Two steamed idlis topped with curry leaves and mustard seeds on a banana leaf, with vegetable sambar and chutney in white bowls — Photo: mcthrissur · Pixabay Content License · Pixabay

Indian & South Asian · Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner

Idli with Sambar

Name: Idli with Sambar
Prep time: 870 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 915 min
Cuisine: Indian & South Asian
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups idli rice or parboiled rice; 1/2 cup whole skinned urad dal (black gram); 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds; 1 cup water, for grinding the batter; about 6 cups water, for soaking and steaming; 3/4 tsp salt, for the batter; 1 tsp oil, for greasing the idli moulds; 1/2 cup toor dal (split pigeon peas); 1/4 tsp ground turmeric; 3 cups water, for the sambar; 1 medium onion, chopped; 1 medium tomato, chopped; 1 medium carrot, cut into chunks; 1 small eggplant, cubed; 2 pods drumstick (moringa pods), cut into 5 cm pieces; 1 tbsp tamarind paste; 1 tbsp sambar powder; 1/2 tsp salt, for the sambar; 2 tsp oil, for tempering; 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds; 1/4 tsp cumin seeds; 2 dried red chillies; 10 leaves curry leaves; 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

இட்லி சாம்பார் (Idli Sambar)

By BerryFit Kitchen · Nutrition checked with USDA data · Updated Oct 11, 2026 · How we make recipes

Soft, fluffy steamed rice and lentil cakes served with a tangy, gently spiced lentil and vegetable stew. It is a light, naturally fermented South Indian classic that is filling without being heavy.

Prep: 870 min
Cook: 45 min
Total: 915 min
Serves: 4

Medium
Vegan
Dairy Free

27%

Per serving534kcal27% of a 2,000 kcal day

19gProtein

102gCarbs

6gFat

13gFiber

Calories come from: Carbs 76% · Fat 10% · Protein 14%

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Ingredients

For 4 servings

1 1/2 cups300 gidli rice or parboiled rice
1/2 cup100 gwhole skinned urad dal (black gram)
1/2 tspfenugreek seeds
1 cup240 gwater, for grinding the batter
about 6 cups1,500 gwater, for soaking and steaming
3/4 tsp5 gsalt, for the batter
1 tsp5 goil, for greasing the idli moulds
1/2 cup100 gtoor dal (split pigeon peas)
1/4 tspground turmeric
3 cups750 gwater, for the sambar
1 medium110 gonion, chopped
1 medium120 gtomato, chopped
1 medium60 gcarrot, cut into chunks
1 small100 geggplant, cubed
2 pods100 gdrumstick (moringa pods), cut into 5 cm pieces (optional)
1 tbsp15 gtamarind paste
1 tbsp8 gsambar powder
1/2 tspsalt, for the sambar
2 tsp9 goil, for tempering
1/2 tspblack mustard seeds
1/4 tspcumin seeds
2dried red chillies
10 leavescurry leaves
2 tbsp5 gfresh coriander, chopped

Steps

1
Rinse the rice well and soak it in plenty of the soaking water for 4 hours.
2
In a separate bowl, rinse the urad dal with the fenugreek seeds and soak them in more of the soaking water for 4 hours.
3
Drain the urad dal and fenugreek and grind to a very smooth, fluffy paste, adding the grinding water a little at a time.
4
Drain the rice and grind it to a slightly grainy paste, using the remaining grinding water as needed.
5
Mix both pastes and the batter salt in a large bowl with clean hands until well combined.
6
Cover loosely and leave in a warm place for 8 to 12 hours until the batter has risen and smells pleasantly sour.
7
Rinse the toor dal and cook it with the turmeric and 500 g of the sambar water in a pressure cooker for 3 to 4 whistles (about 15 minutes), or simmer in a pot for 30 to 40 minutes until very soft.
8
Mash the cooked dal until smooth.
9
In a large pot, simmer the onion, carrot, eggplant and drumstick (if using) in the remaining 250 g sambar water for 8 to 10 minutes until nearly tender.
10
Add the tomato, tamarind paste, sambar powder and sambar salt and simmer for 5 minutes.
11
Stir in the mashed dal and simmer for 5 more minutes, adding a splash of water if it is too thick.
12
Heat the tempering oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds; when they pop, add the cumin, dried chillies and curry leaves for 20 seconds.
13
Pour the tempering over the sambar, stir and sprinkle with fresh coriander.
14
Bring water to a boil in the base of an idli steamer or large pot.
15
Lightly grease the idli moulds with the greasing oil and gently stir the batter without beating out the air.
16
Fill each mould about three-quarters full with batter.
17
Steam, covered, for 10 to 12 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
18
Rest the idlis for 2 minutes, then loosen with a wet spoon; repeat with the remaining batter.
19
Serve the hot idlis with the sambar.

Swaps, storage and make-ahead

Swaps

Use any mix of vegetables you have, such as pumpkin, okra or green beans, in place of the eggplant and drumstick.
Replace the tamarind paste with 1 to 2 tsp lemon juice stirred in at the end if you cannot find tamarind.
Use moong dal instead of toor dal for a quicker-cooking, slightly milder sambar.
For a gluten-free meal, choose a sambar powder labelled gluten-free, since some blends contain asafoetida mixed with wheat flour.

Storage

Refrigerate leftover idlis and sambar in separate covered containers within 2 hours and use within 3 to 4 days, reheating both until steaming hot (steam idlis briefly to keep them soft). Idlis are softest eaten fresh.

Make ahead

The fermented batter keeps covered in the fridge for 2 to 3 days, so you can steam fresh idlis as needed, and the sambar can be made a day ahead and reheated until steaming hot with a splash of water.

Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.

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Allergens and nutrition

Contains: MustardGlutenSesame

Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.

Full nutrition

	Per serving (859 g)	Per 100 g
Calories	534 kcal	62 kcal
Protein	19.1 g	2.2 g
Carbohydrates	102.2 g	11.9 g
of which sugars	5.5 g	0.6 g
Fiber	13.3 g	1.5 g
Fat	5.8 g	0.7 g
of which saturated	0.7 g	0.1 g
Sodium	785 mg	91 mg

Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.