Make Idli Sambar with an Authentic South Indian Recipe

Make Idli Sambar with an Authentic South Indian Recipe

There are many kinds of breakfast meals in India. Some people prefer Chila, which is a spicy porridge made from rice and tempered with heavy spices. Other people like Appams, which are easily made rice flakes cooked in ghee. Some people love Sevaiyan Kuzhambu, a vegetable-rich curry that uses up all the old vegetables in the house. This is where Idli Sambar recipe comes in.

It is a vegetable-rich, mildly spiced curry-like dish. Idli Sambar is a traditional South Indian breakfast meal that is easy to make and enjoy in morning. It is a traditional South Indian breakfast meal that is simple to make and hearty enough to fill your belly.

So, let us make this superb and yummy Idli Sambar recipe together. Before that, let’s look at what precisely this Idli Sambar is? A little surprise waits for you at the end as I will share some secret tips to make this yummy Idli Sambar much tastier.

What is Idli Sambar exactly?

An Indian breakfast with soft fluffy steamed pistachio chips, or soft Idli cakes, is served with a vegetable lentil soup or Sambar. The soft Idli is steamed for a long time to become light and fluffy, absorbing the flavors of the Sambar.

The Idli sauce is served in is a spicy, creamy, and tangy base with several lentils and ingredients cooked together in a skillet.

It’s the perfect late-morning meal with a side of Sambar or a great stand-in for a dish from a different cuisine. In simple words, you can say that Sambar is a type of lentil soup with various spices and vegetables, and Idli has a steamed white flour (Rava) spongy cake inside.

What preparation do you need to make Idli Sambar?

Are you ready to make Idli Sambar recipe? If yes, then let me tell you we need to break our preparations in two steps. First is making the Idli and then Sambar simultaneously. For making both things, we need to do different practices.

Idli needs an additional procedure to get ready, and Sambar has its own unique. When both are ready, they are combined and are ready to get served. So, let us get started.

Preparations for Idli

1. Firstly to make Idli, you have to prepare the batter. For that, you have to take one cup of Sooji/Rava.
2. Then, you have to add an unflavored ½ cup of curd and ½ teaspoon of salt. Add ¾ cup of water and mix it well.
3. Keep it aside and cover the lid for at least 15-30 minutes so that the Sooji/Rava can ferment.

Preparations for Sambar

1. Take a bowl and soak 1 cup of Toor daal for at least half an hour.
2. After half an hour, wash it 2-3 times with water. Then put the daal in the cooker along with 2 cups of water. Also, you have to put 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder. Mix them full moisture, close the pressure cooker’s lid, and boil it for 5-6 whistles on a medium flame.
3. After the daal has been boiled, please turn off the flame and keep it aside for cooling. Remember; do not open the lid until the pressure cooker has cooled down itself.
4. Cut the vegetables that you want to put into your Sambar. Please note that you can, as per your taste and choice, add vegetables in the Sambar.
5. Prepare tamarind juice.
6. And the last, keep your spices and other ingredients prescribed below ready with you.
7. Till then, you can prepare Sambar Masala.
8. Take a pan and put the following ingredients in the pan:
   • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
   • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
   • Take 2-3 dry red chillis.
   • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
   • 1 tablespoon Urad daal and Chana daal
   • 10-12 black peppers
   • ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
   • 2 tablespoon coconut
   • A few curry leaves
9. Roast it for at least 2-3 minutes on a low flame.
10. When the color of daal changes or the aroma of the moisture starts coming out, turn off the flame and let them cool down a bit.
11. After this, this mixture has to be grinded. But before grinding, you have to put ½ teaspoon of asafoetida and turmeric powder. Grind it and make its powder. That’s it. Congratulations, you have made Sambar Masala so easily.

 

Read More: Step by Step Vegetable Biryani recipe

 

Idli Sambar Recipe

Ingredients

Idli is a Rava/Suji cake that takes its origin from the Indian sub-continent. It is traditionally cook from rice. But one of the best variations that come in Idli is Rava Idli, which is much easier and healthier than rice Idli. So, in this recipe, we will look at Rava Idli, keeping your health benefits in mind.

Here are the ingredients needed for the Rava Idli.

• 1 cup Sooji/Rava
• ½ cup curd
• 1 teaspoon Eno fruit salt
• 1 teaspoon salt

Let us now move ahead with the ingredients of Sambar.

Sambar is a tasty dish whose recipe can be customized according to the person’s taste. The best thing about Sambar is that it doesn’t demand rigidness in its cooking. Also, the exciting thing is that now you don’t need ready-made Sambar Masala, as you can readily make it at your home.

So, here is all you need to know about the ingredients you will require while preparing Sambar.

• 1 cup of Toor/Arhar daal
• Vegetables: Tomato, Bottle gourd, Pumpkin, Onion, Carrot, Drumstick etc.
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• 2-3 Dry red chilly
• ¼ teaspoon asafoetida
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon red chili powder
• Salt to taste
• Cooking oil

For Sambar Masala, you will need:

• Cumin seeds
• Mustard seeds
• Coriander seeds
• Urad daal
• Chana daal
• Dry coconut
• Turmeric powder
• Fenugreek seeds
• Asafoetida
• Black pepper

 

Follow these Instructions to make Idli Sambar

Now let us make Idli Sambar. First of all, I will give you a few instructions to create Idli and then Sambar.

For Idli, you have to follow the instructions given below:

1. Till your batter is resting, now you will heat the water in an Idli maker for steaming. You may also add a lemon slice to the water. This helps in preventing the pot from turning black. Cover the lid and keep it for steaming.
2. Take the Idli tray and grease it with oil. Spread oil with either brush or your fingers.
3. After your batter is fermented, mix it properly. Now add Eno to it and mix it again.
4. Then you have to add the batter in Idli molds. Also, fill it only in half quantity, since Idli becomes double the amount of batter.
5. When the water starts boiling and adds Idli trays to the Idli steamer, covers the lid and steams it for a minimum of 15 minutes on medium flame.
6. After 15-20 minutes, turn off the gas flame and let it cool down a little bit. Your Idli is ready to serve.

 

 

Now let us make Sambar and then combine both dishes to make tasty Idli Sambar.

After you are finished with all the preparation steps for Sambar, it is time to make Sambar. Let us see how you can make it.

For Sambar, you have to follow the instructions given below:

1. Take a pan and heat 3 tablespoons of oil in the pan. After the oil has been heated, put ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds.
2. Add 2-3 dry red chillies and ¼ teaspoon of asafoetida. Mix it and let it heat for a few minutes.
3. After that, add curry leaves and add vegetables. First of all, add onions and fry them for 2-3 minutes. Then add other vegetables except for tomato and fry the vegetables. Then you have to add tomatoes. Cook the whole mixture until it turns soft.
4. Add tamarind juice and ½ cup water. Mix it and leave it for 5 minutes for cooking on low flame.
5. After it has been cooked, then you have to add turmeric powder and chilli powder. Please keep it on low flame and let it be cooked.
6. Finally, you have to add 2 tablespoons of sambar masala made and mix it.
7. Remember, in the preparation step; you had boiled the daal. Take that cooked daal and pour it into the mixture prepared.
8. You can add a bit of water if the sambar prepared is tight.
9. Leave it for 15-20 minutes for cooking on a low flame. Cover your pan.
10. Add coriander leaves and mix them. Leave it for 5 minutes.
11. Turn off the flame, and you are ready with your Sambar.

 

Now you have prepared Idli and Sambar both. So, it is time to combine them. Put the Idlis prepared in the Sambar and serve them. Yup! You just made Idli Sambar. Who would have thought it, eh?

Now here is the time for your special surprise. These are some pro-tips to make your Idli Sambar more delicious.

Read More : A Beginner’s Guide to South Indian Cooking

 

Pro Tips to make Idli Sambar more Delicious

Here are some of the pro tips to make your Idli Sambar more delicious and yummy.

• Add a small amount of Jaggery to your Sambar. This will give an effect of more spiciness in your dish.
• You can add curry leaves and coriander leaves to your servings. Though we said it in our dish, a few people don’t prefer adding them because they believe they do nothing. But I suppose you might be wrong; add them and see the magic.
• You can also add ghee while frying onions. This gives a better taste.
• Serve Idli Sambar with chutney.

So, these were all the pro tips that I could offer you on making Idli Sambar. Make it and taste this yummy delicious recipe of Idli Sambar.