30 Idli Sambar Recipes – South Indian Idli Sambar Varieties – Sambar For Idli, Dosa, Pongal

In this post, I have shared a list of 30 Idli Sambar recipes / Sambar for idli. We call it as idli sambar vagaigal in Tamil. These South Indian sambar varieties is served as the best side dish for idli, dosa, pongal and many other tiffin recipes. I hope this collection would help you all in choosing the side dish for breakfast. I got the habit and passion of trying varieties of Idli sambar, chutney recipes from my Mom. In my home, My mom makes around 10 different types of sambar recipes for idli, dosa along with some chutney recipes for everyday breakfast recipes. We used to relish the same for breakfast and dinner.

After marriage, I learnt even more simple and easy idli sambar recipes from my MIL as well. In most of the South Indian households, especially in Tamil nadu, Idli is the staple breakfast. Sambar is the most popular and the best side dish for idli, dosa and pongal. Every family have their own version of Idli sambar recipe and follow it for years. If you are looking for a change from your usual idli sambar, this collection would surely help you.

I have categorized these sambar varieties as Dal sambar varieties ( hotel style recipes), Tomato sambar recipes, Brinjal sambar recipes and Kurma varieties for idli, dosa, idiyappam and rava idli. In that, you can find varieties of moong dal sambar, toor dal sambar recipe, hotel idli sambar, easy restaurant style sambar, ghee idli sambar( mini idli sambar), Instant tiffin sambar, Easy vegetable sambar, Easy besan sambar, 6 tomato sambar varieties, 4 types of Kathirikai sambar recipes with and without tomato, Idli sambar without dal, Idli sambar with and without coconut and some Kurma kind of side dish for idli dosa like Parotta Salna, Vadacurry, Cauliflower gravy, tomato kurma etc.

Apart from this, you could also find some of the most popular South Indian speciality idli sambar recipes like Kumbakonam Kadappa, Saravana bhavan Idli Sambar, Chidambaram Brinjal Gosthu and Thanjavur Tomato gothsu for pongal and idli.For making hotel style idli sambar, we need to add roasted and ground idli sambar masala powder. So I have shared an easy, idli sambar powder/podi recipe which can be prepared and stored for weeks together. This helps you to make hotel style idli sambar instantly.

 Apart from our Tamil nadu style sambar recipes, I have also shared the links of idli sambar recipes from other states like Kerala Ulli Sambar and Udupi Hotel style sambar, Karnataka. I am yet to try Bangalore style and Andhra style idli sambar recipes. I will post them after I get a perfect recipe. Most of these recipes are learnt from my Mom, MIL and magazines. I have also shared some tips for making perfect idli sambar. Do check them out and try your favorite Idli sambar ! Share your feedback too. Ok, Lets see the collection of South Indian Idli sambar recipes below.
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50 chutney recipes

15 Idli Varieties

Idli sambar varieties - Breakfast sambar recipes

A collection of 30 sambar recipes - Side dish for Idli, dosa

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Sambar varieties

Serves: Serves 2-3

Prep time: 20 Minutes

Cook time: 30 Minutes

Total time: 50 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

Moong dal Toor dal Tomato Brinjal Roasted gram dal Onion Tamarind Coconut Green chillies Red chillies Dhania seeds/ powder Chilli powder Sambar powder Salt & water Mixed vegetables To temper Cooking oil / ghee Mustard seeds Urad dal Cumin seeds Hing/Asafetida Curry leaves Coriander leaves - to garnish

TIPS TIPS

Generally Idli sambar should be less tangy. So use less tamarind, may be small gooseberry size to make sambar for 2-3 persons OR you can use just 2 tomato instead of tamarind. We should add more dal for idli sambar ( Say 1/3  - 1/2 cup for 2-3 persons) if you don’t add roasted and ground fresh powder ( Idli sambar powder).If you add Idli sambar powder, 1/4 cup dal is enough. Idli sambar should not be too spicy.It should be drinkable.So use less chillies. Toor dal or moong dal used in the sambar should be cooked really well, soft and mushy. Use 1:4 ratio of dal and water, add a few drops of cooking oil in the pressure cooker. If you wish, you can soak the dal for 20 minutes at the time of chopping other vegetables like onion, tomato, carrot, potato etc. Cook in low flame for 2 whistles. Mash the dal with a whisk once the pressure is down. The base of sambar lies in how well the dal is cooked. Suppose if the dal is not mushy, sambar will become watery and dal looks separately in the sambar. To trouble shoot this problem, u can mix 1-2 tsp of besan flour with 1/4 cup of water and add to the dal while boiling. It will help you to give a good base to the sambar. But remember to boil the sambar till the raw smell of besan emanates. Vegetables like Drumstick and Pumpkin is essential for Dal based idli sambar. In hotels, they do add drumstick in small pieces. But you should not cook drumstick along with dal. It should be cooked separately. I usually cook few drumstick pieces in a small tiffin box without adding water. It will get cooked well without losing its shape. Few pieces of pumpkin is added to give natural sweetness to sambar. But do not add more. Just 2-3 chunks would be enough for 1/2 cup of dal. Apart from these vegetables, you can add few pieces of Potato & carrot too. I feed the carrot & potato pieces to my daughter. If you don’t have pumpkin in hand, you can use a small berry sized jaggery ( Sundakkai alavu) Use small onions/sambar onions for best taste. Try to temper the sambar in ghee. Ghee gives a great flavor to the sambar especially if its dal based. For making brinjal sambar, you can use sesame oil/Gingely oil/Nalla ennai. If you don’t like to temper in ghee for dal based sambar recipes, do it using cooking oil and add a tbsp of ghee over the sambar at the end, close it with a lid and rest for 30 minutes to one hour before serving. Generally idli sambar tastes the best when you give a resting time of an hour. For guests, I usually prepare the sambar well in advance and reheat it at the time of serving. To make hotel style sambar, freshly roasted and ground spice powder should be used. To make this powder, use more chana dal than dhania/coriander seeds OR equal quantity of chana dal and dhania. Never forget to use methi seeds while roasting spices. Some people add curry leaves and even coconut for variations. For tomato sambar recipes, adjust the number of chillies based on the ripeness of tomato.Generally Tamil nadu tomato ( Naatu thakkali) tastes sour than Bangalore tomato. For brinjal sambar recipes, adding tamarind is mandatory because brinjal has a slight bitterness naturally.To avoid this, tamarind should be added but in a minimum quantity based on the recipe. To make Kurma style side dish for idli, dosa you can either grind coconut + whole spices and add to the tomato, onion, vegetables base OR saute the whole spices before adding onions, tomato and proceed without coconut paste. Last but not the least, add a tsp of gingely oil while serving the sambar especially for tomato sambar and brinjal sambar. It adds a great taste to the sambar. Hope you find these tips useful. Ok, Lets move on to the collection below  DAL SAMBAR VARIETIES                       BRINJAL SAMBAR VARIETIES        TOMATO SAMBAR VARIETIES         KURMA VARIETIES        IDLI SAMBAR POWDER

Try these idli sambar recipes at home and do share your feedback with me. Thanks for visiting this page !
Check out my

50 chutney recipes

15 Idli Varieties

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Vegetable Paya Recipe - Side dish For Appam, Idiyappam

Appam paya – Many of you would have heard this combo or tasted in restaurants. Paya – Popularly known as “Attukal Paya” is one of the most popular side dish for appam & idiyappam in Tamil nadu. It is basically a South Asian food that is served in festivals and occasions. Paaya means “Feet” in Urdu and Hindi. This dish is prepared by cooking goat legs (Trotters in English) in a spicy masala curry. This dish is adapted in local cuisines and this paya recipe vary regionally. The cooked leg pieces is served as soup for patients as it is considered to be healthy. I have heard about this dish from my Chennai friends. I thought it would taste more like Parota Salna. 

Recently my friend Shalini told she tasted appam with vegetable paya in Saravana bhavan Grand style hotel in Salem. It tempted me to try this recipe at home. I browsed few mutton paya recipes and got this particular version from Mullai’s blog. I tweaked the recipe slightly as per my convenience and used potato instead of mutton. I made it for our Sunday breakfast as a side dish for South Indian appam recipe. It came out finger licking delicious. 

Sendhil and myself loved it a lot. I am sure, I will make this vegetable paya recipe often in my kitchen. Friends, do try this side dish for appam and idiyappam for a change. You will love it like us. You can prepare this gravy with mixed vegetables too. Ok, Lets see how to prepare paya recipe with potato ( Vegetarian version) with step by step photo !

From tomorrow I will start posting Ganesh chaturthi recipes.

Paya recipe - Vegetarian version with potato

Paya recipe - Side dish for appam with potato

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Side dish

Serves: Serves 2-3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup – 250ml 

Potato - 2 nos Big onion - 1 no Tomato - 2 nos. Cooking oil - 2 tbsp Cinnamon - 1 inch Cloves - 2 no G&G paste - 1 tsp Cardamom - 1 no Bayleaf - 1 no Black stone flower - 1 no Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp Red chilli powder - 1 tsp ( I used kashmiri chilli pwd) Garam masala powder or chicken masala powder – 1/2 tsp Salt & water - as needed To saute & grind : Paste 1 Cooking oil - 1 tbsp Medium sized Big onion - 1 no or small onion - 6 nos Coriander seeds / Dhania - 1.5 tsp Green chillies - 2-3 nos ( use 4 for more spicy taste) For paste-2 Grated coconut - 1/4 cup Pottukadalai/Fried gram - 2 tsp Water – to grind Mint + coriander leaves – to garnish

HOW TO MAKE VEGETABLE PAYA - METHOD

Wash and peel the skin of potato. Cut into strips of 2 inches and set aside. I chopped it lengthwise to resemble goat legs ; )) Chop onion, tomato and keep apart. In a kadai, heat oil and saute one chopped big onion, dhania seeds and green chillies. Switch off the flame and let it cool. Grind it along with coconut + Fried gram dal as I did. OR As per the original recipe,  you should grind Dhania+green chilli+ onion to a smooth paste (Paste 1). Grind coconut + fried gram dal to a smooth paste separately ( Paste 2). But I ground everything together. In a cooker base, heat oil and saute cinnamon, cloves, bayleaf, black stone flower, cardamom and fennel seeds. Add the chopped onions, g&g paste ( If you grind dhania+ chillies+onion paste separately, add it at this stage. Saute until its raw smell goes off.) Now add tomato, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and saute until mushy. To this, add the sliced potato strips. Mix well for sometime. (Add coconut paste.i.e paste 2 if you have ground it seperately) Now add the ground coconut paste and saute for a minute. Add 1.5 cups of water and garam masala powder. Mix well and pressure cook for one whistle in low flame or till the potato cooks soft but retain its shape. Open the cooker after the steam is released. Mix well and check for taste and consistency. Add more salt, water and chilli powder if needed. Give a boil and finally garnish with mint+coriander leaves. This gravy thickens over time. So add more water accordingly. Enjoy !

Note

Adjust the quantity of chilli powder and green chillies as per your taste. You can skip adding coconut paste and make a watery gravy too. Instead of potato, you can use mixed vegetables like carrot, cauliflower, peas and beans.

Delicious Vegetable paya with appam is a delectable combo. Do try it and enjoy !

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Easy Hotel Sambar Recipe – How To Make Restaurant Style Idli Sambar

This is an easy version of hotel sambar recipe for idli without making hotel sambar powder. Usually I make Tamil nadu Hotel style idli sambar adding freshly roasted and ground spices. To make my job easier, I started making Idli sambar powder in bulk and use it to my need. Few months back, I watched Venkatesh Bhat’s hotel style idli sambar recipe in Samayal Samayal cookery show. It is a simplified & quick version of restaurant style idli sambar without any grinding job. As I had already tried Kerala ulli sambar recipe (Vengaya sambar), I found this recipe very close to it. So I tried it confidently.

As expected, it came out really well. I started making it regularly with my own modifications. This has become Raksha’s favorite idli sambar. It tastes good for all tiffin recipes like Idli, dosa, vada, Pongal and rice upma as well. For variations and to make it more healthy for your kids, you can add vegetables like potato, carrot & use few pieces of pumpkin instead of jaggery to give a natural sweetness in sambar. This sambar tastes mildly tangy and spicy which makes it drinkable. So you can dunk your idlis in this sambar and enjoy eating it ! If you like the taste of this sambar, you can use this sambar recipe for making mini idli sambar and sambar vadai. Try this easy version of idli sambar and prepare a quick side dish for idli, dosa during busy morning hours. Ok, lets see how to make hotel style idli sambar in an easy way !

Check out my other Idli Sambar varieties too !

Hotel Style Idli sambar Recipe

Hotel style idli sambar recipe - Quick version

Cuisine: South Indian

Category: Side dish For Idli, dosa

Serves: Serves 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Toor Dal - 1/4 cup Moong dal - 1 tbsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Cooking oil - few drops Water - 2 cups Big onion - 1 no (cubed) Or shallots/small onion - 10nos Ripe tomato - 2 nos (Small sized, Do not chop it, use whole tomato) Asafetida/Hing - a big pinch Curry leaves - few Grated jaggery - 1/2 tsp Besan flour – 1 tsp To temper Cooking oil or ghee - 1 tbsp ( Use ghee for best taste) Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Methi seeds - 1/8 tsp( 5nos) Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Urad dal - 1/2 tsp Sambar powder - 1 tbsp Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp Dhania powder – 1 tsp Ghee  - 1 tsp & coriander leaves - to garnish ** Skip onion to make no onion, no garlic idli sambar ** Use 3 pumpkin cubes along with dal to get natural sweetness in sambar. **Add mixed vegetables like carrot & potato with dal to make it more healthy.Use one tomato if its bigger in size or sour in taste .

         

HOW TO MAKE HOTEL SAMBAR - METHOD

Wash and take the toor dal, moong dal in a pressure cooker base. Add 2 cups of water and let it soak for few minutes till you chop onions. Chop the onion and add to the cooker. Add 2 small or one big whole tomato ( Do not chop the tomato because dal may not cook mushy), turmeric powder, curry leaves, hing and few drops of cooking oil. Add enough water and cook the dal in low flame for 2 whistles. Remove the lid after the steam is released. Mash the dal + tomato very well. Make sure dal is well cooked and mashed well. Dilute besan flour in 1/4 cup of water and add to the cooked dal ( ** Adding besan flour helps to get a creamy texture to this sambar and blends well with dal).  Add jaggery. Mix well. In a kadai, heat ghee.  Keep the flame low. Splutter mustard seeds, methi seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds & sambar powder, red chilli powder and dhania powder. Saute for few seconds without burning sambar powder. Do not change its color. Add the mashed dal + besan flour mixture to the kadai. Boil the sambar for  few minutes by adding chopped coriander leaves and 1 tsp ghee. Check for taste, Add salt or red chilli powder if  needed for spicy taste. Boil for one more minute. Switch off the flame ,cover the sambar with a lid and give a standing time of one hour before serving. This sambar thickens when it cools down.So add 1/2 cup water to adjust its thickness and check for salt. Reheat it if you wish and then serve. Enjoy with hot idli, dosa & pongal. Drizzle a tsp of sesame oil or ghee if you like !

Try this easy version of hotel idli sambar at home and enjoy with piping hot idlis !

You will love it !

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Kadala Curry Recipe – Kerala Kadala Curry For Puttu, Appam

Kadala curry is the most popular, traditional side dish for puttu and appam/palappam in Kerala. Its a very healthy side dish recipe which is ideal for breakfast. In Tamil, we call this as Kondakadalai Kurma, Chana gravy in English, Kala chana kurma in Hindi. Last week I shared Kerala Puttu Recipe in my space. As I promised in that post, here is the Nadan kadala curry recipe with coconut.I watched this You tube video to try the authentic recipe as its my first attempt. It came out very well and tasted yummy with Puttu. I am sure it tastes well for appam and dosa too. Though the procedure seems little bit lengthy, its worthy to try. Even though Black chana is widely used for this recipe, I think even white chana would do. After trying this authentic version, I am looking for a simple kadala curry recipe without coconut. Friends, please mail me the recipe in my inbox if you have any. Ok, now lets see how to make Kerala style Kadala curry recipe for Puttu, Appam.

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Idli Sambar Recipe – How To Make Tiffin Sambar

I learnt this recipe from my friend Shalini. This method of making South Indian Idli sambar must be new to many of you I guess. This recipe calls for grinding masala using raw vegetables, coconut & sambar powder. So the flavor and taste of this sambar is different from our usual Hotel idli sambar and its healthy too. But this recipe is easy to make and tasted awesome. My entire family loved it very much. A big hug to my friend Shalini for teaching me this yummy Idli sambar. I am sure, I will be making this side dish for idli, dosa very often in my kitchen. Lets see how to make Idli sambar recipe using ground vegetable masala.

Idli sambar recipe with ground vegetables

Idli sambar recipe with ground vegetable masala

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Sambar recipes

Serves: Serves 4

Prep time: 15 Minutes

Cook time: 10 Minutes

Total time: 25 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

To pressure cook Toor dal – one handful (2 tbsp) Big onion - 1 no Tomato - 1 no Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Cooking oil - few drops Water – 1.5 cups To grind Carrot - 1/2 no (medium) Cabbage – 1 small leaf or roughly chopped cabbage - 2 tbsp Grated coconut - 2 tsp Sambar powder - 2 tsp Tamarind - Berry size ( sundakkai alavu) To Temper Ghee – 2 tsp Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Urad dal – 1/2 tsp Curry leaves – few Hing/Asafetida – 1/8 tsp Salt & water – as needed Jaggery – 1/2 tsp Coriander leaves – to garnish

 HOW TO MAKE TIFFIN SAMBAR - METHOD

Wash and pressure cook the dal, Chopped onion, one whole tomato ( Do not chop the tomato), Turmeric powder and few drops of cooking oil. Add enough water and cook the dal in low flame for 2 whistles. Remove the lid after the steam is released. Mash the dal + tomato very well and set aside. In a mixie jar, take the sliced carrot, chopped cabbage, grated coconut, sambar powder and tamarind. Add the required water and grind them to a smooth paste. Add this ground paste to the cooked dal mixture. Mix well. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of water based on the thickness. Let the sambar roll boil well at least for 3-4 minutes in medium flame till the raw smell of vegetable and sambar powder goes off. Add jaggery when it boils. Check for taste. Heat ghee in a kadai and when it gets heated, splutter the mustard seeds, urad dal , hing and curry leaves. Add to the sambar and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and cover the sambar till use. Serve with hot idli drizzled with a tsp of gingely oil. Enjoy !

Note

Adjust the quantity of sambar powder as per your taste. As we are grinding the vegetables and coconut, it gives thickness to the sambar. So it needs less toor dal. Do not add more vegetables for grinding as it may change the flavor of sambar. I have added tomato, onion along with dal. If you wish, you can saute them in oil and then add to the dal. Tempering in ghee gives a nice flavor.

Enjoy this yummy sambar with hot idli drizzling a tsp of sesame oil/gingely oil!!

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