Tiffin sambar recipe (Idli sambar with toor dal)

Name: Tiffin sambar recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1/4 cup Toor dal (heaped); 1 Potato; 12 Shallots ((small onion)); 2 Green chilli; 1 Tomato; 1 tsp Tamarind - small marble size; 1/4 tsp Turmeric; 1 tsp Jaggery (powdered ); 1/8 tsp Asafoetida; Curry leaves - Few; 1 & 1/2 tbsp Coriander leaves; 1 tsp Ghee; Salt - As needed; 1 tbsp Chana dal (heaped); 3/4 tbsp Coriander seeds; 4 Red chillies; 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds; 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds; 1/8 tsp Asafoetida; 3/4 tsp Mustard; 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds; 1 sprig Curry leaves; 1 pinch Asafoetida; 2 tsp Oil

January 31, 2013 by Raks Anand 82 Comments / Jump to Recipe

Tiffin sambar recipe, learn how to make south Indian style sambar had along idli, dosa and other tiffin items. Prepared with fresh ground sambar masala and toor dal.

Already I have a Tiffin sambar recipe with moong dal in my blog, posted almost 2 years back. That’s a version. This is another version of the tiffin sambar perfect for idli. Also for dosa, arisi upma and pongal. This is my mom’s trademark recipe she makes for idli or other tiffin items when guests come. Few readers requested for this recipe. This sambar is always made with potato and shallots. It gives the maximum flavour, every ingredient complimenting each other. But you can adapt this and make it with other veggies also. Other vegetables which works best are – plain with lots of shallots (vengaya sambar), yellow pumpkin (parangikkai), drumstick and brinjal.

There are few special things in this sambar – one is the freshly ground sambar powder, secondly a tsp of ghee and lastly a tsp of jaggery. These things make this sambar smell heavenly. The whole house will be filled with a pleasant smell when you make it. That too along with hot steaming idli or dosa this smells really out of this world 🙂. Though its a basic recipe, I wanted to blog this one with tips and tricks.

Memories related to tiffin sambar:

I used to like this sambar very much before marriage when mom makes. If it’s this sambar, then I eat extra few idlis. And I always love to pour the sambar over the idlis like they do in hotels those days. Because we rarely go to restaurants and always fascinated by things they do there. When I was kid, me and my brother are just contrast to each other in eating habits. What I like he hate to eat and what I hate he would love to eat. Sometimes it becomes like a cold war, if he says I don’t want to eat that vegetable, even though I too don’t prefer, to please my mom and to ‘verupethify’ my bro, I will eat it😁. And he too does that some times.

There’s more…

Likewise, the way he eats is always very clean and neat. His plate will be looking very pleasing even while eating and after he finishes. He even makes sure his hands look neat while eating, doesn’t let the food go beyond his fingers and reach his palm (he hates if it is so and will not mind washing his hands even if it happens in between by chance). Too much right😄?. Obviously I am not like that. He even gives me a weird look if I ask my mom to pour the sambar over the idli. Then what I do is to mash the idlis along with sambar and make it look more like rice and eat (kozhachu adikradhu). That’s his break point. He will leave the place or just will turn his back and eat. Fun memories! Ok enough.

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