Hotel sambar recipe – A typical recipe for sambar just as served in Madras hotels for idli. Flavorful with a slight sweet taste this hotel sambar is just perfect for idli!
This hotel sambar recipe I am sharing today is based on revathy Shanmugam’s hotel sambar recipe. I read this in a magazine sometime back and made it. The post was in drafts for a long time and thought of sharing it today. I already have a tiffin sambar recipe on blog and this hotel sambar recipe is a bit different.
As you all know the sambar served in hotels have a slight sweet taste. One chef who did catering in a friend’s house told me that pumpkin is used in hotel sambar so as to decrease the quantity of dal and that gives the slight sweet taste to the sambar.
To make hotel sambar recipe use shallots or sambar onion. These onions give an amazing flavor and taste to the sambar compared to regular onions. This sambar should be slighty thin as opposite to the sambar served with rice so that it can be easily absorbed by idli.
Serve hotel sambar with idli, dosa, pongal or vada.
More Sambar Recipes:
Udupi sambar, tomato sambar, onion sambar, kalyana sambar recipes
How to make hotel sambar recipe
1. First of all pressure cook toor dal and mash thoroughly.
2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a pan and fry coriander seed, methi seeds, channa dal, dried red chili until golden. Cool and powder the same.
3. In the same oil temper with mustard seed, urad dal and curry leaves. Add sambar onions and saute for 3-5 minutes. Next add chopped tomatoes and saute well until the tomatoes turn mushy.
4. Then add sambar powder and mix well. Saute till the raw smell of sambar powder goes off.
5. Now add tamarind extract and mix well. Bring to a boil.
6. Next add the prepared spice powder and mix well. Boil for 5 more minutes.
7. Also add pumpkin pieces and cooked dal. Season with salt. Also add jaggery. Mix well, cover and cook in medium flame for 10 minutes. Finally aarnish with coriander leaves and serve hotel sambar with idli or dosa.
Hotel sambar recipe card below:
Hotel sambar recipe | Madras style hotel sambar recipe
1 CUP = 250 ml
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup too dal
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pumpkin pieces
- 2 teaspoons thick tamarind extract
- 1/2 cup sambar onions
- 2 big tomatoes chopped
- 10-12 curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon urad dal
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- Salt
- 2 teaspoons oil
- To roast and grind
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoon channa dal
- 1/2 teaspoon methi seeds
- 4-6 dried red chilies
Instructions
- Pressure cook toor dal and mash thoroughly.
- Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a pan and fry coriander seed, methi seeds, channa dal, dried red chili until golden. Cool and powder the same.
- In the same oil temper with mustard seed, urad dal and curry leaves. Add sambar onions and saute for 3-5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and saute well until the tomatoes turn mushy.
- Add sambar powder and mix well. Saute till the raw smell of sambar powder goes off.
- Add tamarind extract and mix well. Bring to a boil
- Add the prepared spice powder and mix well. Boil for 5 more minutes.
- Add pumpkin pieces and cooked dal. Season with salt. Mix well, cover and cook in medium flame for 10 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hotel sambar with idli or dosa.
Notes
2. Tamarind is optional
Nutrition
Mona says
Thanks for sharing the receipe, one question – Which sambhar powder do you use?
Harini says
I use homemade one