More on this Udupi Sambar
If you ask me, the freshly ground Udupi Sambar Powder is the USP of this dish. The choicest of spices, chana dal (Bengal gram) and dried red chilies are roasted first and then ground to a lovely fragrant paste with coconut and water. When you add this to the sambar, it’s nothing less than magic! The vegetables that I have added in this Udupi Sambar are carrot, drumsticks, brinjal (aubergine) and bottle gourd (lauki). You can use any other veggie that usually goes well in a sambar. Adding these only improves the nutrition quotient of the sambar and makes it filling too. Generally, Udupi cuisine does not use any onion or garlic as well. However, I have used some pearl onions (sambar onions) in this Udupi Sambar. You can completely skip these. This Udupi Sambar recipe is easy to make and can be served with steamed rice, Idli, Dosa or a Mysore Masala Dosa.
Udupi Sambar and Me
I’d developed a love-hate relationship with the Udupi Sambar since the first time I tried it at some restaurants in Bangalore (now Bengaluru), Karnataka and Mumbai in Maharashtra. Initially, I never understood the subtle sweetness in this sambar, and disliked it. While growing up, the sambars that I had at home were never really sweet. Eventually, with the passing of years, I did develop a taste for this ‘sweetness’ in the Udupi Sambar. Today, I absolutely relish this particular flavor profile not only in sambar, but also in dals and kadhis. Unlike the Kerala Sambar, this Udupi Sambar has a mild sweetness from the jaggery, some sourness from the tamarind, little spiciness from the chilies and a touch of earthiness from the coconut. It is aromatic and very fulfilling. I would call it an ‘all-rounder!’
How to make Udupi Sambar
Make Udupi Sambar Masala
- Keep all the ingredients required for making sambar powder ready. Note: As a reader had suggested in the comments, you can also add 1 teaspoon fennel seeds.
3 teaspoons coriander seeds2 teaspoons urad dal (husked and split black gram)1 teaspoon cumin seeds3 to 4 dried red chilies (broken and seeds removed)1 teaspoon chana dal (husked and split Bengal gram)¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi dana) ⅛ teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
- Dry roast only the spices mentioned above for the sambar powder on low heat till they become fragrant. Stir often so that the spices roast evenly. Transfer the roasted spices to a plate and set aside. 3. When cooled, add the roasted spices in a grinder jar, together with ⅓ cup water (or as required) and ¼ cup grated fresh coconut. Grind to a fine paste. You can also use desiccated coconut instead of fresh coconut.
- This is how the paste will look like.
Cook Lentils and More Prep
- In a 2 litre pressure cooker, add ⅓ cup tur/arhar dal (pigeon pea lentils) and ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder.
- Add 2 cups water and pressure cook the dal for 7 to 8 whistles on medium heat or till the dal is well cooked, softened and mushy.
- While the dal is cooking, soak 1 tablespoon tightly packed tamarind in ⅓ cup hot water for about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Once the pressure settles down naturally in the cooker, then remove the lid.
- Mash the dal with a wired whisk or a spoon. Keep aside.
Cook Vegetables
- In another pan or pot, mix 5 to 6 quartered sambar onions (pearl onions), 1 chopped carrot, ½ cup chopped bottle gourd, 2 to 3 quartered small brinjals, 1 to 2 drumsticks peeled and cut into 3 to 4 inch pieces, 8 to 10 curry leaves and 1 medium size diced tomato. Also add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder.
- Next, add 2 cups water.
- Cover the pan.
- Cook till the vegetables are almost done on medium-low to medium heat.
Make Udupi Sambar
- Add the mashed dal to the vegetables.
- Stir and mix well.
- Squeeze the soaked tamarind with your fingers in the soaked water and extract the pulp.
- Stir and add the tamarind pulp. You can also use a mesh strainer to strain the pulp.
- Now, add the prepared ground sambar masala paste.
- If required, you can add some water to get desired consistency. I added ¼ cup water. Also add salt as required.
- Add 1 to 2 teaspoons jaggery powder or grated jaggery.
- Stir and mix well.
- Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or more. You have to simmer till the raw aroma of the tamarind goes away and flavors have merged with each other in the sambar. Check the taste and if required, add more salt.
Make Tempering
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a small pan. Splutter 1 teaspoon mustard seeds.
- When the mustard seeds crackle, add 2 dried red chilies (broken and seeds removed), 8 to 10 curry leaves and 1 generous pinch of asafoetida (hing).
- Fry for some seconds till the curry leaves become crisp and the red chilies darken. Make sure that the spices do not burn.
- Pour the tempering mixture in the Udupi Sambar.
- Stir and mix well.
- Cover the pan with a lid for a few minutes, so that the flavors of the tempering get mixed in the udupi sambar.
- Serve Udupi Sambar hot with steamed rice, idli or dosa.
About Udupi Cuisine
Udupi Sambar is a famous dish from the temple town of Udupi, also a city located in the Tulunadu region of southwest coast of India. Udupi cuisine is an integral part of the Tuluva-Mangalorean food repertoire as well. One of the most significant features of Udupi cuisine is that it is purely vegetarian, comprising of a wide range of dishes principally made with vegetables, fruits, beans and grains. It is also known to use native ingredients, which is a hallmark of this particular cuisine. Given the satvik nature of Udupi food, an Udupi restaurant in South India would equal to a ‘Vaishno’ restaurant or dhaba (roadside eatery) in North India. Basically, meaning that both these would strictly serve vegetarian food. The Udupi Sambar is a must in all Udupi homes, just like its best friend, Masala Dosa which is also believed to have originated in Udupi. Here’s a post on Udupi Cuisine that I had read about a decade ago. It still holds important to me as the content in it is very interesting and endearing. Do give this a read to know more on this extensive cuisine. Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Traditional Sambar Recipe Idli Sambar (Hotel Style) | Tiffin Sambar Arachuvitta Sambar Drumstick Sambar (Murungakkai Sambar) This Udupi Sambar post from the archives first published in May 2013 has been republished and updated on 3 May 2022.
title: “Udupi Sambar Recipe " ShowToc: true date: “2024-10-27” author: “Emmanuel Sibley”
More on this Udupi Sambar
If you ask me, the freshly ground Udupi Sambar Powder is the USP of this dish. The choicest of spices, chana dal (Bengal gram) and dried red chilies are roasted first and then ground to a lovely fragrant paste with coconut and water. When you add this to the sambar, it’s nothing less than magic! The vegetables that I have added in this Udupi Sambar are carrot, drumsticks, brinjal (aubergine) and bottle gourd (lauki). You can use any other veggie that usually goes well in a sambar. Adding these only improves the nutrition quotient of the sambar and makes it filling too. Generally, Udupi cuisine does not use any onion or garlic as well. However, I have used some pearl onions (sambar onions) in this Udupi Sambar. You can completely skip these. This Udupi Sambar recipe is easy to make and can be served with steamed rice, Idli, Dosa or a Mysore Masala Dosa.
Udupi Sambar and Me
I’d developed a love-hate relationship with the Udupi Sambar since the first time I tried it at some restaurants in Bangalore (now Bengaluru), Karnataka and Mumbai in Maharashtra. Initially, I never understood the subtle sweetness in this sambar, and disliked it. While growing up, the sambars that I had at home were never really sweet. Eventually, with the passing of years, I did develop a taste for this ‘sweetness’ in the Udupi Sambar. Today, I absolutely relish this particular flavor profile not only in sambar, but also in dals and kadhis. Unlike the Kerala Sambar, this Udupi Sambar has a mild sweetness from the jaggery, some sourness from the tamarind, little spiciness from the chilies and a touch of earthiness from the coconut. It is aromatic and very fulfilling. I would call it an ‘all-rounder!’
How to make Udupi Sambar
Make Udupi Sambar Masala
- Keep all the ingredients required for making sambar powder ready. Note: As a reader had suggested in the comments, you can also add 1 teaspoon fennel seeds.
3 teaspoons coriander seeds2 teaspoons urad dal (husked and split black gram)1 teaspoon cumin seeds3 to 4 dried red chilies (broken and seeds removed)1 teaspoon chana dal (husked and split Bengal gram)¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi dana) ⅛ teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
- Dry roast only the spices mentioned above for the sambar powder on low heat till they become fragrant. Stir often so that the spices roast evenly. Transfer the roasted spices to a plate and set aside. 3. When cooled, add the roasted spices in a grinder jar, together with ⅓ cup water (or as required) and ¼ cup grated fresh coconut. Grind to a fine paste. You can also use desiccated coconut instead of fresh coconut.
- This is how the paste will look like.
Cook Lentils and More Prep
- In a 2 litre pressure cooker, add ⅓ cup tur/arhar dal (pigeon pea lentils) and ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder.
- Add 2 cups water and pressure cook the dal for 7 to 8 whistles on medium heat or till the dal is well cooked, softened and mushy.
- While the dal is cooking, soak 1 tablespoon tightly packed tamarind in ⅓ cup hot water for about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Once the pressure settles down naturally in the cooker, then remove the lid.
- Mash the dal with a wired whisk or a spoon. Keep aside.
Cook Vegetables
- In another pan or pot, mix 5 to 6 quartered sambar onions (pearl onions), 1 chopped carrot, ½ cup chopped bottle gourd, 2 to 3 quartered small brinjals, 1 to 2 drumsticks peeled and cut into 3 to 4 inch pieces, 8 to 10 curry leaves and 1 medium size diced tomato. Also add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder.
- Next, add 2 cups water.
- Cover the pan.
- Cook till the vegetables are almost done on medium-low to medium heat.
Make Udupi Sambar
- Add the mashed dal to the vegetables.
- Stir and mix well.
- Squeeze the soaked tamarind with your fingers in the soaked water and extract the pulp.
- Stir and add the tamarind pulp. You can also use a mesh strainer to strain the pulp.
- Now, add the prepared ground sambar masala paste.
- If required, you can add some water to get desired consistency. I added ¼ cup water. Also add salt as required.
- Add 1 to 2 teaspoons jaggery powder or grated jaggery.
- Stir and mix well.
- Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or more. You have to simmer till the raw aroma of the tamarind goes away and flavors have merged with each other in the sambar. Check the taste and if required, add more salt.
Make Tempering
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a small pan. Splutter 1 teaspoon mustard seeds.
- When the mustard seeds crackle, add 2 dried red chilies (broken and seeds removed), 8 to 10 curry leaves and 1 generous pinch of asafoetida (hing).
- Fry for some seconds till the curry leaves become crisp and the red chilies darken. Make sure that the spices do not burn.
- Pour the tempering mixture in the Udupi Sambar.
- Stir and mix well.
- Cover the pan with a lid for a few minutes, so that the flavors of the tempering get mixed in the udupi sambar.
- Serve Udupi Sambar hot with steamed rice, idli or dosa.
About Udupi Cuisine
Udupi Sambar is a famous dish from the temple town of Udupi, also a city located in the Tulunadu region of southwest coast of India. Udupi cuisine is an integral part of the Tuluva-Mangalorean food repertoire as well. One of the most significant features of Udupi cuisine is that it is purely vegetarian, comprising of a wide range of dishes principally made with vegetables, fruits, beans and grains. It is also known to use native ingredients, which is a hallmark of this particular cuisine. Given the satvik nature of Udupi food, an Udupi restaurant in South India would equal to a ‘Vaishno’ restaurant or dhaba (roadside eatery) in North India. Basically, meaning that both these would strictly serve vegetarian food. The Udupi Sambar is a must in all Udupi homes, just like its best friend, Masala Dosa which is also believed to have originated in Udupi. Here’s a post on Udupi Cuisine that I had read about a decade ago. It still holds important to me as the content in it is very interesting and endearing. Do give this a read to know more on this extensive cuisine. Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Traditional Sambar Recipe Idli Sambar (Hotel Style) | Tiffin Sambar Arachuvitta Sambar Drumstick Sambar (Murungakkai Sambar) This Udupi Sambar post from the archives first published in May 2013 has been republished and updated on 3 May 2022.
