Onion Sambar Recipe: How about some really really good sambar? Try our hotel style Onion Sambar recipe and you’ll be transported to the Tamil heartland.
Idli-sambar-dosa, the ubiquitous culinary trio along with the obligatory coconut chutney, is now possibly one of the most popular foods in India, and can be found even in most remote hamlets and districts across the country. Bus stations, train stations, local markets, etc. – most boast of at least one idli-dosa stand serving up crisp dosas and sometimes soft idlis with bowls of steaming sambar to dunk in. No longer is this just Udupi food or “South Indian” but has been appropriated by the entire country and made its own. This is now India’s street food at its best, comforting weary travellers, busy housemakers out doing their daily shopping, office goers stopping for a quick nutritious meal, or a family out for a Sunday lunch. And delicious sambar ties these dishes together – a dosa or idli without sambar is like a dish without salt; it’s the necessary ingredient in this meal.
Our Onion Sambar recipe, though called Onion Sambar, does not use any onions in its preparation – only their flavoursome country cousin, shallots - known in parts of the country as sambar onions.
Sambar is a staple in the South for breakfast, tiffin, and often at lunch or dinner. It provides the protein in the meal, and is inexpensive to make – yet so delicious!
The recipe for this onion sambar comes from Chettinad in Tamil Nadu via the book “The Bangala Table: Flavors and Recipes from Chettinad”. At The Bangala, a fine hotel in the town of Karaikudi, this small onion sambar recipe is served only at lunch or dinner, while other sambars such as the Whole Shallot Sambar are served at breakfast. The cuisine at The Bangala is absolutely superb and we feel privileged to be able to use their recipe on Yummefy.
Now you can learn how to make onion sambar like a hotel chef with our step by step tutorial video and detailed recipe here. Try it!