing & salt. Add some raw curry leaves. Allow it to boil till the onion gets cooked.Lower the flame. Now add the mashed dal & powdered spices.
Mix well & boil for sometime( Be careful while adding the powder because it may form lumps.So gently stir in & sprinkle the powder simultaneously.) When it boils, add jaggery & boil for some more time.
Finally temper all the ingredients given under "to temper" and switch off the stove. Garnish with coriander leaves.Transfer to the serving bowl and top it with a tbsp of ghee .( I add only when there is a guest ;) )
For restaurant style sambar, add a few curry leaves while roasting the ingredients given for sambar powder. ** Also try adding a tsp of grated coconut for additional flavor while roasting. ** Add veggies like brinjal, Drumstick and carrot to make it more healthy.
In this sambar, we should add very less tamarind extract.So it will taste mild and less spicy. If u want it more spicy & tangy , add pinched red chillies while tempering and squeeze some drops of lime juice before serving.
Enjoy this yummy, delicious Sambar with hot idli !
This is a tasty side dish for idli dosa.Whenever I have ripe tomatoes in my hand, the first side dish that comes to my mind is this tomato thokku. I learnt this from my mom. Very easy to prepare . U can try this for chapathi too. Ideal side dish for trip / travel .
INGREDIENTS :
Ripe tomatoes – 1/4 kg
Big onion – 2 nos (finely chopped )
Tamarind – 1 small piece ( Optional )
Red chilly powder – 1.5 - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Salt & water – As needed
To temper :
Oil – 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Urad dal – 1 tsp
Channa dal – 1tsp
Curry leaves – A few
Coriander leaves – To garnish METHOD :
Cube cut tomatoes and finely chop the onions.
In a kadai,add oil and temper the items given above.
Now add the onions and saute till transparent.
Then add the tomato pieces and saute till it becomes mushy.
Add the turmeric & red chilly powder along with salt.
Mix well and add the required water to cook. Cover with a lid.
After sometime ,check whether the onion & tomato gets cooked.
Once the mixture thickens, add the coriander leaves and serve hot..
Tomato sambar / thakkali sambar without coconut, dal for idli dosa.
