Bengaluru or Chennai sambar? Food delivery platform Zomato sparked debate recently with its viral X post siding with Bengaluru over Chennai after the Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated the Chennai Super Kings in the latest Indian Premier League 2026 match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. However, social media didn’t take it lightly. One wrote, “Careful there. Are you ready to shut your operations in Chennai? Behave like a listed company, not like a street vendor. It’s just a league cricket match after all.”. As calls to boycott the app grew louder on social media, we reached out to experts to understand the nuances of each sambar and what makes them unique.. Sambar varies significantly across South India, and the differences are largely shaped by how it is consumed in each region, according to Vinayak Shah, chef and founder of Foodcraft Hospitality. “In Bengaluru and across Karnataka, the sambar typically has a slightly thicker consistency with a hint of sweetness, often coming from ingredients like jaggery. The spice blend is usually thicker, and the dish is commonly paired with items such as idli, vada, or dosa, so the flavour is built to complement these textures,” Shah said.. DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to.. In Chennai and much of Tamil Nadu, sambar tends to be more fluid in consistency, with a more pronounced tanginess from tamarind and a sharper spice profile, said Shah. “It is frequently served as part of a full meal with rice, so the balance of flavours is adjusted accordingly,” said Shah.. A lot of people make sambar with loads of vegetables (Photo: Wikimedia Commons). The choice of vegetables, the roasting of spices, and even the ratio of dal to liquid can differ between the two styles.. Food historian and academic Pushpesh Pant weighed in on the origins and said that the sambar served in both these cities represents distinct regional variations that can be traced to the influences from the Thanjavur-Maratha reign. Legend has it that sambar was born when Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj visited the Thanjavur court. A royal cook, finding himself without kokum for the traditional amti, turned to tamarind and added vegetables, creating a lentil stew that came to be known as sambar in the king’s honour.. While Chennai sambar is spicier and tart in flavour, owing to the more extensive use of tamarind, paired with a single vegetable like drumstick, brinjal, or pumpkin, Bengaluru sambar offers a milder, sweeter, and aromatic flavour, owing to the use of jaggery and often features a mix of vegetables. “It features a lot of vegetables and even freshly ground pastes rather than just dry sambar powder,” Pant told indianexpress.com.. Story continues below this ad. Mohammed Chef Eliyaz, executive chef at Conrad Bengaluru, concurred, noting that he sees both as two distinct expressions of the same dish. “Bengaluru-style sambar is more rounded and
