Idli sambar
Local name : இட்லி சாம்பார்
Steamed cakes of fermented rice and urad dal, served with a tamarind sambar of toor dal and drumstick.
Photo : Sutapa Pal · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 75 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
Method
- Rinse the rice and urad dal apart. Soak the rice for 5 hours, and the urad dal with the fenugreek for 4 hours.
- Grind the urad dal to a smooth aerated paste, then the rice to a grainy one. Combine the two by hand with the salt.
- Cover and ferment for 10 to 12 hours in a warm spot. The batter doubles and turns sour.
- Oil the idli moulds, fill them three-quarters full and steam for 12 minutes. Unmould after a 3 minute rest.
- For the sambar, cook the toor dal with the turmeric in 700 ml water until it collapses. Mash it with a whisk.
- Add the onion, tomato and drumstick, then the tamarind loosened in 200 ml water. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the sambar powder and salt, then cook for 5 minutes more.
- Heat the sesame oil, pop the mustard seeds with the curry leaves and pour this tempering over the sambar. Serve with the idli.
The fermentation comes from bacteria living on the urad dal grains, which is why the batter gets mixed by hand rather than with a spoon. Below 20 °C, sit the bowl in a switched-off oven with the light on.
