further, add 1 cup water and 1½ cup toor dal. boil the mixture well. now add 3 tbsp of prepared sambar powder and mix well. boil for 2 minutes or till flavours of sambar powder is absorbed completely. pour the tempering over sambar. also, add 2 tbsp coriander leaves and mix well. finally, hotel sambar is ready to serve along with hot steamed rice.
Most of the hotel sambar uses Pumpkin as their main vegetable. The main reason about using pumpkin is when we pressure cook with dal we can get more quantity than any other veggies. We can also use shallots and make this Hotel Style Sambar.
It can also be served for a breakfast with idli, dosa, bonda, pongal and even with vada. Sambar is a South Indian stew made with lentils, mixed vegetables, tamarind, herbs, spices & a special spice powder known as sambar powder. This spice powder is the key to make a good sambar.