20 Best Sambar Recipes For Rice | Sambar Varieties For Lunch | Different types of Sambar for rice

After a long time, I am sharing a collection post. Its a list of 20 best sambar recipes for rice. In South India, Sambar is the staple side dish for rice. We South Indians cannot live without sambar for rice. Even though we make hundreds of varieties of kuzhambu, Sambar in the lunch menu gives the fulfilment of eating rice.

In hotels or at houses, Sambar would be the first thing in our lunch menu. Then comes Rasam, Kara kuzhambu, Vatha kuzhambu, More kuzhambu etc. Sambar can be prepared in varieties of ways. But most of the households have a standard preparation of their sambar recipe using homemade sambar powders. Me too not an exception.

My sambar tastes and smells the best with my MIL’s homemade sambar powder. I never buy store bought sambar powders even though my friends and relatives have tried and told about Sakthi, Aachi and MTR sambar powders. If you don’t have the option of making homemade sambar powder, you can definitely go with store bought ones. It also tastes equally good but you should adjust the spice levels based on the brand you use. Please click the picture below for our Homemade sambar powder recipe. I have also shared a Tamil brahmin sambar powder recipe learning from my neighbour. Please click the picture and check it if you are interested.

In this collection, I have shared nearly 20 varieties of sambar for rice. It includes mixed vegetable sambar, basic sambar adding drumstick, sambar without vegetables, Sambar without dal, Tamil brahmin style sambar adding freshly ground spices, Pongal sambar adding 7 country vegetables, some 4 varieties of keerai sambar, 3 varieties of Kerala sambar and finally a sambar recipe for making bisibelebath.

Friends, do check out this list of sambar recipes for lunch and try your favourite. Please don’t forget to leave your feedback.

BASIC SAMBAR RECIPE ADDING DRIUMSTICK

This is our basic sambar recipe we have been following for years together adapting through generations. You can make a perfect, Tamil Nādu style sambar using this recipe. Click the picture below for the detailed recipe link.

 

Radish Sambar | Mullangi Sambar

Many beginners refrain from making Mullangi sambar / Radish sambar thinking about its weird smell. But if you try the way I have mentioned in this recipe, you will start to love this sambar and make it often. There is a secret tip I learnt from my aunty/ Athai.

LADY’S FINGER SAMBAR | VENDAKKAI SAMBAR RECIPE

If its a no moon day or any festival, this Lady’s finger sambar without onion will be in our lunch menu without fail. Its a simple and yummy sambar recipe with the goodness of fried lady’s finger.

PONGAL SAMBAR | 7 VEGETABLE SAMBAR FOR PONGAL FESTIVAL

This is our traditional 7 kai sambar for Pongal festival. In this recipe, I have used 7 different country vegetables. Its a must try recipe on Pongal festival. Instead of sambar, we make the same as kootu with slight variation in this recipe. The same sambar can be prepared for Thiruvathirai festival too. In general, I call this as festival sambar.

SORAKKAI SAMBAR / BOTTLE GOURD SAMBAR RECIPE

This is an interesting sambar recipe using sorakkai / bottle gourd. If you are bored of making Sorakkai dal and Sorakkai kootu, try this sambar. You will love it.

ARACHUVITTA SAMBAR – TAMIL BRAHMIN STYLE SAMBAR

I am a big fan of Tamil brahmin style arachuvitta sambar. The aroma of freshly roasted and ground spices takes this sambar to the next level. I have used onion in this recipe. You can use any vegetable like drumstick, brinjal, chow chow etc.

CABBAGE SAMBAR | MUTTAIKOSE SAMBAR

Have you ever tried a sambar recipe adding Cabbage ? If not, try this delicious sambar recipe. You will be amazed by its taste and flavour.

CLUSTER BEANS SAMBAR | KOTHAVARANGAI SAMBAR

Cluster beans sambar is our family favourite recipe. Whenever we buy cluster beans, this sambar would be our priority. Adding in sambar helps to remove the mild bitterness of cluster beans.  Do try it and see how you like it.

MIXED VEGETABLE SAMBAR IN A PRESSURE COOKER

This is a super easy and quick, one pot sambar recipe for rice adding mixed vegetables. Ideal for working women and bachelors.

KEERAI SAMBAR

We usually make this sambar with Amaranthus variety. It tastes so good when paired with raw banana curry. Do give it a try.

KERALA SAMBAR WITHOUT COCONUT | ONAM SADYA SAMBAR

Basically I love Kerala food especially Onam sadya is my favourite lunch menu. Here is a simple and easy Onam sadya sambar recipe with mixed vegetables.

VARUTHARACHA SAMBAR | KERALA SAMBAR WITH COCONUT

This is yet another version of Onam sadya sambar. In this recipe, sambar is prepared using freshly roasted and ground spices and coconut. Do give it a try !

KERALA ULLI SAMBAR

Kerala Ulli sambar is one of the simple and yummy sambar varieties that tastes great not only with rice but idli, dosa as well. Do check it out by clicking the picture below.

MANGO SAMBAR

Mango sambar is my most favourite sambar recipe. We never fail to make this sambar during mango season. With the tangy taste of raw mango, it smells and tastes the best. Check it out friends. 

DRUMSTICK LEAVES SAMBAR | MURUNGAI KEERAI SAMBAR

Super healthy and delicious sambar recipe adding Drumstick leaves/ Murungai keerai. You must try this once. 

SAMBAR WITHOUT VEGETABLES | ONION SAMBAR

When you don’t have any vegetables in your pantry and still want to make sambar for rice, this onion sambar comes to rescue. You can use either small onion or big onion in this recipe.

PALAK SAMBAR / PASALAI KEERAI SAMBAR

Healthy and delicious Palak sambar / Spinach sambar. You can use regular spinach or even baby spinach for this recipe. Its a yummy variation from the usual Dal palak.

PONNANGANNI KEERAI SAMBAR | GOOD FOR EYESIGHT

Many of you must be aware of this Ponnanganni keerai. Its known as Dwarf copper leaf in English, Gudari Saag in Hindi, ‎Ponnaganti Koora in Telugu, ‎Honagonne soppu in Kannada, ‎Kozuppa, Ponnankanni in Malayalam. Its very good for eyesight and a great coolant for summer. Try it out.

PUMPKIN SAMBAR | PARANGIKAI SAMBAR

With a mildly sweet taste of Pumpkin, this sambar is a super healthy and flavourful one. Tastes good with idli, dosa as well.

SAMBAR FOR BISIBELEBATH

Usually Bisibelebath is prepared in one pot by mixing rice, dal, vegetables and spices together. In this version, I have prepared sambar and rice separately and mixed them just before serving. Its a different method but tastes so good. Do give it a try.

SAMBAR WITHOUT DAL

Many of my readers asked me to share a sambar recipe without dal. So I tried this variety and posted it. Its a tasty sambar recipe without cooked toor dal. The flavor and taste comes from the freshly roasted and ground spices. I am sure you will love it.

TIRUNELVELI SAMBAR

This is my mom’s special Tirunelveli sambar which is popularly known as IDI sambar. I have used Drumstick and mango in this recipe. You can make it adding brinjal or simply onions.

Friends, hope you have gone through and enjoyed my collection of Sambar recipes for rice. Do try them and share your feedback with me.

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I wanted to try arachuvitta sambar without dal(for rice) for a long time. My friend told it tastes great for both rice and idli. So I wanted to give a shot and I had bookmarked some YouTube videos too. Finally I tried it last week for my lunch as I was in short of toor dal in my kitchen. This is more like Tamil brahmin’s style varuthu aracha kuzhambu / arachuvitta kulambu for rice but without using dal. 

You don’t need to use toor dal or moong dal in this recipe. The aroma of freshly roasted and ground spices is the highlight for this sambar recipe. It helps to give great flavor and thickness to this sambar. Not only dal, less tamarind and coconut is used in this recipe. 

When you feel bored of the regular paruppu sambar for rice, you can try this. If you want to avoid dal in your diet for health reasons, you can make this kuzhambu. As I prepared this with mixed vegetables like carrot, beans, potato, chayote, brinjal it came out very flavorful, tasty and healthy. You can also add drumstick, lady’s finger, pumpkin, turnip if you like. 

You can also prepare this masala powder in advance and make this sambar instantly. Bachelors and working women would find it helpful. Friends , do try this sambar recipe without dal and enjoy with rice. I personally liked it with idli, dosa too !

Check out my brahmin style arachuvitta sambar, no onion no garlic udupi sambar,  brahmin style potato curry, brahmin style vatha kuzhambu

Arachuvitta sambar without dal for rice

Arachuvitta sambar without dal for rice adding mixed vegetables.

Cuisine: Tamil nadu

Category: Side dish

Serves: 4

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Mixed vegetables - 1 cup ( 1 carrot, 5 beans, 1 potato, 1/2 chayote, 2 brinjals) Big onion - 1 (Chopped) Ripe tomato - 1 Tamarind – Big gooseberry size Sambar powder - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Cooking oil - 1 tbsp Hing/Asafetida - 2 pinches Salt & water - as needed To roast and grind Cooking oil - 1 tbsp Coriander seeds / Dhania - 1 tbsp Chana dal - 1 tbsp Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Methi seeds/ Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp Curry leaves – 5 leaves Red chilli - 4 ( I used Kashmiri chilli/ Byadgi chilli for bright red color) Grated coconut - 1 tbsp Raw rice – 1/2 tsp To Temper Ghee – 2 tsp Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds / Jeera – 1/4 tsp Curry leaves - Few

HOW TO MAKE SAMBAR WITHOUT DAL FOR RICE

1. Wash and chop all the vegetables into cubes. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a kadai and roast all the ingredients given under ‘To roast’. Lastly add coconut, roast for a minute. Grind to a powder. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a pressure cooker base. Saute onion,curry leaves and mixed vegetables.
4. Add tomato and saute till mushy. Add turmeric powder, sambar powder, salt and tamarind extract.
5. Lastly add the ground powder, mix well. Add some water if needed.
6. Pressure cook for one whistle in low flame. Temper mustard seeds in ghee and add to sambar. Garnish with coriander leaves. Enjoy with plain rice !

SAMBAR WITHOUT DAL FOR RICE - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and chop vegetables, onion, tomato and set aside. Soak tamarind in 1 cup of water. Heat oil in a kadai. Roast chana dal, coriander seeds, red chilli, methi seeds, cumin seeds, raw rice in low flame till nice aroma arises. Lastly add curry leaves , grated coconut. Saute for a minute. Switch off the flame. Grind to a powder. Set aside.   Heat oil in a pressure cooker base. Saute onion few curry leaves, mixed vegetables. Then add tomato and saute till mushy. Add salt, turmeric powder, sambar powder. Saute well. Add 1 cup of tamarind extract.  Add the freshly ground masala powder too. Mix well. If the kuzhambu is too thick, add 1/2 cup more water. Pressure cook everything in very low flame for one whistle. For this, keep the flame high till steam comes out. As soon as steam starts to come off, reduce the flame to completely low. Pressure cook in low flame for one whistle. Switch off the flame. Remove the lid after steam is released. Mix well and see the consistency of kuzhambu. If thick, add some water, check for salt and boil for a minute. If texture looks fine, you can do the tempering part. For tempering , heat ghee in a small kadai. Splutter mustard seeds, curry leaves and cumin seeds. Add to the sambar and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves. Close the bowl with a lid. Give a standing time of 30 minutes to 1 hour for best taste. Tastes great the next day. So you can refrigerate and use this kuzhambu for 2 to 3 days. Enjoy !

Note

Adjust the quantity of red chillies as per your taste. I used byadgi chillies which gives bright color but tastes less spicy.  Flavor of this sambar varies based on the red chilli.  Addition of rice in the masala helps to give thickness to the kuzhambu. You can skip it too.

Try this yummy arachuvitta sambar without dal. Enjoy with plain rice adding a tsp of ghee !

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Bottle Gourd Sambar Recipe / Sorakkai Sambar / Lauki Sambar

Sorakkai sambar / Bottle gourd sambar with freshly ground spices (Arachuvitta sorakkai sambar in Tamil) is an yummy, flavorful sambar recipe for rice. I have never tried varieties of sorakkai recipes for rice apart from  paal kootu , Poricha kuzhambu,  sorakkai dosai and poriyal. When I heard about this sorakka sambar from my neighbor, I was tempted to give a try.  Basically bottle gourd is a bland vegetable. It doesn’t have any appealing flavor or taste. But its a healthy vegetable with lots of benefits. It has more water content which helps for weight loss, provides cooling effect to body, reduces liver inflammation, treats constipation etc. So I try to include this veggie atleast once in a week in my diet. For this sambar instead of following my usual sambar recipe, I added Tamil brahmin style arachuvitta sambar masala by roasting and grinding the spices, chilli and coconut. It came out very well with an awesome aroma. We loved this sambar very much. In Karnataka, my friends make Sorakkai sambar in a different way by adding a different masala. Soon I will try to learn from them and make a post. Now lets see how to make Tamilnadu style sorakkai sambar recipe with step by step pictures.

Check out my other sambar varieties for rice.

Also check out my 70+ kuzhambu recipes !

Sorakkai Samabr / Bottle gourd sambar recipe

Arachuvitta Sorakkai sambar / Bottle gourd sambar for rice with freshly ground masala.

Cuisine: Tamil nadu

Category: Sambar

Serves: Serves 4

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Toor dal - 1/3 cup Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Cooking oil - few drops Bottle gourd - 1/2 ( Cut into big chunks) Big onion - 1 (Chop into cubes) Tomato - 1 (Chop into cubes) Green chilli – 1 (slit into two) Curry leaves - Few Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1/4 tsp Tamarind - Big gooseberry size Sambar powder – 1/2 tsp (Optional, Use any brand or homemade) Salt & water - as needed To roast and grind Cooking oil - 2 tsp Coriander seeds / dhania - 1 tbsp Chana dal - 1 tbsp Urad dal - 1 tsp Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp Red chilli - 6 Raw rice - 1/2 tsp Hing - 2 pinches Grated coconut - 1 tbsp To Temper Ghee - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Curry leaves - Few Coriander leaves - to garnish

HOW TO MAKE SORAKKAI SAMBAR

1. Wash and peel the skin of sorakkai / bottle gourd. Cut into two and chop the spongy portion. Discard it. Chop sorakkai into big cubes and set aside.
2. In a pressure cooker, take the toor dal, chopped bottle gourd, onion, tomato, green chilli, cumin seeds, required water and a drop of cooking oil. Cook for 1 whistle in very low flame. Mash the dal gently and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a kadai. Roast all the items given under “To roast and grind”. Grind to smooth paste.
4. To the cooked dal add tamarind extract, ground masala paste, salt and some water.
5. Roll boil for 5 minutes till nice aroma wafts. Temper in ghee and add to sambar. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with rice !

SORAKKAI SAMBAR RECIPE - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Soak tamarind in 1 cup of water. Wash the bottle gourd and peel its outer skin using a peeler. Cut into two pieces and remove the center, spongy part using a knife and hands. Discard the soft part with seeds. Now chop the sorakkai into big pieces as we are making sambar with it. For poriyal or kootu, you can chop it finely. In a pressure cooker base, take toor dal, chopped bottle gourd, chopped big onion, tomato, slit green chilli, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, required water and a drop of cooking oil. Keep the flame high and cook till steam starts to come out of the nozzle. As soon as steam comes out, lower the flame completely and put the weight valve. Let it pressure cook in very low flame for one whistle. It may take 8 to 12 minutes depending on the size of cooker. (If you use small sized cooker, keep it in small burner gas stove. For bigger sized cooker, use big burner.). Open the cooker lid after the steam is released on its own. Mash the dal gently with a ladle. Make sure you don’t mash the sorakkai pieces. While pressure cooking, you can roast the ingredients for sambar masala. For this, heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai. Roast chana dal, urad dal, red chilli, methi seeds, coriander seeds and raw rice. Roast in medium flame till dal turns golden brown. Do not burn any ingredient. After roasting, grind everything to a smooth paste adding coconut and water.    Add 1 cup of tamarind extract, sambar powder (optional), ground sambar masala paste to the cooked dal. Adjust the consistency of sambar by adding water. Add required salt. Let the sambar roll boil for few minutes till nice aroma wafts through your house. Add little water based on the thickness of sambar. Switch off the flame and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves. Last but not the least do the tempering part. Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a small kadai. Splutter mustard seeds, curry leaves and add to sambar. Mix well and close with a lid. Give a standing time of 30 minutes to 1 hour for best taste and flavor. Mix this sambar with plain rice. Do not forget to add few drops of ghee while serving !(This sambar thickens as it cools down. So add some water, give a boil and serve hot whenever needed). Enjoy !

Note

Do not chop sorakkai into small pieces. It gets mashed up while pressure cooking. So use big pieces. Adjust the quantity of red chilli as per your spice level. This sambar thickens over time. So you should add water whenever needed, give a boil and serve hot. Addition of sambar powder is optional in arachuvitta kuzhambu. But I use little. Do not forget to temper in ghee for more flavor.

Try this yummy sorakkai arachuvitta sambar and share your feedback with me.

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Palak Sambar – Pasalai Keerai Sambar – Spinach Sambar Recipe

We make keerai sambar for rice at least once in a week. Usually I add Arai keerai or mulai keerai (Amaranthus) to make sambar. This time I prepared keerai sambar with palak / pasalai keerai / spinach. It came out well with a nice flavor. We liked it very much. This Spinach sambar can be prepared quickly as palak takes less time to cook. This palak keerai sambar is definitely a welcome change from my Dal palak and Palak kootu. Friends, do try this healthy, yummy palak sambar / spinach sambar and share your feedback with me. Lets see how to make Tamil nadu style pasalai keerai sambar with step by step pictures.

Palak sambar - Spinach sambar - Pasalai keerai sambar

Palak sambar - Spinach sambar - Pasalai keerai sambar

Cuisine: South Indian

Category: Sambar recipes

Serves: 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Palak / Spinach / Pasalai Keerai - 1 cup Toor dal - 1/3 cup Tamarind - Big gooseberry size Sambar powder – 1 to 1.5 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Big onion / small onions - 1 no / 15 nos Curry leaves - Few To Temper Ghee - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds / methi seeds - 1/8 tsp Red chilli - 1 no Asafetida / Hing - 1/4 tsp

HOW TO MAKE PALAK SAMBAR

1. Wash and chop palak roughly. Soak tamarind in 1 cup water.
2. Pressure cook toor dal in enough water and mash it.
3. Heat oil in a kadai. Temper and saute onion, curry leaves.
4. Saute palak and add tamarind extract, sambar powder, salt and turmeric powder.
5. Let it boil for a minute. Lastly add the cooked dal and boil for few minutes.
6. Transfer to a bowl and serve hot with plain rice adding ghee. Enjoy !

METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Soak tamarind in 1 cup warm water for 15 minutes. In the mean time, take the toor dal, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, few drops of cooking oil in a pressure cooker. Cook in low flame for one whistle. Open the cooker after steam is released. Mash the dal and set aside. Wash and chop the keerai roughly. Keep it aside.  Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds, methi seeds, urad dal, red chilli and curry leaves. Saute onion till transparent. Add the chopped palak and saute till the keerai shrinks in quantity. Add 1 cup of tamarind extract, sambar powder, turmeric powder, salt and hing. Boil till onion & palak cooks well. Then add the cooked dal and boil for a minute. Add more water and adjust the consistency of sambar. Switch off the flame and transfer the sambar to a bowl. Serve hot with plain rice adding few drops of ghee. Enjoy!

Note

Adjust the amount of sambar powder and red chillies as per your taste. Do not use tomato as the combination of palak and tomato is not good for people with kidney stones. For variations, replace sambar powder with 1 tsp of red chilli powder and 1/2 tsp of dhania powder.

Try this easy, yummy, healthy Palak sambar for rice and enjoy with your favorite poriyal / curry and appalam / papad !

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