Idli Sambar Recipe – Saravana bhavan Hotel Tiffin Sambar

March 6, 2025 | By
Saravana bhavan sambar
When I was searching for idli sambar recipes, I got this one titled as Saravana Bhavan sambar in many blogs & sites. Saravana bhavan is one of the hotels in which I am longing to have my breakfast and dinner and very recently I had a chance to visit it. As I have tasted this sambar, I wanted to try in my kitchen because this recipe is totally new from my usual hotel sambar recipe. No need to make additional powder for sambar. Our usual sambar powder is enough. I have tried the original recipe many times and I felt its less tangy because of Bangalore tomato. So I changed the recipe according to our taste buds. Nowadays I am making this sambar regularly for idli & rice upma. It tastes great !

Idli Sambar Recipe – Hotel Style

Idli Sambar Recipe - Hotel Style Hotel Saravana bhavan style Idli Sambar Recipe

Cuisine: South Indian
Category: Side dish for Idli,dosa
Serves: Serves 4
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Total time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup =250ml 
To pressure cook
  • Toor dal – 1/3 cup ( less than 1/2 cup)
  • Hing /Asafetida – a pinch
  • Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
  • Cooking Oil – few drops
  • Vegetables – Brinjal , carrot , potato & drumstick ( cook separately and add if using)
  • Tamarind – a small gooseberry size
  • Sugar or jaggery – 1/4 tsp
To saute
  • Sambar onion/ small onion – 10 nos
  • Tomato – 1 no
  • Green chillies – 1 no ( slit)
  • Curry leaves – few
To grind
  • Grated coconut – 2 tbsp
  • Fried gram dal – 1 tbsp
  • Sambar powder – 1 tbsp ( any sambar powder is fine ) OR ( chilli powder – 1.5 tsp + dhania powder – 1.5 tsp)
  • Tomato – 1 no
To temper
  • Cooking oil – 2 tsp
  • Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
  • Urad dal – 1/2 tsp
  • Methi seeds – 1/2 tsp
  • Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
  • Red chilly – 1 no ( pinched )
  • Hing – 1/4 tsp
To garnish
  • Coriander leaves – few chopped
HOW TO MAKE SARAVANA BHAVAN SAMBAR – METHOD
  • Pressure cook all the ingredients given under “pressure cook”  till mushy. Remove & mix well.( Cook drumstick seperately in a bow. and place inside the cooker without adding water. Use drumstick for best tasting sambar). 
Saravana Bhavan sambar
  • Grind all the ingredients adding little water to make a smooth paste.( given under “to grind”)
Saravana Bhavan sambar
  • Add this ground paste and the tamarind extract ( do not add tamarind extract if you are using tangy tomatoes), salt  to the cooked dal mixture and allow it to boil well till the raw smell emanates. It will thicken. Add water when necessary.
Saravana Bhavan sambar
  • Heat oil and add onions and green chillies , curry leaves and saute till onion turns transparent. Add tomato pieces and saute until mushy. Add this to the boiling sambar. Boil for some more time. Add sugar or jaggery while boiling. Finally temper the ingredients given under “To temper” and add to sambar. Garnish with coriander leaves and close it with a lid. Serve after 30 minutes. For guests , add a tsp of ghee before serving : ))
    Saravana Bhavan sambar



Note

    • The actual recipe did not use tamarind. As I used Bangalore tomatoes, I felt its bland. So I added little tamarind extract. If you use Tamil nadu tomato( Naatu thakkali) , tamarind may not be necessary. Make sure the sambar should be mild in tanginess.
    • Tempering at the end gives a nice flavor. If you want, you can do this step while sauteing onions.
    • Adding sambar onion gives  a nice taste. U can replace with big onion if you don’t have it.
    • If you wish, you can use moong dal or a combination of toor dal & moong dal.

Try this yummy Saravana bhavan style Idli sambar at home and enjoy your breakfast/dinner !!

Saravana Bhavan sambar

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22 thoughts on “Idli Sambar Recipe – Saravana bhavan Hotel Tiffin Sambar”

  17. divyagcp

    I love saravana bhavan food. But definitely need a lot of patience to wait there and have their food.. Delicious and flavorful sambhar.. Nice presentation..

    Reply
    1. Chitra

      Around 3 cups I feel ( 2 cups for cooking dal and 1 cup to boil with tamarind extract). Please adjust the consistency based on your liking.

      Reply
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