Tiffin Sambar for Idli/ Dosa is always a great treat to our taste buds, especially if it has the taste of restaurants. We always love the sambar served with mini idli in restaurants. It is a best complement for any South Indian Breakfast like Idli / Dosa / Upma / Uthappam etc. Tiffin Sambar is very simple to make and it is healthy too as we are going to add lots of veggies.
Pressure cook dal with 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder for 3 whistles or until soft. Mash it well and keep it aside. Dal* – You can use 1/2 cup tur dal or 1/2 cup moong dal or a mix of both dals (1/4 cup tur dal + 1/4 cup moong dal) as I have done.
Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup of hot water for 15-20 minutes. Extract its juice and keep it aside.
Finely chop 1 onion and 1 tomato finely and keep it aside.
Heat 1/2 tsp of oil and saute coriander seeds, bengal gram, pepper, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and red chillies.
When dal turns golden brown, add the grated coconut and switch off the heat. Saute the coconut in the heat of the pan. Leave it to cool.
Heat another tsp of oil and saute 1 onion (chopped) until transparent. Then add 1 chopped tomato and saute until tomatoes turn mushy. Leave it to cool.
Now grind the coconut mixture and the onion tomato mixture together to a fine paste. This is the masala paste for this hotel sambar.
Chopped onion and tomatoes, cooked dal, masala paste, tamarind extract are all kept ready below. Now we will proceed to make the hotel style sambar.
Heat 2 tsp of oil, add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add hing and curry leaves. Add onions and saute until it turns transparent.
Add chopped tomatoes and saute until tomatoes become soft.
Add the masala paste, 2-3 tbsp of water and saute until it thickens and oil separates.
Then add tamarind extract, salt needed and cook until the raw flavor of the tamarind goes.
Then add the cooked dal, needed water, mix well and boil it. The consistency of the sambar should be a little watery, so add water accordingly.
When it starts to boil, simmer and cook for a few minutes, stirring in between.
Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with idli, dosa or ven pongal.