Sambar Vadai Recipe with Hotel Sambar

Updated on February 24, 2019

Sambar Vadai Recipe with step by step pictures. An authentic hotel style sambar vadai with hotel sambar to be enjoyed for breakfast or for evening tiffin.  You can also serve this hotel sambar with idli, dosa, pongal and khichdi.

Amma’s Sambar Vadai is simply out of the world. I can survive on this for days. It is my most favorite food of all times. So I thought of posting it on Mother’s day.

In my family usually it is a must to serve sambar vadai for evening tiffin to guests at marriages, when they all keep arriving the day prior to the marriage.

Normally at homes we make medhu vadai and we use the same for making sambar vadai too by dunking them in sambar. But since we add a bit of rice flour to it for the crispness, it will not taste the same.

Important Points to make Sambar Vadai:

1. We want the medhu vadais to be soft and spongy to soak up all the sambar that we add, so do not add rice flour to the batter especially when you have planned to make sambar vadai.

2. Use a wet grinder to grind the vada batter for spongy medhu vadas. Do not grind the batter in a mixie jar.

3. Normally 1-2  tsp of ghee is drizzled over the sambar before pouring over the vadais, but I skip it as this itself will be very heavy.

Sambar Vadai recipe with step by step photos:

1. Chop the yellow pumpkin into big chunks. Pressure cook both pumpkin and tur dal together in enough water for 4-5 whistles and keep aside.

2. Heat a pan and dry roast chilies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, channa dal for 3-4 mins over low flame till they turn golden brown. Keep aside to cool.

3. Place the roasted spices in a mixie jar and powder finely.

4. Soak tamarind in hot water and extract pulp and keep aside.

5. Mash the cook dal and pumpkin mixture well and keep aside.

6. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, when they crackle add the chopped onions and cook till it becomes translucent.

7. Add chopped tomatoes and cook it turns mushy.

8. Add tamarind pulp, turmeric powder and bring to a boil.

9. Add finely ground spice powder, asafetida, curry leaves and salt and simmer for 5 mins.

10. Add the cooked dal mixture, 1/4 to 1/2 cup water to the required consistency and mix well. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add coriander leaves and Jaggery and take off the stove.

11. Wash urad dal once and soak for 3 hours and grind to a thick batter. Add salt, beat the batter well with hands.

12. Shape the vadas and deep fry in hot oil till golden brown and drain on to a kitchen paper.

13. To Serve: Take 1/4 portion of the sambar in a wide bowl. To this add 1/2 cup of hot water and salt to taste. Mix well.

14. Put the vadais in this liquefied sambar. Let it soak for 10-15 minutes. Take the soaked vadais with a slotted ladle and arrange in individual serving bowl.

15. Pour the remaining hot sambar from the 3/4 th portion of the sambar kept aside over these vadais.

16. Sprinkle finely chopped onion and top it up with coriander leaves. Sambar Vadai is ready to be served hot.

Sambar Vadai Recipe details as follows:

Print Recipe

Sambar Vadai Recipe

Hotel style sambar vadai with step wise photos.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Soaking Time3 hrs

Total Time4 hrs 15 mins

Course: Snacks

Cuisine: South Indian

Servings: 4

Author: Radhika

Ingredients:

For Making Vadai:

• Urad Dal - 1 cup
• Salt - to taste
• Oil – To deep fry

For Making Sambar:

• Tur Dal - 1/2 cup
• Yellow Pumpkin - 50 gms
• Onion - 2
• Tomato - 3
• Tamarind - 1 small lemon size
• Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Asafetida - 2 pinch
• Salt - to taste
• Curry leaves - 1 sprig
• Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Jaggery - 2 tsp

For Spice Powder:

• Whole dry red Chillies - 10
• Channa dal- 1 tbsp
• Whole coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp

To Serve:

• Onion - 2 tbsp finely chopped
• Coriander leaves - 3 tbsp finely chopped

Instructions:

To Make Vadai:

• Wash urad dal once and soak for 3 hours and grind to a thick batter.
• Add salt, beat the batter well with hands.
• Shape the vadas and deep fry in hot oil till golden brown and drain on to a kitchen paper.

To Make Sambar:

• Chop the yellow pumpkin into big chunks. Wash tur dal.
• Pressure cook both pumpkin and tur dal together in enough water for 4-5 whistles and keep aside.
• Heat a pan and dry roast chilies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, channa dal for 3-4 mins over low flame till they turn golden brown. Keep aside to cool.
• Place the roasted spices in a mixie jar and powder finely.
• Soak tamarind in hot water and extract pulp and keep aside.
• Mash the cook dal and pumpkin mixture well and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, when they crackle add the chopped onions and cook till it becomes translucent.
• Add chopped tomatoes and cook it turns mushy.
• Add tamarind pulp, turmeric powder and bring to a boil
• Add finely ground spice powder, asafetida, curry leaves and salt and simmer for 5 mins.
• Add the cooked dal mixture, 1/4 to 1/2 cup water to the consistency and mix well. Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add coriander leaves and Jaggery and take off the stove.

How to Serve Sambar Vadai:

• Take 1/4 portion of the sambar in a wide bowl. To this add 1/2 cup of hot water and salt to taste. Mix well.
• Put the vadais in this liquefied sambar. Let it soak for 10-15 minutes.
• Take out the soaked vadais with a slotted ladle and arrange in individual serving bowl.
• Pour the remaining hot sambar from the 3/4 th portion of the sambar kept aside over these vadais.
• Sprinkle finely chopped onion and top it up with coriander leaves.
• Sambar Vadai is ready to be served hot.