Looking for a great sambar recipe to go with your idli, dosas and upmas? Your search ends here! This simple Instant pot Tiffin sambar recipe is packed full of flavor and tastes like restaurant sambar!
I love a good sambar! They are flavor packed and nutritious with lots of veggies, lentils and aromatic spices. It’s a south Indian staple, a dish that can be found in almost every household most of the days. And like all dishes there are so many variations to make this humble dish and there’s no right or wrong way to do this.
Of all sambars the one’s that use freshly ground sambar masala is my favorite. The aroma from the freshly ground spices makes the dish so fragrant and delicious. That said, I make sambars with mom’s sambar powder almost everyday and there’s nothing wromg with that. A ready made sambar masala just saves time on a busy day. But when you have the extra 10 minutes, try your sambar with some fresh masala and you’ll know the difference right away.
This Instant pot tiffin sambar is adopted from Chef Venkatesh Bhatt’s tiffin sambar recipe with my variations. I love a good tiffin sambar and always try out new recipes when I come across them. This sambar reminded me of the sambars we get in South Indian mess/ restaurants and it instantly became one of my favorite recipes. Ofcourse, I had to adapt it to my instant pot as I like to minimise the steps as much as I can for those busy days!
Tiffin sambar vs Regular sambar
Tiffin sambar is usually served with tiffin items like idlis, dosas, upmas etc. They are thinner in consistency as compared to a regular sambar and usually use moong dal or a mix of moong dal and toor dal. Veggies like drumstick, pumpkin, ash gourd etc are usually used in both sambars, but drumstick, small onions make tiffin sambar taste extra delicious. Regular sambar is usually eaten with rice and both sambars may or maynot use coconut.
Even though they are different, you can eat tiffin sambar with rice and the other one with tiffin items. There’s no right or wrong 🙂
Like this recipe? Other tiffin sidedish recipes that you might like –
Can I make this with store bought sambar powder?
Yes! BUT, the flavor might not be the same. It is still a sambar and you can have it with rice and tiffin items. But if you are expecting the hotel taste, then I suggest you try it with the freshly ground spice mixture.
My sambar is too tangy. How do I correct that?
Sometimes the quality of the tamarind or tomato you use can make the sambar too tangy or the opposite. If you find yours too be tangy, you can adjust it by adding some jaggery as needed. Even if your sambar is not tangy adding a tiny bit of jaggery helps balance out the flavors. On the other hand, if you find that your sambar is not tangy enough then, you can always add some more taamrind juice to make it better.
The lentils in my instant pot does not cook properly
Sometimes due to the quality of the lentil, espeically with toor dal, they might not cook to a mushy consistency. Especially since they are getting cooked along with tamarind. If you know your toor dal takes longer to cook in IP, you can soak them in hot water for 20 minutes before cooking. Or once the samabr is done, you can remove the veggies and blend eveything using a hand blender. Or just simply cook them longer in the instant pot, if you are okay with veggies becoming mushy in the process as well.
Can I make this sambar in the stove top?
Yes of course! I have made this in the instant pot as it is an easier option for those busy days! You can adopt the same recipe to the pressure cooker or electric cooker of your choice.
Tamarind and lentil stew with vegetables like drumstick, pumpkin, onions and freshly ground spices.
- 3 dried red chillies (use as per spice levels)
- 11/2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 11/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1 tsp kashmiri chilly powder
- 2 medium sized onions chopped
- 4 tomatoes
- 1 lemon sized tamarind
- 2 to 3 cups veggies of your choice ( Pearl onions, drumstick, pumpkin, squash etc)
- 1/3 cup moong dal
- 1/3 cup toor dal
- 1 tbsp jaggery ( Reduce depending on the tanginess of your sambar in the end )
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 10 to 12 curry leaves
- 1/2 tsp asafoetida
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp oil (Ground nut/ olive/ avocado oil) or ghee
- salt to taste
- water as needed
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
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Grind all the ingredients mentioned under the sambar masala to a fine powder. No need to roast the spices. Set aside.
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Soak the tamarind in 2 cups hot water for 15 minutes and extract the juice. Set it aside. If using tamarind paste, dilute 1 tbsp paste in 2 cups water.
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Switch on the saute mode in your instant pot / pressure cooker and add the oil/ ghee.
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Now add the mustard seeds, turmeric powder, asafoetida and let the mustard seeds splutter.
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Now add the onions, tomatoes and saute for 3 minutes. (Reserve 1/2 cup onions for the end)
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Now add the veggies, tamarind extract, 2 cups water, lentils, salt to taste and cook in manual mode / pressure cook mode for 12 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
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When the pressure has settled down, add some more ghee or oil in a small pan.
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When it becomes hot, add the curry leaves, 1/4 tsp asafoetida, remaining onions and saute until the onions become slightly golden.
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Now add the ground sambar masala and let it cook for 30 seconds in low medium heat. Immediately switch off and add the spice and oil mixture to the sambar in the instant pot and give eveything a mix.
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Let the sambar simmer for 2 minutes so the flavors can blend well.
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Serve garnished with chopped cilantro.
Tried this Instant pot Tiffin sambar recipe?
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Hi,
Can you tell me what the ratio will be if i use sambar power for it? i dont have some of the material to make the fresh samabar power but really want to try this.
*powder not power haha
Hi Geetha, you can use 1 tbsp sambar powder instead 🙂