Tiffin Sambar Pasi Paruppu Sambar Moong Dal Sambar

Sambar and kuzhambu are the quintessential dishes in Tamil cuisine. We relish sambar with rice and also with all the tiffin items like idli, dosa, upma, rava kichadi, pongal, and the list goes on. Ok now, confession time. :-) Seriously I can’t get enough of sambar, especially araichuvitta sambar or sambar with fresh ground spices. I make sure atleast I make it once a week. I love to eat idli and dosai for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So you can consider this idli and dosa along with the sambar as any mealtime dish. It is hard for me to classify. :-)

Tiffin sambar

Tiffin sambar is nothing but a variety of sambar that is mainly served with idli, dosai, pongal, and upma. There are zillion varieties of sambar and tiffin sambar recipes on the internet. In fact, I have already shared a tiffin sambar recipe with masoor dal in the sambar vadai post. But this one is my mom’s specialty. How can I not post it huh? Are you wondering how this tiffin sambar is different from my previous one? This sambar is similar to arachuvitta sambar, but we use moong dal instead of toor dal. You can also call it as pasi paruppu sambar or moong dal sambar. And, onions and tomatoes are must in this sambar, unlike the regular one. Also, you don’t need coconut for this sambar. The coriander seeds provide all the flavor to this sambar recipe.

Fresh sambar powder

Nothing can beat fresh ground spices, but I know it is quite hard to make everything from scratch during weekdays. You can make the sambar powder ahead. As we are dry roasting without oil and also grinding it without water, it stays good. Make sure you store it in an air-tight container.

Ingredients required

To pressure cook – We need ½ cup moong dal or pasi paruppu as we say in Tamil. Along with moong dal we add green chilies, tomatoes and turmeric powder and pressure cook them. For the sambar masala – We need coriander seeds, chana dal and dried red chilies. We don’t use any coconut for this sambar. To Temper – We need oil, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves. Vegetables – Shallots adds a nice flavor and I highly recommend shallots along with regular onions. We also need one cup of mixed vegetables. Apart from these ingredients we need tamarind paste, water, salt and chopped cilantro. Please check the recipe card for detailed measure.

Watch me make pasi paruppu sambar

Now without any further ado, here is the tiffin sambar recipe and the video. I have 35 different sambar varieties on this blog, and I am so happy to add one more that list. As always, please subscribe to the channel and share the video and help me spread the word. Also, I would love to hear your feedback.

How to make tiffin sambar | pasi paruppu sambar

Pressure cook the lentils and tomatoes:

Add the moong dal, tomatoes, green chilies, turmeric powder, and 1.5 cups of water.Pressure cook for four whistles or hisses.Let the pressure release naturally. When the pressure is all release, discard the green chilies and mash the lentils and the tomatoes using a potato masher.

Prepare the spice powder

While the lentils are cooking, you can prepare the spice powder.In a pan, roast the coriander seeds, red chilies, and Bengal gram for about 5 minutes or until the aroma comes over medium heat.Allow the spices to cool down and grind it into a coarse paste without adding any water.

Prepare the sambar

In a pan or kadai, heat the oil.When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, hing, curry leaves, and shallots.Fry for two minutes. And then add the sliced onions and cook until the onions turn translucent.Now add the mixed vegetables, 1 cup of water and mix. Mix thoroughly.Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the veggies are soft and tender.Meanwhile, mix 1 tsp of tamarind paste in 1 cup of water.Remove the lid and add the tamarind water and allow it to simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.Then add the spice powder and mix. Make sure there aren’t any lumps.Then add the mashed moong dal and mix. Bring this to a boil.After one boil, garnish it with cilantro and serve it with idli or dosai.

Recipe notes

Adjust water according to consistency preference.As always adjust the spice and salt according to your preference.

Explore other sambar recipes

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