Sambar is a staple side dish for idli, dosa, pongal and other tiffin varieties in South India. It’s difficult to resist its aromatic flavours. I like to add vegetables into it to enhance its nutritional value. In this blog, I will be showing you how to prepare one-pot sambar usingPrestige Svachh Triply Outer Lid Pressure Cooker. This pressure cooker makes the cooking process hassle-free as it has an innovative Deep Lid that controls the spillage of starchy water.
This one-pot recipe is suitable for bachelors and working women as they can prepare it easily during the busy morning hours. You can prepare it within 10 minutes by adding simple ingredients like onions, tomato, carrots, and beans. I have been using this Prestige Svachh stainless steel pressure cooker for the past two years. It has a Unique Deep Stainless Steel Lid designed to prevent froth from flowing down the pressure cooker.
This cooker also has a Revolutionary Pressure Indicator that acts as a locking device. It cannot be opened if the pressure inside the cooker is too high. On most days, I do pot-in-pot cooking by placing a small vessel with chopped vegetables over the dal to prepare both the dishes simultaneously. Its both time and fuel saving for me.
Friends, do try this easy and simple one pot, pressure cooker sambar and enjoy with Idli, dosa, pongal and other tiffin varieties.
One pot idli sambar - Pressure cooker idli sambar recipe
One pot idli sambar - Pressure cooker idli sambar recipe
Heat oil in Prestige pressure cooker. Splutter mustard seeds, methi seeds, curry leaves, red chilli and hing.
Lower the flame completely. Add turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder and sambar powder. Mix quickly.
Add chopped onion, chopped carrot, beans and mix quickly. Add washed toor dal. Add required water, jaggery and salt. Lastly add one whole tomato.
Cover the lid and pressure cook in low flame for 2 whistles. Open the cooker after the steam is released.
Mash the dal well. Boil for a minute if sambar is watery. Garnish with coriander leaves and add a tsp of ghee.
Serve with Idli, dosa and pongal.
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Splutter mustard seeds, methi seeds, curry leaves, red chilli and hing.
Lower the flame completely and add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and sambar powder. Mix quickly.
Add chopped onion, vegetables and saute quickly. Add washed toor dal, salt, jaggery and required water. Lastly add one whole tomato. Do not cut the tomato because it will prevent the dal turning mushy.
Pressure cook in low flame for one to two whistles. Open the lid after the steam is released. Mash the dal first and then the tomato. Mix everything together.
Boil for few minutes if the sambar is watery. If its too thick, add little water to adjust the consistency. Lastly garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and a tsp of ghee. Serve with hot idli, dosa and pongal. Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of spices as per your taste.
You can use moong dal instead of toor dal.
You can dilute 1 tsp of besan flour in 1/4 cup water and add to pressure cooker along with dal.
Make sure you don’t burn the masala powders. It will spoil the taste of sambar. So keep the flame low or switch off the flame after tempering and then add the spice powders.
Try this easy, healthy one pot idli sambar. You will love it.
My daughter Raksha is an ardent fan of Karnataka hotel style idli sambar. She loves the sweet and spicy taste of this sambar which is very unique across South Indian sambar recipes. Whenever I visit Jayanagar or old Bangalore, a parcel of Mysore masala dosa with chutney and sambar ( I request the parcel section to pack some extra sambar for me 😀) is a must for Raksha. Usually I buy from Krishna bhavan, Ganesh Bhavan, SLV and Upahara Darshini. Raksha always tells me to make this at home to pair with idli rava idli.
I have tried so many versions of Bangalore hotel idli sambar at home. But nothing came up to my expectation. Recently I tried a Karnataka hotel style idli sambar recipe from Rekha aduge and Anvika Youtube channel. I prepared a idli sambar powder as suggested and tried this sambar. It was so close to the restaurant ones. Raksha gave a big thumbs up and told me to follow this recipe every time.
Before posting the hotel style idli sambar recipe, I wanted to share this sambar powder recipe which plays a vital role in sambar preparation. Its definitely different from our usual sambar powder in certain ingredients. Cinnamon and dry coconut are the secret ingredients here. You can always use fresh coconut and roast it instead of dried coconut / kobbari but do not skip cinnamon. I also used a clove/ lavang to give more flavor which is optional in the original recipe.
Friends, do try this Karnataka idli sambar powder. I feel making this sambar powder is the only time consuming work in sambar preparation. If you make it once, you can store this powder and prepare sambar for 2 to 3 times. Lets see how to make Karnataka style idli sambar powder recipe with step by step pictures.
Roast everything together in low to medium flame for few minutes till you get nice roasted smell. Do not burn any.
Switch off the flame and let it cool down completely. Grind them to a smooth powder and store in an air tight box. It stays good for 2 weeks. You can make sambar twice or thrice with this quantity.
Note
You can use more chilli based on the taste. Use up to 15.
Use byadgi chilli or Kashmiri chilli for bright color.
Cloves is optional.
Easy, Karnataka hotel style idli sambar powder is ready !
Basically I like kurma based side dish recipes for idli, dosa, idiyappam and appam. In Tamilnadu people make varieties of kurma type kulambu for idli, dosa and even for rice. Today I have shared an easiest version of plain kurma recipe which is popularly known as dosai kurma. But I personally love it with idli more than dosa. You can also call this as easy tomato kurma as the major ingredients used in this recipe are tomato, onion and coconut. It tastes good with idli, dosa and idiyappam. Its a very simple recipe. Just grind all the ingredients, saute and boil to make kurma.
Even though we call it as kurma, it should be watery in consistency just like idli sambar. You would have tasted this type of kurma in Kai endhi bavan / street side / road side small hotels. Myself and Raksha love to have it by pouring this kurma kuzhambu over hot idli and enjoy drizzling with gingelly oil. Friends, do try this easy and yummy plain kurma for idli dosa and share your feedback with me.
P.S. : Sorry I am not regular in posting new contents in my blog as my daughter is using my laptop for her online school. So many posts are lying in drafts and pictures, videos are yet to be edited. So I will try to post them whenever I get the laptop in hand. Thanks for your understanding and support !
Plain Kurma For Idli Dosa / Dosa Kurma
Plain Kurma For Idli Dosa with tomato, onion and coconut.
Heat 1 tbsp oil. Saute fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, onion, gg paste, tomato, red chilli powder. Grind to a smooth paste adding coconut and roasted gram dal.
Heat oil in a kadai. Saute one bay leaf and black stone flower.
Saute onion, curry leaves till transparent and add the ground masala paste.
Saute till it becomes thick and raw smell leaves it.
Add 1 cup of water and boil till kurma leaves nice smell.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and switch off the flame.
Serve hot with idli, dosa.
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
To make masala paste, heat 1 tbsp oil. Saute cinnamon, clove, fennel seeds, chopped onion, ginger garlic paste, tomato pieces, red chilli powder till tomato becomes mushy. Take a mixie jar. Add grated or sliced coconut pieces , roasted gram dal and grind to a smooth paste adding required water.
Heat oil in a kadai or a pressure cooker base. Saute bay leaf, black stone flower. Add chopped onion and curry leaves ( I dint add curry leaves as it was out of stock). Saute till onion become transparent.
Add the ground masala paste and required salt. Saute till the paste becomes thick and raw smell vanish.
Now wash the mixie jar with 1 cup water and add to the kurma. Let it roll boil till the kurma leaves nice smell and it starts to leave oil on sides and top. (If making in pressure cooker, pressure cook in low flame for one whistle. It cooks well and oil floats on top while you open the cooker after the steam subsides).
Lastly garnish with coriander leaves, give one boil and switch off the flame. Serve hot plain kurma with soft idli, idiyappam and dosa ! Enjoy !!
Note
I have made this kurma in a non-stick kadai. You can do the entire process in a pressure cooker and cook in high flame for 2 to 3 whistles. It also helps to release oil quickly. Kurma looks yum with oil floating on top.
You can also add few chopped mint leaves along with coriander leaves to garnish.
Adjust the quantity of chilli powder based on the tanginess of tomato or as per your taste .
Try this easy, yummy plain kurma recipe for idli dosa and enjoy !
Recently I came across this Instant sambar recipe for idli, dosa without dal, vegetables and coconut in Papa’s kitchen YouTube video. We can call this as Dhidir sambar or pottukadalai sambar in Tamil. Its a very easy and simple sambar recipe with pottukadalai (Fried gram dal in English) , fennel seeds, onion and tomato as major ingredients. Fried gram dal and fennel seeds(soambu in Tamil) adds a nice flavor, thickness and kurma kind of taste to this tiffin sambar.
I have already shared an idli sambar recipe almost in the same combination without using toor dal, moong dal and vegetables. But this plain sambar is even more easy to make within 10 minutes. It came out really well and tasted great with hot idli and dosa but not for rice. Everybody loved it especially Sendhil appreciated me and had one more idli too. Even Raksha who is a big fan of toor dal and moong dal idli sambar had this sambar sans dal without any complaints. What else I need to post this recipe in my blog. So here you go Instant sambar without dal, vegetables for idli, dosa. You too give a try and share your feedback with me. Check out my post on instant sambar without dal for rice.
Grind pottukadalai + fennel seeds to a fine powder.
Add water and mix without lumps. Set aside.
Heat oil in a kadai. Temper mustard, urad dal, chana dal, red chilli, curry leaves, hing.
Saute onion, green chilli till transparent. Saute tomato till mushy. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well.
Add pottukadalai water and 1 cup more water. Mix well and boil for sometime.
Once it reaches the desired consistency, switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with idli, dosa drizzled with gingely oil/Nalla ennai.
INSTANT SAMBAR WITHOUT DAL - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Wash and chop onion, tomato and green chilli. Grind pottukadalai + soambu(fennel seeds) to a smooth powder. Grind continuously for long time by wiping the sides. It helps to grind a smooth powder without grits else fennel seeds won’t grind properly. Add 1/2 cup water to this powder and mix well without lumps. You can grind again if you like. Keep this water aside.
Heat oil in a kadai. Temper mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal and red chilli. Add chopped onion, curry leaves, green chilli and saute till transparent. Add tomato and saute till mushy.
Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and required salt. Mix well for a minute. Add pottukadalai water without lumps. Add 1 cup more water based on the consistency of sambar.
Mix well and boil for few minutes till you get nice aroma. Switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with idli and dosa by drizzling with Gingely oil / Nalla ennai or ghee. Enjoy with idli, dosa ! This sambar thickens when it cools down. So add more water, adjust salt, spice powders and reheat if you want thin sambar.
Note
Consistency of this sambar depends on your taste. Some people like thin sambar. So you can adjust the quantity of water accordingly.
Fennel seeds gives a nice flavor to this sambar. So do not reduce the quantity.
If you like, you can add potato and carrot.
Tamarind is not required. Ripe tomato would do.
For variations, you can use sambar powder instead of red chilli powder.
Garnish with coriander leaves for nice flavor. Do not avoid it.
Try this easy, yummy, instant sambar for idli,dosa and enjoy !
Green tomato sambar for idli – We call it as Thakkali kai gotsu in Tamil. I started buying green tomato ( Raw tomato / thakkali kai / Pacha thakkali in Malayalam ) recently as I wanted to learn some yummy South Indian recipes with it. I have heard people make green tomato kootu, curry, thogayal for rice and chutney for idli, dosa. My MIL suggested to try this easy thakkali kai gotsu as the first step. Usually we make Thanjavur style tomato onion gosthu for idli but my MIL told her mom make gotsu only using raw tomato. But my MIL started making with ripe tomatoes. So I too followed the same.
When she suggested this, I was very happy and tried it because thakkali gotsu is our family favorite side dish for idli. So this recipe would never fail. Its a very easy, one pot sambar recipe for idli / dosa. Even though moong dal is added, we make it watery in consistency so that it tastes juicy with idli.Both adults & kids would love this recipe. This thakkali kai gotsu is completely different from Chidambaram gosthu. You must try it know the difference . Ok, lets see how to make green tomato sambar / Thakkali kai gotsu for idli with step by step pictures !
Do check out my ripe tomato onion gotsu, Chidambaram brinjal gosthu recipes.
Green chilli - 3 nos (Use 5 for more spicy sambar)
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
Idli batter - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves - to garnish
Cooking oil or Sesame oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - Few(Finely chopped)
Salt - as needed
Water - as needed (I used 2 to 2.5 cups)
How to make the recipe
Wash and chop tomato into small pieces.
Heat oil in a cooker base.
Temper mustard,urad dal,curry leaves.Saute the onion,green chilli adding salt.
When onion becomes transparent, add tomato and saute till mushy.
Add turmeric powder, moong dal and water.
Pressure cook in low flame for 2 whistles.Remove & add idli batter. Boil for 2 minutes.
Garnish & serve with Idli.
Green tomato sambar / Thakkali Kai Gotsu - Step by step photos
Wash and chop tomato into small pieces.Finely chop onion and slit green chillies, curry leaves and set aside.
Heat oil in a cooker base.Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds and curry leaves. Saute finely chopped onion, slit chilli.Saute till onion becomes transparent.
Add tomato pieces, saute till mushy.Add turmeric powder, tamarind extract and 2 cups of water. Add moong dal and Pressure cook in low flame for 2 whistles.
Remove after the steam is released. Add more water if the sambar is thick. Add idli batter, boil the gravy for 2 minutes and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with idli drizzled with sesame oil.
Notes
Adjust the quantity of chilli as per taste.
Do not skip tamarind extract. It helps to balance the taste.
No need to use jaggery.
As we are cooking directly in a pressure cooker, moong dal cooks perfectly.
If the sambar is too thick, add more water and boil.
Hot idli topped with gotsu, drizzled with a tsp of sesame oil is divine ! Do try this combo !
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.