Hotel Sambar is the name given to the sambar that is served in hotels or restaurants. There is hardly any popular tiffin dish like Idli Sambar or vada sambar that is complete without sambar. With this sambar recipe at your hand, Know how to make hotel sambar perfectly under 30 minutes.
Sambar is a very popular lentil dish from South India. Sambar which is usually made at home is slightly different than the sambar served in Hotels. However much I love homemade food, still I sometimes cannot resist the craving for a hot plate of Idli sambar from the hotel or maybe sambar vada or just plain Hoel sambar just like soup. You can also make Sambar Rice.
That reminds me how do you like my yesterday’s Sambar rice recipe? Having sambar, dosa and chutney from an authentic south Indian restaurant is almost like a comfort food for me. Having said that it is neither feasible nor advisable to eat hotel food every day, so why not bring the hotel at home!
How to make Sambar (Video)
Well! All the ingredients are simple and easily available in your kitchen. The proportions of spices and veggies make the difference. The secret of any good south Indian sambar recipe is sambar masala. I did a few trial and error sessions but finally fine-tuned my recipe of Hotel sambar to taste quite similar to Sarvana Bhawan sambar. Now I am not saying that there is a queue waiting outside my house, but this sambhar came out to be as great as the popular hotels.
I love south Indian cuisine because of their ample use of spices and vegetables. I had talked to you about 5 spices that every south Indian kitchen must stock earlier. It is A pinch of one spice can either make your dish ‘wow!’ or ‘what?’.
There are some unique local spices which make all the difference in a dish. Sambar is essentially dal, made with lots of vegetables and a blend of spices generally found in the southern part of India. For the ones who don't know, the word sambhar covers a lot of recipes which are cooked with the combination of dal-vegetables-spices.
There are different recipes for each, breakfast sambar, lunch sambar, tiffin sambar etc and special occasions. A spice mix paste is prepared which is added in the sambhar that is prepared at Hotels or for special occasions. That is the key to make that aromatic hotel style sambar. The base for all toor dal or archer dal, also known as pigeon peas.
Most of the times I have cooked toor dal in the fridge. It is quite helpful if you are into meal prep like me. Cook a double batch of dal and you can make Punjabi Yellow dal fry or Gujarati Khatti dal and then there is always Rasam or sambar recipe.
South Indian cuisine is truly one of my favourites because it is really healthy and lite. I love making a variety of idlis like chana dal idli, Kanchipuram idli, fried podi idli, ghee fried idli and ragi idli for breakfast, most of these are incomplete without sambar. Can you ever imagine eating vada or Idli without sambar 😀 And, Did I tell you I am one of those people who eat Coconut rice with Sambar 😛
So next time, whenever you are in the mood for a plate of Idli sambar make this hotel sambar recipe.
Recipe Notes - Hotel Sambar Recipe
- You can add many more vegetables like bhindi( okra), baingan (eggplant), mooli (radish) or any other beans.
- The bright colour of a hotel sambar is because of the Kashmiri red chilli powder used in it so do not replace it with normal red chilli powder.
- If you have cooked dal ready in the fridge, all it takes is less than 20minutes.
- It is a good idea to make the sambar powder for 4-5 times and store it in an airtight jar in a dry place.
- You can freeze the sambar, but it will turn thick in some time so add water as required when you reheat it.
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📖 Recipe
Ingredients
For sambar
- 1 ½ cup toor dal cooked
- 2 tablespoon tamarind paste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder haldi
- 1 teaspoon jaggery gur
- 2 green chillies slit (hari mirch)
- 10-12 curry leaves meetha neem
- ½ onion separated layers(pyaz)
- 5 green beans chopped (hare French beans)
- 1 carrot chopped( gajar)
- 1 to mato chopped(tamatar)
- 2 tablespoon fresh coriander leaves hari dhaniya, chopped
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup water 250 ml.
For hotel sambar powder recipe
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds sookhe dhaniya ke beej
- 1 tablespoon split bengal gram chana dal
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds jeera
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds methi dane
- ½ teaspoon black pepper kali mirch
- 4 dried kashmiri red chillies saabut kashmiri lal mirch
- 2 tablespoon of dessicated coconut nariyal chura
- 4-5 curry leaves meethe neem ke patte
For tadka/ tempering ,
- 2 teaspoon oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard rai
- 1 dried kashmiri red chilli sookhi kashmiri lal mirch
- A few curry leaves.
- 1 pinch hing/asafoetida
Instructions
For making sambar masala, dry roast the ingredients mentioned in sambar powder recipe for 1-2 minutes and grind them to fine powder.
- For making sambhar, Place a kadhai or pan over low heat. Put in the tamarind pulp, turmeric powder, jaggery, green chillies and curry leaves.
- Add all the vegetables and then add salt.
- Cover this and boil for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes add water and cooked toor dal.
- Let it boil for a few minutes then add 3 tablespoons of prepared hotel sambhar mix and stir well.
- Let this boil for a few minutes on medium-high flame.
- Turn the heat off when the water of the sambhar is well blended with dal.
- Now, get the tadka ready, heat oil in a pan, add, mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried red chilli, when it crackles, pour it over the sambhar.
- Garnish it with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with some idli or rice.
Video
Before You Go
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Ketan says
Sambhar powder receipe????
Rekha Kakkar says
Hi Ketan I just updated the recipe.
suman kumar says
The key is in the sambar powder for which you did not give the receipe. Please.share.that also.
Rekha Kakkar says
I have just updated the recipe.
savy says
The colour of this sambar looks exactly like southy or sarvana bhavan. tempting!
Rekha Kakkar says
Thank you 🙂 hope you will try and let me know how it turned out !
ARUN KUMAR BHANJA says
Dear Rekhaji,
Namaskaram!
I would like to add methi seeds to seasoning and probably make half spoon methi seeds and quarter spoon black pepper besides half spoon raw rice for the Sambhar powder. Generally round Andhra red chilli is used for seasoning. Chilli powder might be Kashmir. Saravana Bhavan also uses pulp of drumsticks as a secret ingredient besides oil roasted ground tiny Sambhar onions.
Incidentally Sambhar was invented by Marathi king Sambhaji while visiting his cousin in Thanjavur as he was craving to have Marathi lentil dish Amti. Hence the name Sambhar....
Love
Yogacharya Arun Kumar
Rekha Kakkar says
Wow! That’s lot of information will try to incorporate when I am making it next and update the recipe giving due credit to you 🙂 the best thing about sharing and blogging you get to learn a lot from your readers too... Thank you!
ARUN KUMAR BHANJA says
Thanks Rekhaji....
Sam PS says
Recioe is common,cd you pl explain about how is this restaurant sambhar??
And sambar masala recipe pl
Thank you
ABI says
I think you've missed the most important ingredient *HING" powder.. That makes it even more tastier ?
Vasantha says
For Sambar powder we add a small piece of Cinnamon and a little of kbus khus.
Rekha Kakkar says
Thanks for the info ... will add them next time when I make it.
Muaz Marzook says
Excellent my dear!
I agree with your recipe as well as the additional constructive comments the regarding adding a touch of cinnamon, and the roasted raw rice powder.
A healthy combination is to have Sambhar with unpolished raw or boiled rice ( called brown or ref rice in the south.).It makes a greater taste!!!
Mini says
To make the sambar powder, do you first roast all the ingredients and then powder it in a grinder?
Rekha Kakkar says
Yes roasting them for few minutes is great to bring out aroma of spices.
Atika says
I am a mad lover of sambhar rice.... Thanx a lot to post this sambhar recipe.