Idli Sambar
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Servings
4 people
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Calories
97 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Indian
Idli Sambar
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Idli sambar is a fluffy white round disk-like dumpling. It is a breakfast staple cooked in various parts of India.
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Ingredients
For the idli
- ½ cup de-skinned urad dal
- 1½ cups short grain parboiled rice/ idli rice , if possible
- ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 tablespoon cooked rice
- salt
- 2 ¾ cups cold water
For the sambar
- 1 cup toovar dal , pigeon pea
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 8 oz. mixed vegetables , a piece of courgette, French beans, carrot
- 1 large tomato
- 10 baby shallots (or 1 large onion)
- 1 oz. tamarind (or 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp, not concentrate)
- 10 curry leaves
- 8 sprigs cilantro
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 tablespoon sambar powder
- 1½ cups water
- 1 tablespoon grated jaggery
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the sambar powder
- ½ teaspoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1½ teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon urad dal
- 1 teaspoon toovar dal
- 4 dry red chilies
- ½ teaspoon black peppercorns
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 8 dry curry leaves , optional
- ¼ teaspoon asafoetida
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
For the tadka (tempering)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 2 dry red chilies , in pieces
- 6 curry leaves , chopped
- ¼ teaspoon asafoetida
- For easy mix sambar powder , optional
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
Equipment
- blender
- Idli mold stand (or small steel bowls lined with a moist muslin cloth)
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Instructions
Idli
- In a bowl, wash the dal a few times till the water runs clear. Add 2 cups (500 ml) of water and soak the dal for 6 hours.
- Wash the rice 2 to 3 times. Add 4 cups (1 liter) of water and soak for 6 hours.
- In a small bowl, soak the fenugreek seeds in 3 tablespoons of water.
- Drain the dal, and retain the water.
- Add the dal to a blender.
- Drain the fenugreek seeds and add to the dal. Add the cooked rice too.
- Add ¼ cup (60 ml) of the retained dal water and grind to a batter.
- While grinding, at intervals add more fresh cold water and grind to a smooth batter. In total it will need around ¾ cup (200 ml) of water to grind.
- The batter is ready when tiny bubbles appear on the surface. Remove to a large bowl.
- Rest the blender to cool.
- Drain off the soaking water from the rice and add it to the blender. Add ½ cup (120 ml) of cold water and grind.
- Keep adding water (1½ cups / 400 ml approximately) gradually to grind the rice to a batter that is ever so slightly grainier than the dal batter.
- Add the rice batter to the dal batter.
- Add about ½ teaspoon of salt and use the hand with the fingers spread to beat and mix the batter to incorporate air. The warmth of the hand starts the fermentation process. The batter should be of medium runny consistency like a pancake batter.
- If the weather is cold (below 68 F / 20⁰C), preheat the oven to low temperature.
- Cover the bowl with a lid, wrap it in a tea towel and place it in the oven to ferment for 12 to 16 hours. In warm weather, 8 to 10 hours are enough.
- When fermented, the batter should double and look frothy.
- Heat a tall pan with about 4 cups (1 liter) of water in it till it begins to boil. The pan should accommodate the idli mold.
- In the meantime grease each hollow receptor of the idli mold. Stir the batter very gently once.
- Add a dessert spoon of idli batter into each hollow of the mold to fill them ¾ full. Fill each plate of the idli stand.
- Place the idli stand in the pan, cover the pan, and steam on high heat for 12 to 15 minutes.
- Turn the heat off, and after 3 to 4 minutes, remove the idli stand from the pan.
- Allow to cool a bit, then with a spatula or flat spoon, remove each idli from the mold.
- Serve warm with chutney or sambar.
Sambar
- Wash the toovar dal 2 to 3 times. Soak it in 2½ cups (600 ml) of warm water for 1 hour.
- Soak the tamarind in ½ cup (120 ml) of hot water for 15 minutes (if used). Pulp the soaked tamarind.
- In a pan, pour in the toovar dal and soaking water, and bring it to a boil.
- Skim off the foam that rises 1 to 2 times.
- Add a teaspoon of oil, lower heat and cook for 20 to 25 mins till cooked nearly to mush. Beat with a whisk to make it smooth. Turn off the heat.
- In the meantime, cut the vegetables in approximately 1 inch (2 cm) pieces.
- Peel, top, and tail the shallots, or cut the onion into large cubes.
- Cut the tomatoes in quarters, then half across to get cubes.
- Chop the stems of the cilantro coarsely, and the tops a bit finer. Keep separate.
- In a large pot, add the chopped vegetables, onion, tomato, chopped coriander stems, tamarind pulp, turmeric, sambar powder, and curry leaves.
- Add 1½ cups (400 ml) of water and stir to mix.
- Bring the water to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes till the vegetables are just about done.
- Add the cooked toovar dal, jaggery, and salt to it, bring to a boil again, lower heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Take off the stove. Add the chopped cilantro leaves.
- In a very small saucepan, heat the coconut oil for the tadka.
- When hot, add the mustard seeds and fry for a few seconds till they pop.
- Add the chili pieces and curry leaves, and fry to release the aroma.
- Add the asafoetida and immediately pour the tadka onto the sambar.
- Cover the pan quickly to trap the aroma of the tadka.
- After a few minutes, stir the tadka through the sambar and it is ready to serve.
Sambar powder
- Roast the whole spices in a hot pan with coconut oil till the fenugreek changes color.
- Add the turmeric and asafoetida at the end.
- Remove to a plate to cool.
- Then grind it to a powder.
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