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Tiffin sambar recipe, moong dal tiffin sambar

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Tiffin-sambar-recipe

Learn how to make moong dal tiffin sambar, perfect to go with tiffin items like idli, dosa, pongal, upma etc. Step by step pictures post. I make this very often and now hooked to this recipe,as my kid always wants sambar for idli/dosa.. I like it best with pongal. The mild taste makes the sambar perfect for dunking the tiffin items in it and have generously.  Check out my other tiffin sambar with toor dal, fresh ground spices.

Tiffin sambar with moong dal recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Indian  |  Recipe Category: Side dish
Prep Time: 15 mins     |  Cook time: 25 mins     |  Serves: 4

Ingredients

Moong dal/paasi paruppu – 1/3 cup

Onion,chopped – 1/2 cup

Tomato – 1 

Green chillies – 2 

Brinjal,small – 2 

potato – 1 

carrot,small – 1 .

Tamarind extract – 1 tblsp

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida – 1/8 tsp

Jaggery – 1/4 tsp

Coriander leaves,chopped – 2 tblsp

Curry leaves – few

Salt and water – as needed

Sambar powder: Roast in 1/2 tsp oil and powder coarsely

Channa dal/kadalai paruppu – 1 &1/2 tblsp

Coriander seeds – 1 & 1/2 tsp

Dry red chilli –  4 

Fenugreek seeds – 1/2 tsp

sambar-powder-fresh-ground

To Temper

Oil/Ghee – 2-3 tsp

Mustard – 3/4 tsp

Jeera – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Asafoetida – 1/4 tsp

hotel-style-sambar

Method:

  1. Pressure cook dal for 3 whistles,mash and keep aside.Chop onion,vegetables,,tomatoes,slit green chillies.
  2. Heat kadai/pan with oil/ghee and temper with the items given under ‘To temper’ table in order.
  3. Add onion and fry till transparent. Add the vegetables and tomato together and fry in medium flame for 2 minutes.Add little salt while frying for easy cooking of the vegetables.

    4. fry

  4. Add required water and the tamarind and boil till the vegetables get cooked.Add the curry leaves,coriander leaves,salt, asafoetida and jaggery. Lastly add the sambar powder and bring to boil.

    5. boil,add sambar powder

  5. Add the cooked dal and mix well.Adjust water as needed to get a sambar consistency. Bring to boil and garnish with coriander leaves.

    6. add dhal, boil

Notes:

  • The sambar is very mild,so perfect for kids,my son loves this!
  • Add tamarind less as mentioned,that’s the speciality of this sambar..

mini-idli-sambar-tiffin

Serve with idli/dosa or pongal or you can have it with mini idlies as I did that day for dinner 🙂 ! Top with sesame oil or ghee if desired..

Reader Interactions

Comments

  5. Loved that bucket dear…very cute..:)
    I do my tiffin sambar with a combination of moong and toor dal and I make sure that I add few selective vegetables get the flavor what we get in hotels…I just loved the color of sambar….loooks very tempting…

    Reply

  19. I love Mooooooooooooong sambar so so much and this is the way exactly i too do and it tastes like hotel sambar. And the spice mixture which i make is also same of that 4 ingredients. Never tried with pongal..I used to make for idli and DOsa..next time i will try making this for pongal too.

    Reply

  42. எனக்கும் மிகவும் பிடித்த சாம்பார்…கத்திரிக்காய் சேர்த்து செய்து இருக்கின்றேன்…ஆனால் இதில் கேரட் எல்லாம் சேர்த்து செய்தது கிடையாது…பார்க்கும் பொழுதே பொங்கலுடன் சாப்பிட தோனுது…படங்கள் அழகு..

    Reply

  48. Hi Rajeswari, that's one mouthwatering display of dishes. Loved the first pic and the one with the mini idlis soaked in sambar.

    This is my first time in your space. I just glimpsed through a couple of recipes and I loved it. Very appealing pics too. Gonna follow you 🙂

    Reply

  67. Nice idea of making the tiffin sambar with pasu paruppu and my DH luvs it so much… U r clicking the food in best angels…Ur photography skills r more much interesting day by day,Teach me some 🙂

    Reply

  70. Loved this recipe. My husband is a south Indian and he said it was superb. We had it with idli's for lunch. Better than my m-in-laws sambar. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

    Reply

  72. Hi Raks,
    First, so glad I found your site for south indian recipes. LOVE the step by step pictures.
    Noticed the sambhar powder ingredients in this recipe are with less ingredients (toor dal, pepper corns, jeera and turmeric powder are missing) than in your sambhar powder recipe on the side. Is that on purpose? Does this tiffin sambhar not need those other ingredients? Want to make some so wanted to find out before making.
    Also, do you have a recipe for the red tomato chutney served in Tamilnadu with Dosa/Idli?
    Thank You

    Reply

  76. Hi, I made this sambar today with dosa and it was absolutely delicious. I recently came across your blog and tried some of your recipes, and none of them have gone wrong..Great job there! Keep it coming!!

    Reply

  77. I made this sambar today. It was exceptional!!! Thank you so much for this recipe. The only mild modifications I made were the choice of vegetables (Skipped Eggplant) and I mixed Moong and Toor dal for the base. I loved the recipe and the others as well. Lovely step by step and final pictures too. Please keep them coming 🙂

    Reply

  80. Hi Raks,

    Was googling for Tiffin Sambar and i just loved this one. So tempting. Just a doubt not about the sambar but about the cone dosa. Can you share some tips about it? And is the glass bowl kept on stove.

    Reply

  82. Hi, make thin dosa as you make regularly and once cooked, using a knife or kitchen scissor, cur halfway through the dosa like drawing a radius of a circle. Then Roll with the cut end to make cone dosa. I will soon update a video or pictorial for it. Thanks for asking.

    Yes its glass corning ware. Its called VISIONS.

    Reply

  85. Instead of potato, pieces of 1 cup bottle gourd (lauki)can be added.Fry some 8-10 Whole green chilli – slit in little oil till it changes with white spots and add after STEP – 4 and bring it to boil.Instead of chopped onion long and thin onion pieces can be use. A spoon of sugar crystal too can be added. Whole this your recipe with above changes makes this SAMBHAR a famous kitty party recipe of my society. And it is always discussed in every Kitty party known as my Mammy's SAMBHAR.

    Reply

  86. I have to tell you that your webpage has become my "one stop shop" for all my cooking..all the reccipes are mouthwatering and their pictures are too good too..keep blogging..

    Reply

  87. Hi raks,
    I found you couple of weeks back and I am hooked. All your recipes look simple and delicious. I tried couple of your recipes and bothe came out well. Veg momos and veg fried rice. Thank you. Keep blogging new recipes.
    Reg this sambar, I have a ques: you have mentioned jaggery in the ingredients list, but did you add it while cooking? Should we add or not?

    Will stay tuned to your posts.

    Thanks
    Lavanya

    Reply

  89. I tried the recipe yesterday.. And the taste was wonderfull. Thanks for the recipe.
    Please change "To season" to "To temper".. I got confused when I read it first.

    You are maintaining the site very well with detailed picture. The effort must be appreciated.. Once again a big THANKS..

    Nimmy Satheesh..

    Reply

  98. Hi, thanks for the recipe. How many people does this recipe serve? I will be cooking for approx 20 people, and will proportion accordingly.

    Reply

  103. Thank you, Raks, for such a simple and delicious recipe. My husband, who is hard to please, just loves this sambar and is the ONLY thing he will eat with idlis 🙂 This has become a staple in our household. Thanks again and I love your blog.

    Reply

  104. This is absolutely yummy…. Made this a few days back and it was such a hit in my house…. I must compliment you on how precise your measurements are… Keep them coming!!

    Reply

  105. Best sambar I have tasted in a long long time… I actually love the moong dal version more than the toor dal one…. Thanks for the brilliant and precise recipes… Keep up the good work!!
    Best wishes from Vancouver, Canada

    Reply

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