Skip to main content

Easy Tiffin Sambar - Quick Hotel Style Tiffin Sambar for Idli, Dosa and Ven Pongal

Easy tiffin sambar with full video and step by step pictures. This tiffin sambar is a simple, easy, quick and delicious sambar for idli, dosa and ven pongal. You can easily prepare this tiffin sambar for festivals and other family occasions because it's easy and quick without any complicated steps. 


This tiffin sambar includes moong dal, carrots, potato, brinjal, onions, tomato and green chilly. You can also include vegetables like capsicum, yellow pumpkin for this sambar.  I prefer to use moong dal for this sambar. When compared to moong dal, toor dal requires more time to cook so I omitted it. Instead of moong dal you can also use masoor dal .  To keep this recipe simple, I used sambar powder and there is no need for any dry  roasting and grinding works. A handful of fresh coconut is ground along with cooked tomato and sambar powder which gives a nice colour for the sambar. If you plan to prepare sambar in advance make the sambar in thin consistency because moong dal sambar thickens if you set it aside for an hour. A thinner consistency sambar tastes good with idli. While making the sambar, make sure the dal and vegetables are cooked well. Also, do not cook the vegetables and dals for more than 6 whistles because vegetables lose their colour and texture if they cooked longer time. Let's see how to prepare this easy tiffin sambar with step by step pictures and detailed video recipe. 

Check out my other side dishes for idli and dosa

Here is the video link for Easy Tiffin Sambar



Easy Tiffin Sambar Recipe Details

Prep time : 15 minutes
Cook time : 15 minutes
Serves : 4
Category : side dish
Author : Muthulakshmi Madhavakrishnan

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup moong dal
  • 1 small carrot, sliced 
  • 1 potato, cubed
  • 2 brinjal, cubed
  • 1 onion, diced 
  • 2 green chilly
  •  2 tomato
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
  • 2 tbsp grated coconut
  • 1 tbsp sambar powder
  • 1 small lemon sized tamarind
  • 4 red chillies
  • 1 tsp mustard and urid dal
  • few curry leaves
  • few coriander leaves
  • salt to taste
  • 2 tbsp oil

Cooking Directions

Add 1/4 cup moong dal to a pressure cooker and rinse it well for 2 times. Add carrot, brinjal, potato, onions green chillies and tomato. Then pour 1 cup water and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder. Add 2 tsp gingely to avoid foaming. Pressure cook for 4 whistles until soft.



Soak tamarind in warm water and extract juice with 1 cup water. Allow the pressure to settle naturally and open the pressure cooker. 


Gently take the tomato and remove the skin. Allow the tomato to cool down. Add the cooked tomato, grated coconut and sambar powder in a small chutney jar and grind it smoothly.



Mash the dals and vegetables gently with a ladle to get a smooth texture. 


Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard, urid dal and broken red chillies. Allow them to crackle and add the tamarind extract. Add required salt and allow it to boil.



When the tamarind boils for a few minutes, add the mashed dal vegetable mixture to the kadai. Pour 1 to 1.5 cups water and mix well. Adjust the quantity of water as required because moong dal requires more water when compared to toor dal and massor dal. 

Add the ground tomato coconut paste and mix well with the dal. 


Now taste and adjust salt, tamarind and spiciness as needed. Add another half tsp asafoetida powder. You can also add a small piece jaggery.  Reduce the heat to medium and allow the sambar to boil for 7 minutes.


When the sambar bubbles well, add chopped coriander leaves and turn off the heat.


Easy tiffin sambar is ready to serve. Please subscribe to my channel Virundhombal  and share your comments. 
Labels:

Comments

  1. Unknown3 December 2021 at 18:20

    Wow the saambar was very tasty . Very easy to cook also.
    Vedanth

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mushroom Gravy With Curd - Mushroom Curd Masala

Mushroom Gravy with Curd recipe with full video and step by step pictures. This mushroom gravy preparation is little different from other gravies. As the name suggests this gravy is prepared using thick curd and the ground masala paste is made with onions, green chillies, garlic, ginger, poppy seeds, pepper and whole garam masala. The addition of whole garam masala cinnamon, cloves, fennel and cardamom makes the gravy aromatic. This gravy is a good variation from our usual kurma and masala. For this gravy there is no need for tomatoes, cashew nuts and red chilly powder.  This is a quick and easy gravy recipe with a few ingredients.  Spices - you will need bay leaf, cumin, kasuri methi leaves and coriander leaves. For the masala paste onions, ginger, garlic, green chilly, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, cardamom and poppy seeds. Poppy seeds are added to give thickness for the gravy.  In the final stage, half teaspoon garam masala powder is sprinkled for flavour but you omit it. 
Post a Comment
Read more

Seppankizhangu Poriyal - Taro Root (Arbi) Fry

Seppankizhangu Poriyal  - this poriyal is prepared with taro root, chilly powder, small onions cumin garlic paste and perfectly roasted in an iron kadai. The best cooking method for this taro root poriyal is to cook the taro roots in an open vessel for 10 minutes on medium heat with a good amount of water. No one likes a mushy taro root, so just keep an eye on it and check them for doneness by inserting a knife. If you cook taro roots in a pressure cooker, it will be too soft and turns mushy. For these types of roast dishes, low heat and long cooking times are important for its texture. The small onions cumin garlic paste, adds flavour to the taro roots. Roasting the taro roots in an iron kadai creates an excellent flavour and texture.   Similar recipes Vazhaikkai Thuvattal -  Raw Banana (Plantain) Stir Fry   Mithi Paavakai Poriyal - Baby Bitter Gourd Stir Fry  Vazhaikkai Poriyal - Raw Banana (Plantain) Poriyal  Brinjal (Egg Plant) Stir Fry -  Kathirikkai Poriyal  Elephant Foot Yam  St
Post a Comment
Read more

Kara Kuzhambu | Kara Kuzhambu with Sundakkai Vathal

Karakuzhambu - spicy and tangy kuzhambu with a combination of different flavours. This hotel style karakuzhambu is one of my husband's favourite kuzhambu served in restaurants for meals. After a few practices, I found the exact flavour and it was a big hit in our home. Tamil Nadu cooking is famous for its varieties of kuzhambu. This Karakuzhambu is one among them. The kara kuzhambu can be  prepared in two ways -  with vegetables like drumstick or brinjal and the other one is prepared with dried vathals like sundakkai vathal etc. Today we are going to see how to prepare hotel style karakuzhambu with dried sundakkai vathal.
Post a Comment
Read more

Mushroom Salna - Side Dish For Parotta, Chapathi and Brinji

Today we are going to see how to make the best salna for parotta and chapathi. This mushroom salna is sure to become one of your favourite side dishes. When it comes to side dish for parotta, I find many people prefer salna with a thin gravy. Salna and parotta are always a perfect combination. This mushroom salna is definitely a great option if you are busy because it takes only 15 minutes to cook. If you want to cook any dishes perfectly you need to practice regularly. Before you try to cook, it is essential to have patience and interest in cooking. We have all experienced small,small mistakes in cooking. Regular practices help to improve our cooking skills. I tried this salna many times, but each and every time I felt something I missed it. For the fans of gravies - kurma and salna are same. Both kurma and salna are flavorful with masalas and spices. Actually, they differ from each other in the consistency. After knowing the difference it helps me to do better. When talking about the
Post a Comment
Read more

Nellai Idi sambar - Tirunelveli Idi Sambar - Sambar Recipes

Idi Sambar recipe with full video and step by step instructions. I learnt this recipe from my Grandma. My Grandma prepares several sambar recipes and each sambar has a unique taste. Each slightly different. All of her sambars are delicious.  This Idi sambar is one of my favourite recipe from her. The aroma in the house was mouth watering when she cooks this sambar. For my Grandma this Idi sambar and aviyal are quick and easy lunch dishes. Give it a try when you want something special but quick and easy. An important first step to note when making this sambar is to bring the frying pan up to the required heat and fry the spices for about 3 minutes or until fragrant. All the ingredients are handy and it is easy to prepare your own sambar powder. I always like sambar with mixed vegetables. The concept of adding different vegetables to make sambar was common in every household. I have used drumsticks, ladies finger, brinjals and mangoes. In addition, you can add potatoes, Indian beans, b
2 comments
Read more

Puli Thanni - Tamarind sauce with onions and red chillies - Tirunelveli Puli Thanni Kuzhambu

Puli Thanni - easy kuzhambu for your lunch with simple ingredients in just 10 minutes. This was my first kuzhambu dish I prepared for my family during my college days for dinner. We all enjoyed this kuzhambu with warm rice, sutta appalam and fried gram chutney. Once you try this easy kuzhambu, you will prepare this twice or thrice in a month.
Post a Comment
Read more

Roadside Mochai Masala - Tirunelveli Style Mochai Recipe

This is the popular street food recipe from Tirunelveli called mochai. A healthy semi dry gravy with mochai prepared in streetside pushcarts across many places in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin.  Until recently I never had a chance to taste this mochai but my husband tasted it many times during their school days. During last month's trip to Tirunelveli, we tasted this mochai masala near Murappanaadu river. It was delicious and my son asked me to prepare this mochai for his snack box. This roadside mochai masala is made with boiled mochai beans (Lima beans), lots of onions, ginger and  green chillies. As mochai beans have a slightly bitter taste, hence you have to use plenty of onions for this masala . You have to use dried mochai for this masala.  To spice up this masala you have to add a good amount of green chillies and ginger which gives a nice flavour and tastes yummy. This mochai masala makes a filling and comforting dish for breakfast or evening snack. I prepared this mochai in a
Post a Comment
Read more

Keerai Chaaru - Arai Keerai Kuzhambu - Arai Keerai in Tamarind Gravy

Keerai Chaaru is a quick and simple kuzhambu with arai keerai and tamarind as the main ingredient. If you are looking out for a kuzhambu recipe without any coconut or dal with simple cooking, then this keerai chaaru is the perfect recipe.  When you have a huge bundle of arai keerai, you can split them for 3 varieties. Because sometimes, it is very difficult to finish a big bowl of keerai poriyal or kootu. Last week my husband bought a big  arai keerai bundle  and I made poriyal, keerai masiyal and keerai chaaru too. My mom frequently, prepare this kuzhambu along with vazhaikkai poriyal, pottukadalai thuvaiyal and sutta appalam. I was planning to post this recipe for a long time but delayed to publish it without recipe video. Finally last week when I decided to make keerai chaaru, I took the video. A few months ago, one of my followers asked me to post this recipe and decided to post the recipe along with the video. This keerai chaaru tastes good with arai keerai. The aroma of the kuzha
Post a Comment
Read more

Tirunelveli Kootanchoru - Mixed vegetables rice with dals and spices

Kootanchoru is a popular lunch dish from Tirunelveli. This is our family favourite rice and it is rich in nutrients as it contains lots of vegetables and dals. We prepare this rice frequently for special events and family get togethers.  In most of Tirunelveli dishes we use small onions, garlic, coconut and generous amount of jeera. In this dish also we have used coconut small onion paste and good amount of fresh vegetables. We add commonly used vegetables such as raw banana, brinjals, drumsticks, carrots, beans and potatoes. I have learned this recipe from my grandma. She taught me with her some useful tips and techniques about how to cook, when to add the ingredients and how to choose the correct vegetables. My son named as Tirunelveli biriyani for this rice.  Now let's see how to prepare this kootanchoru with step by step photos.   Here is a short video for Tirunelveli Kootanchoru
2 comments
Read more

Easy Paneer Gravy - Paneer Masala within 20 minutes - Paneer Recipes

This easy paneer gravy is a mouthwatering side dish made with paneer cooked in a rich gravy prepared with  onions, tomatoes and other spices. It's mild and not very spicy, which tastes so good with chapathi, nann, roti and pulao.  Paneer gravies can be made in a variety of ways. This recipe is the easy version of paneer butter masala. Most of the time we prepare paneer gravy with fresh cream, butter and cashew nuts. To make a tasty paneer masala, you do not need fresh cream. You can easily make restaurant style paneer gravy with easily available ingredients in your kitchen. I always like to add a few cashew nuts while making gravies, which gives a creamy consistency. The addition of dried kasuri methi leaves gives a unique flavour for paneer based gravies. I used homemade garamasala powder for gravies which does not include red chillies or pepper in it. Add garamasala powder to your personal taste preferences.Now let's see how to prepare this easy paneer gravy with step by step
Post a Comment
Read more