Adigas Sambhar/Karnataka Style Hotel Sambhar

Idli-sambhar is an emotion. This Adigas or Karnataka style hotel sambhar is spicy and slightly sweetish just like how the people of Karnataka love. Simple spices, daal, are all boiled together, to form the perfect fiery red, hot watery sambhar, which  is perfect for  fluffy idlis and vada. It sure will make your day a great one.

From joyful mornings, to painful waking moments to successful takeaway lessons / happy endings. To propitious experiences, and to new norms.

I land at 1.30 am, the security line is longer than I expected. I look around and see excited faces, emotions that are swelling to see their loved ones. Nervous and jittery hand movements and the phone rings. “Are you here, Ash?”, to which I excitedly scream “YESS”. I know two people are very eagerly waiting to see me, it’s almost been two years. In the blink of an eye — or it felt like that — I was done with security and at the carousel for the luggage. “URGHHH, why are my bags this delayed?” I ask myself, but I find myself surprisingly calm too. And there comes this brown baggage with a yellow tie that dad strung the last time I was in India, and oh, how I teased him when he tied that ugly looking thread. To that, he said: “At least it will stand out” ;). His face flashes in front of me. All the four bags come looking as eager for their owner as the owner itself.

Pushing the cart, a bit jumpy but filled with exuberance, I’m almost at the exit door when I see Mom with her wide happy smile waiting with all those people who are eager to see the loves of their lives. I turn left, struggle to push the trolley, walk around the corner just to see HIM. I’m greeted with a warm tight hug from dad and almost tear-filled eyes, happy tears. He immediately takes over the cart and ushers us to the waiting car, all the way asking me how the flight was, if I ate, just as mom shoves a cashew burfi in my mouth:).

The smell of freshness, the moist humid Bangalore air always gets to me. I question myself, again: why did I ever leave?

Back home, the comfort of your parents is unparalleled. We chat, prattle, and jabber. Before we realize, I hear the birds chirping and the cock-a-doodle-doo. AAAHH.. how I missed that! Dad showers, and puts on his brown shirt, dark brown pants, and neatly combed hair. All fresh, he says a quick bye and I know where he’s going :).  An hour later, he comes in with a large bag fit to feed an army. I am a one-woman army… Lol. A steel dabba filled with sambhar, idli wrapped in banana leaves, and the plumpest crispy vadas in another box. I turn into a kid who’s just short of a jumping dance.

Mom sets the table and I sit down to enjoy my most favorite breakfast in the world, EVER! Adigas sambhar, idli and vada. My smile is genuine, and I eat like I haven’t eaten in years; then again, I’m having it after ages. Dad looks at me eat, and his heart smiles through his physical smile. I pour the sambhar and devour without even thinking if I’ve left any for others. And to my surprise (not so much a surprise when it’s repeated for years), there comes another dabba filled to the brim with red spicy piping hot sambhar. Dad knows me all too well.

This saga continues throughout my stay, maybe three times a week until I bid them farewell.

One unfortunate day, I get a phone call that takes me to India during a time when I thought COVID-19 was the toughest that we were going through. I landed in India on March 12, a day before all flights were stopped from entering India. Grateful!

Nervous and sad, I hear a phone ring. My driver asks me to come to number 6, I rush and he gets out to help me with the luggage. No comforting sights or familiar hugs. An agonizing hour and a half later, I see Mom waiting by the gate to receive me: we hug, and I go in to see a frail dad lying down struggling to get up to hug me. I hug him like I never have and hide away tears to be strong for the three of us. I saw him all active, happy, healthy, and handsome as ever, just two months ago… is what went in my mind.

Mornings were not regular anymore. I woke up only to run down to ask how dad was feeling that day. Although we made food, and cooking and being in the kitchen comforted both mom and me, the food itself didn’t entice us anymore. I didn’t crave Adigas sambhar. I remember going out with my best friend after three months of being in India, she just wanted to comfort me. We went to have it, but it just wasn’t the same.

I came back to the US less than three months ago. While I didn’t miss eating out at Adigas or bring it home when I was there, I craved that emotion I felt when I had it. Guess what?….. I go on a hunt to crack the Adigas Sambhar/Karnataka style hotel sambhar down to the T. I’ve made it at least 15 times, that is the truth. Every time something seemed missing, until the last three times.

The first time I got it exactly the same, well, almost, I rushed to the computer to write down the recipe and what I did exactly. I followed my recipe the next two times and I’ve pretty much gotten the same results.

As I sit down today with a big bowl filled to the top with red, really hot sambhar with just one large idli soaking in, I remember that morning when I got the heartfelt smile. The smile that’s etched in my memory, the smile that said it all. YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING, your happiness is my happiness, and you can do what you put your heart into.

Life is only as good as the memories we make.

Karnataka Style Hotel Sambhar

This style of sambar is very popular, it’s spicy(Hot) and sweet. Both those notes flow quite well and it compliments each other perfectly. Every restaurant in Karnataka has their own blend. Darshini, Adigas, Udipi, to name just a few. My favorite would be the Adigas sambar. It’s the right amount of daal, the consistency and little bit more sweeter than other restaurants. It has been very hard to crack what they do, I’d say this is probably the closest you can get to Adigas hotel sambar.

Adigas Hotel Sambar

Every step is very important in the making of hotel sambar. The cumin and coriander should be used in the exact quantities as mentioned.  Sautéeing the onion and tomato is a step you DO NOT want to skip. The daal has be watery and try to add more water than you think you need. This sambhar  is in between rasam and the thick regular sambhar. Take your time to boil every step of the way. The most important step I think in taking this sambhar from ordinary to the perfect Bangalore Sambhar is the tamarind and jaggery paste. Cooking the tamarind and jaggery for about 20 minutes to a thick paste like you would for a chutney, is important. That way you are eliminating  the raw flavor of the tamarind, and the jaggery gets more concentrated and potent this way. DO NOT skip this step.

Try it out and I truly hope you love it. This is after a lot of trials and thanks to my boys for not complaining about idli and sambhar for half the days of a month:). It was well worth it.

More Karnataka Recipes:

Akki Rotti – https://www.foodfashionparty.com/2017/03/21/akki-rotti-rice-dill-rotti/

Southekkai Chutney/ Cucumber chuteny – https://www.foodfashionparty.com/2017/09/18/cucumber-southekkai-chutney/

Badami Puri/ Badam Puri – https://www.foodfashionparty.com/2018/10/27/badam-puri/

Mangalore Nut Rotti/Sweet roti stuffed with nuts – https://www.foodfashionparty.com/2020/08/27/sweet-paratha/

Adigas Sambhar/Karnataka Style Hotel Sambhar

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Author: Ash

Recipe type: entree, lunch, dinner

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

Tuvar Daal

• ½ cup toor daal, washed and soaked in water
• ½ red onion or sambhar onion or shallots(3)
• ⅓ tsp turmeric
• pinch asafoetida
• 4 cups of water

For Masala

• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 10 guntur chillies or kashmiri chilies(if you don't have this, just add more of the spicy red chilies)
• 5 spicy red chillies
• ⅓ cup fresh coconut

To fry

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 15 curry leaves, pinched to release the flavor
• ½ large onion or 1 onion finely chopped
• 3 juicy tomatoes, chopped
• 1 greeen bell pepper (optional, but it enhances the flavor)
• 1 drumstick ( optional)
• 1 tsp sambhar podi(any sambhar masala)
• 1-2 tsp salt or adjust accordingly
• 1 tbsp red chili powder(spicy kind, red kind)
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 4 cups water
• 3 tbsp Tamarind Jaggery paste - (1/2 cup of tamarind juice Plus ¼ cup jaggery, boiled and reduced) or you can use 4 tbsp watery tamarind with 2 tbsp jaggery

Instructions

Daal

1. In a pressure cooker or instant pot or slow cooker add the washed toor daal, onion, turmeric, asafoetida with enough, little more water. Cook it for 3 whistles on low heat. Switch off and let cool. Once it is fully cooled, mashed it very well and set aside.It has to be watery.

Masala

1. In a small saute pan, add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and toast for a minute. Then add both red chillies. Fry on very low heat. Once it's toasted, which will take about 3 minutes, add it to a blender with the coconut. Add one cup of water and blend it till very very smooth. It has to be a very smooth paste. Set aside.

Tamarind Jaggery Paste

1. This might seem like an extra step, but I think it's important.
2. Use ½ cup of tamarind juice, ¼ cup of jaggery 1 tbsp chili powder and salt. Mix it and simmer and cook it for 15 minutes. Let it get thick and syrupy. Use this in the sambhar. Use little or more.

Final step

1. Take a large pot. Add 3 tbsp oil. Let it get hot. Add cumin and mustard seeds. Let pop, add the curry leaves. Add the onion and saute with ¼ tsp salt until it gets soft. Then add the tomatoes along with the veggies(if you are adding), add ½ tsp salt, chili powder, coriander powder, sambhar powder, turmeric and saute it very well on medium heat. Let the tomatoes soften very well and the veggies cook. This will take about 5-6 minutes.
2. Add the masala paste, 3 tbsp tamarind-jaggery mix, about 3-4 cups of water. Let it boil and cook again on medium heat for 5-10 minutes.
3. Pour the daal little at a time. Make sure not to add too much daal. Cut back on the daal if you find the sambhar getting too light. Check the flavor, if you want more sweet, add some tamarind jaggery paste, if you want more daal, add all the daal liquid. At this point, check for salt. The sambhar consistency should be watery, not thick or very thin like rasam.
4. After you add everything, let it boil fagain or 2-3 minutes, turn off the heat, cover and serve with IDLI.

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