easy sambar vada recipe | how to make south indian sambar vadai

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 40 minutes
  • Total time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 10 Servings
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: south indian

Ingredients

for sambar:

  • ½ cup toor dal
  • 1 to mato
  • ¼ tsp turmeric / haldi
  • 1½ cup water
  • 3 tsp oil
  • 1 tsp mustard / rai
  • pinch of hing / asaofetida
  • 1 dried red chilli
  • few curry leaves
  • 2 green chilli (slit)
  • ½ onion (petals)
  • ½ cup tamarind extract
  • ½ tsp jaggery / gud
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1½ cup water
  • 1 tbsp sambar powder
  • 1 tbsp ghee / clarified butter

for vada:

  • 1 cup urad dal
  • 2 green chilli (finely chopped)
  • 1 inch ginger (finely chopped)
  • few curry leaves (finely chopped)
  • 2 tbsp coriander (finely chopped)
  • 1 tbsp dry coconut / kopra (chopped)
  • pinch of hing / asafoetida
  • 2 tbsp rice flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • oil for deep frying

Method

  1. firstly, pressure cook ½ cup toor dal, 1 tomato, ¼ tsp turmeric and 1½ cup water for 5 whistle.
  2. in a kadai heat 3 tsp oil and saute 1 tsp mustard, pinch of hing, 1 dried red chilli and few curry leaves.
  3. also saute 2 green chilli and ½ onion for a minute.
  4. now add ½ cup tamarind extract, ½ tsp jaggery and 1 tsp salt. mix well.
  5. boil for 10 minutes or till tamarind extract gets cooked well.
  6. add in whisked dal and tomato. mix well.
  7. also add 1½ cup water and adjust consistency. boil well.
  8. furthermore add 1 tbsp of sambar powder and stir well.
  9. add in 1 tbsp ghee and boil for 2 minutes.
  10. finally sambar is ready to serve with vada or idli.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.