When my father was working in Mumbai, he learnt this recipe from his North Indian friend. Whenever my dad comes to Salem for holidays, he used to cook for us. We love our dad's cooking a lot . We love his Kara kuzhambu, rasam and this onion tomato sabji. My dad used to say this tomato sabzi is their go to recipe for every day's dinner.They also make it for their lunch box as a side dish for chapathi or poori . Its so easy to make and tastes great too. Sometimes my dad make this sabji by adding boiled potato, peas and even ladies finger. We love this simple sabzi with idli,dosa as well. I don’t say this is the authentic Maharashtrian style tomato sabji or tomato bhaji. This is just an easy, one pot version which is ideal for working women and bachelors. Last weekend I made methi poori and this tomato sabji for our breakfast. It was a nice combo.Sendhil and Raksha loved it a lot. It tastes the best with roti and poori. Do try this tomato sabji recipe and share your feedback with me :)
Tomato sabji recipe for chapathi, poori
How to make tomato sabji in a pressure cooker - Easy & quick side dish for poori and roti/chapathi !
Red chilli powder - 1/2 – 3/4 tsp ( I used Kashmiri chilli pwd)
Dhania powder/coriander seeds powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt & water - as needed
To temper
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp ( optional)
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - to garnish
METHOD
Wash and chop the onion and tomato into small pieces. In a cooker base, heat oil and splutter cumin seeds.
Saute onion until transparent and then add ginger-garlic paste and curry leaves. Saute till the raw smell of g&g paste goes off.
Now add the tomato pieces and saute for a minute. Add salt, turmeric powder, sugar, red chilli powder, Dhania powder, garam masala powder and saute till tomato turns mushy.
Now add 3/4 cup of water, mix well and pressure cook in high flame for 2 whistles. Open the cooker after the steam is released. Oil would float on top. Mix well with a ladle and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Boil for few minutes if the sabji is watery. Make it thick. Serve hot with poori or roti !
Enjoy !
Note
For variations, you can add equal quantity of tomato and onion but adjust the quantity of spice powders accordingly.
You can also add some cooked peas or boiled potato cubes.
You can skip dhania powder if u wish. But flavor varies.
Adding sugar helps to enhance the taste. It gives a mild sweetness to the bhaji.
You can also make this sabji in a kadai instead of pressure cooker.
For variations, you can add coarsely crushed peanut powder ( 1 tbsp )
Try this easy, yummy tomato sabji at home and enjoy !!
Vegetable stew also known as Ishtu is one of the most popular side dish recipes served for Appam and Idiyappam/Noolappam in Kerala. I make appam at least twice in a month for breakfast as it is our family favorite. Usually I make mixed vegetable stew, potato kurma/ payaor onion chutney as side dish for appam. I learnt this stew recipe after watching a cookery show by a Chef in Raj TV. He addressed this recipe as “Restaurant style Vegetable Stew”. I got attracted by the title and wrote down the recipe in my cook book. Its a very simple & healthy vegetable stew recipe that looks colorful with awesome flavor and rich taste of mixed vegetables, coconut oil & coconut milk. I made this stew in pressure cooker to make my job easier.So its color was pale white but it tasted great. We loved it a lot with appam.This veg stew post was lying in my drafts for long time.So I thought of bringing out today. Friends, do try this easy, Kerala style vegetable stew recipe at home & relish it with appam or idiyappam for your breakfast. For variations, you can use potato instead of mixed veggies and make it as potato stew. Ok lets see how to make vegetable stew with step by step photos !
Check out my other “Kerala Recipes” too!
Grate or chop 1 coconut into pieces. Grind to a smooth paste adding 1 cup of water. Strain the thick coconut milk and keep it in a bowl. Again grind the coconut adding 1 cup of water.Take the second milk by extracting it. Keep in another bowl.
Wash and chop the vegetables of 1 inch length. Slit the green chilli, slice the onion.Chop the ginger into small pieces or slice it thinly.
Heat coconut oil in a pressure cooker base. Saute bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves. Add thinly sliced onion, ginger pieces and slit green chilli. Saute till onion turns transparent. Make sure color of onion stays white and not brown.
Then add the chopped mixed vegetables, a big pinch of sugar and saute for a minute. Sugar helps to retain the color of vegetables.Add the required salt and the second coconut milk.Mix well and close the cooker. Cook for one whistle in very low flame. It takes 7-8 minutes.Open the cooker after the steam is released.Veggies would be cooked soft.
Now add the thick coconut milk now and give one boil.Check for taste, add more salt if needed. Switch off the flame. Garnish with curry leaves and set aside. Give a standing time of 15 minutes and serve with appam/idiyappam.
Enjoy !
Note
Add more green chilli for spicy taste.
Add cashew paste for thickness and richness to the stew. Grind 6 cashews and add the paste.
This stew has a mild masala flavor.
Coconut oil is very important for tempering. Do not skip it.
Try this Kerala style vegetable stew with appam and enjoy !!
Coimbatore Annapoorna hotel sambar was in my try list for years. Usually I make varieties of idli, dosa at least thrice in week. So I keep trying different side dishes, it may be either chutney or sambar. As a result of this, I could share a collection of South Indian style 50 chutney recipes and 30 idli sambar/Tiffin sambar recipes in my blog. In my idli sambar collection, I have already shared few hotel style sambar recipes like Saravana bhavan hotel sambar, Tamilnadu style hotel sambar ( Madurai, Tirunelveli), easy restaurant style sambar, Udupi hotel style sambar and AAB sambar recipes. But my collection won’t be a complete one without some of the most popular idli sambar recipes like Coimbatore Annapoorna Hotel Tiffin sambar and Madras Ratna Cafe Sambar. I have tasted this sambar only once from Hotel Sree Annapoorna Sree Gowri Shankar near Coimbatore Bus stand.
Recently my friend Sudha suggested me to try this sambar recipe from Kannamma’s blog. Thank you so much Suguna & Chef Mr.Palanisami for sharing this wonderful recipe with us. After seeing the excellent feedbacks from many readers of Coimbatore, I got the confidence to try it. Just like other hotel sambar recipes, this one also calls for roasting, grinding and adding freshly ground spices. But the ingredients for sambar powder is different.
Actually my friend had advised me to use half the quantity of ingredients as the yield of this sambar will be more for a 2-3 members family. So I halved the quantity of sambar powder ingredients & dal, modified the cooking procedure slightly for ease. Raksha & Sendhil loved it a lot. Friends, do try this yummy hotel style sambar recipe at home (If possible with drumstick). Its one of the best side dish for idli/ mini idli, dosa, pongal and vada. You will love it for sure. Ok, Lets see how to make this yummy, Coimbatore special Annapoorna hotel sambar recipe with step by step photos and a video !! Don’t forget to go through the “Points to note” given below.
UPDATED : Recently I tasted this sambar in Annapoorna hotel, Coimbatore. I felt the sambar was more sweet in taste and I could smell some ginger too. So I have updated this recipe based on the one I tasted. Also I tried this sambar with drumstick and updated a picture above.When I added drumstick, it tasted good with rice as well. So this sambar can be had with rice if you add drumstick. But reduce the quantity of jaggery if making for rice. Also see the actual color of sambar. I served it with brown rice idli below.
Please check the video recipe below.
POINTS TO NOTE
As per the original recipe, the quantity of drumstick should be twice that of toor dal. For this quantity, you should use 1 drumstick. Chop into small finger size pieces. Alternatively, you can use 2 brinjal, 1 medium carrot,1 medium sized potato. But flavor of the sambar may vary.
If you add drumstick, u can serve this sambar with rice too. Color of the sambar also varies.
This Sambar masala needs 12 ingredients. So please keep them ready in a plate before roasting. Roasting the spices perfectly is the key for this sambar.So do not burn them.
According to the original recipe, the quantity of tamarind and jaggery should be equal. But I reduced the jaggery as Sendhil doesn’t like the sweet taste in sambar.
I used long red chilli but original recipe called for using guntur chilli. So slight color deviation in the sambar was there.
The original recipe called for pressure cooking tomato, onion and drumstick pieces separately for one or two whistles in high flame whereas I cooked them along with the dal by keeping them in a small box inside the cooker. Refer the pics and video for more detail. I did this to reduce the cooking time of sambar.
As a general rule of hotel sambar, it tastes the best when you give more standing time.So if you prepare this sambar for your guest, prepare it 3-4 hours in advance. Reheat it at the time of serving.
The yield of this sambar will be more as it thickens when cools down. So add little water at the end, mix well, check for salt and then serve.
If you want to make this sambar only for 2 people, use half of the quantity of ingredients mentioned.
Adding ghee at the end is a must. It gives awesome flavor to this sambar.
Garnish with coriander leaves without fail.
Annapoorna Hotel Style Idli Sambar Recipe
Coimbatore Annapoorna Hotel Idli Sambar Recipe - One of the best hotel sambar recipes !
Red chilli - 2 nos ( I used long variety, 3 Guntur chilli can also be used)
Coriander seeds/Dhania - 2 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tbsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tbsp
Grated coconut or dry coconut - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - 5 nos ( 1/2 sprig)
Asafetida - 2 big pinches
Jaggery - 1 tsp to 2 tsp (I used 2 tsp after tasting the original sambar)
Ginger - 1/4 tsp ( chop finely, optional)
Tamarind - Medium gooseberry size ( slightly bigger than small gooseberry size)
Water – 2 + 1/2 cup ( To boil + grind)
To temper
Sesame oil/Gingely oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
To garnish
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp ( finely chopped)
Ghee - 1 tbsp
HOW TO MAKE ANNAPOORNA HOTEL SAMBAR - METHOD
In a cooker base, add toor dal, 2 cups water, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and few drops of cooking oil. In a small box, add chopped onion, tomato, drumstick pieces or other vegetables if using. Add 1/4 cup water. Keep the box inside the cooker.
Pressure cook in low flame for 2 whistles. Open the cooker and take the box out. Keep aside.Mash the dal with a whisk or ladle. Set aside.
In a kadai, heat 2 tsp sesame oil. Roast methi seeds, cumin seeds, chana dal, urad dal, red chilli, pepper corns, dhania and roast till dals turn golden in color. Add pinched tamarind. Saute for a second. Add the curry leaves, hing, grated coconut, ginger and jaggery. Saute for 30 seconds. Grind this mixture to a smooth paste adding 1/2 cup water. Slightly coarse paste is also fine.
In the same kadai, add the ground paste + 2 cups of water.Mix well and boil for few minutes. Add the cooked onion+ tomato + Veggies mixture.Boil for a minute. Add the mashed dal, required salt & boil the sambar in medium flame for few minutes.
Heat oil in a kadai and when it gets heated , splutter mustard seeds, curry leaves. SWITCH OFF THE FLAME ! Add red chilli powder, mix well quickly and add this to the boiling sambar. Do not burn the red chilli powder. Boil the sambar for a minute.
Last but not the least, add 2 tsp ghee, chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Serve hot with idli !
This sambar becomes thick as it cools down. So add water to adjust the consistency before serving. Check for salt as well.
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of red chilli & chilli powder if you want more spicy taste.
Do not add more tamarind. Tamarind should be minimum for idli sambar.
This sambar becomes thick as it cools down. So add water whenever needed, mix well. Check for salt and serve.
Enjoy this yummy idli sambar with piping hot idli ! Tastes great.
Many of you would have heard about and tasted brinjal kurma for biryani and rice. Even I have posted the same in my blog. But when I came across this brinjal kurma (Kathirikai kuruma in Tamil) recipe for idli,dosa and chapathi in a cookbook, it was new and interesting to me.
As I am a big fan of brinjal recipes, I tried it immediately as a side dish for thatte idlifor our weekend breakfast. It was very nice with mild flavor of masala/spices. I just loved it with idli and dosa. I hope it tastes good with chapathi/roti as well.
Sendhil is not a big fan of brinjal, still he tasted this kurma without any complaints. So I thought of sharing this yummy, interesting brinjal kurma recipe especially for all the ardent fans of brinjal like me. I have used long green brinjal in this recipe. I guess you can try with purple variety brinjal too. Friends, do try this different kurma recipe at home and share your feedback with me. Ok, Lets see how to make Brinjal kurma with step by step pictures !
Wash and chop brinjal into small pieces. Keep immersed in water till use. Chop onion & tomato. Keep aside.
In a mixie jar, take all the ingredients given under “ To grind” and grind them to a smooth paste adding enough water. Keep it aside.
In a cooker base, heat oil and temper mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and cumin seeds. Add the chopped onions and saute until transparent. Add the chopped tomato pieces and saute till mushy. Then add the chopped brinjal pieces and saute till they shrink in size and reduce in quantity. It takes 2-3 minutes.
Now add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and ground coconut paste.Mix well. Saute the mixture for a minute. Add 1 to 1.5 cups of water and pressure cook in very low flame for one whistle. Open the lid after the steam is released. If the kurma is too thick, add 1/4 cup of water, mix well and check for taste. Add more salt or chilli powder if needed. Garnish with coriander leaves. Give a boil and serve hot with idli, dosa or chapathi.
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of green chilli if you want more spicy taste.
I have heard about Bombay chutney from my friend Shalini but never tried it on my own.She makes it for idli, dosa and poori.I heard this chutney is very popular in North India and Andhra. Its a very quick and easy side dish recipe which needs no dal, no coconut and absolutely no grinding job. Many of you would have tasted this kind of side dish for poori in small road side hotels. Usually I make my MIL’s besan sambar ( Kadalai maavu sambar) for idli, dosa which is slightly different in ingredients and consistency than this Bombay chutney. Last weekend I made this chutney for the first time as a side dish for tomato poori. This is sure a good replacement for our usual potato masala. I am not sure about its combination for idli, dosa but it was really great with poori. I think this chutney should be made thinner and more spicy for accompanying with idli, dosa.For variations and if you are making for your kids, do add some pieces of boiled potato. They will love it. Friends, do try this easy Bombay chutney for poori or idli, dosa. You will like it a lot. Lets see how to make Bombay Chutney aka Besan chutney with step by step pictures !
Check out my 50 chutney varieties for idli and dosa in THIS LINK !
Bombay chutney recipe
How to make Bombay chutney recipe / Besan chutney for poori, idli and dosa
Lemon juice - few drops ( only if needed, optional)
METHOD
In a wide bowl, take the besan and dilute it adding 2 cups of water. Mix it without lumps and keep aside. Chop the onion, ginger, tomato finely. Slit the green chillies and set aside.
Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal and chana dal. Roast till dals turn golden. Now add the chopped onion,ginger, green chillies and curry leaves. Saute till onion turns transparent. Then add the tomato pieces, saute till mushy.
Lastly add the diluted besan flour and mix well.As soon you add it, besan will turn thick. So add 1/2 cup more water if needed. Add the required salt and turmeric powder. Mix well and boil for 5-7 minutes till the raw smell of besan leaves off.
This chutney becomes thick as it boils.So adjust the consistency by adding water in the middle and add more salt if needed. Switch off the stove and garnish with a fistful of coriander leaves. Serve hot with idli, dosa or poori. NOTE : This chutney thickens when it cools down.So you may have to add more water to adjust the consistency while serving. In that case, add hot water, more salt and add little red chilli powder ( if needed), boil for a minute and serve !
Enjoy !
Note
Add more green chillies if you want more spicy chutney.
I made it for poori .So I made it mildly spiced and added 2 green chillies.
Do not add more besan flour. Chutney will taste and smell raw.If you want to make more quantity, add more besan flour and increase the quantity of onion, tomato and green chilli proportionately.
Adding coriander leaves at the end improves the flavor a lot.So do not skip it.
Make this yummy, easy Bombay chutney for idli, dosa and Poori. Enjoy !!
I came to know about this Kadamba chutney recipe from a reader’s request. I thought kadamba chutney and mixed vegetable chutney are one and the same. But then I realized Kadamba chutney is made with the combination of onion, tomato, coconut, ginger, garlic, chilli, urad dal, chana dal, mint+coriander+curry leaves. Its made without carrot, chow chow or any other vegetable.
This morning, I prepared this chutney for our breakfast as a side dish for idli. I followed the recipe from Sangeetha’s blog. It was very nice and tasty. We all loved it very much. I felt this chutney recipe goes well with dosa, rava idli and even for mixed lentil dosa/ Adai.
Do try this easy and yummy side dish recipe for your breakfast/dinner and let me know your views. Now lets see how to prepare this yummy South Indian style Kadamba chutney recipe for idli, dosa with step by step photo.
Wash and chop tomato, onion, green chilli. Peel ginger and garlic. Grate or finely chop the coconut. Set aside. In a kadai, heat oil and saute the urad dal + chana dal. When the dals start to turn golden, add the pinched red chilli and chopped green chilli. Saute for few seconds. Then add the chopped ginger, garlic, onion and saute for a minute. Lastly add the tomato and grated coconut along with the required salt and a small piece of tamarind. Saute until tomato turns mushy.
Switch off the flame and add the mint+coriander+curry leaves. Saute quickly. They shrink and mixes well with the mixture. Let everything cool down completely. First grind them to a coarse paste without adding water. Then add water and grind to a thick paste. Remove the chutney to a serving bowl. Temper mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add to the chutney bowl and mix well. Serve with hot idli , dosa or adai !
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of chilli as per your taste buds.
Adding tamarind is optional but it gives a mild tangy taste to the chutney.
Do not add more ginger. It will dominate the chutney flavor.
No need to use more coconut. Its just for binding. You can skip it if you don’t want to use it.
Yummy Kadamba chutney is ready to serve with Idli, dosa !!
. We love his Kara kuzhambu, rasam and this onion tomato sabji. My dad used to say this tomato sabzi is their go to recipe for every day's dinner.They also make it for their lunch box as a side dish for chapathi or poori . Its so easy to make and tastes great too. Sometimes my dad make this sabji by adding boiled potato, peas and even ladies finger. We love this simple sabzi with idli,dosa as well. I don’t say this is the authentic Maharashtrian style tomato sabji or tomato bhaji. This is just an easy, one pot version which is ideal for working women and bachelors. Last weekend I made methi poori and this tomato sabji for our breakfast. It was a nice combo.Sendhil and Raksha loved it a lot. It tastes the best with roti and poori. Do try this tomato sabji recipe and share your feedback with me :)
How to make tomato sabji in a pressure cooker - Easy & quick side dish for poori and roti/chapathi ! 
