Sambar Powder – How to make sambar powder at home?
Homemade sambar powder :-Before making any homemade powder or spice mix, always keep a few things in mind so that you get the best spice blend or masala powder.
Some tips before making homemade sambar powder
- Use spices which are fresh and in their shelf period.
- Pick, clean the spices of stones etc. especially for spices like coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds.
make sure that the dry red chilies do not have mold from inside. just break them and check if there is any whitish or grayish mold inside. they should feel crisp on touch and not moist. - Do check for small insects which do appear in spices like coriander seeds. also the coriander seeds should feel and look fresh and crisp. if they appear to have mould or are not aromatic, then throw them away.
- This recipe yields about 200 grams of sambar masala powder. i make this recipe and use it for 3 to 4 months, since i do not make sambar everyday. i make it once or twice a week. so this small amount suffices if you make sambar once a week or occasionally.
(1 CUP = 250 ML)
Ingredients for preparing sambar powder or sambar podi
- ½ cup coriander seeds or 40 grams
- 2 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 16 to 18 dry red chilies
- 1.5 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi seeds)
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon chana dal (split husked bengal gram)
- 1 tablespoon urad dal (split husked black gram)
- 1/2 cup curry leaves
- ½ tablespoon mustard seeds
- ½ tablespoon asafoetida (hing)
- ½ tablespoon turmeric powder
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How to prepare Homemade sambar powder?
1. Heat a pan and then add ½ cup coriander seeds and 2 tbsp cumin seeds.
2. On a low flame, stir and roast the coriander and cumin, till they become fragrant and change color.
3. It just takes 1 to 2 minutes in a low flame to roast these. they should smell aromatic.
4. Then remove from the pan and add to a large plate or tray.
5. Wipe the pan with a cotton napkin and add 16 to 18 dry red chilies. Remove the crown from the red chilies, before roasting them.
6. Roast the red chilies, stirring them till they change color and you can get their pungent smoky aroma. place the roasted red chilies in the same plate.
7. Now add 1.5 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi seeds). stir often and roast them.
8. Roast till they get browned. don’t burn them.
9. Remove in the same plate.
10. Add 1 tbsp black pepper (kalimirch).
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11. Stir often and roast.
12. The black peppers will get aromatic and this is the time you remove them from the pan. add roasted black peppers to the same plate, where all the spices are kept.
13. Now add 2 tbsp chana dal to the same pan.
14. Keep on stirring at intervals, while roasting the chana dal. chana dal takes longer to cook than the spices. the chana dal should get browned or golden. for uniform cooking and color, keep on stirring them. remove aside in the same plate.
17. Now add 1 tbsp urad dal to the pan.
Also see Simple sambar sadam receipe
18. Keep on stirring these lentils too while roasting them. roast till they become golden and you a get a nice aroma of the roasted urad dal. remove them in the same plate.
19. Now add 1\2 cup curry leaves.
20. Roast the curry leaves till the leaves become crisp. keep aside.
21. Now add ½ tbsp mustard seeds (rai).
22. When all the mustard seeds finish popping, then remove them and keep aside.
23. Switch off the flame now and add ½ tbsp hing in the pan.
24. Quickly stir as soon as you add hinge (asafoetida).
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25. Just the color needs to change of the hing and you should get its aroma. remove and keep aside.
26. Now let all the roasted spices cool down and come at room temperature.
27. In your grinder jar, add the spices. also add ½ tbsp turmeric/haldi. i ground in two batches. depending on the size, you can grind in 2 to 3 batches or in one go. i have used turmeric powder and not turmeric root, as turmeric root is difficult to grind in my mixer-grinder. but you can use 2 inches dried turmeric root. just crush the turmeric root to small bits, in a mortar-pestle before adding in the grinder jar.
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28. Grind to a fine powder.
29. Remove on a plate. if grinding in batches, remove the ground masala on a plate and mix very well. due to grinding the sambar powder will become warm.
30. As soon as the sambar masala comes at room temperature, then spoon it carefully in a jar. if the sambar powder does not become hot or warm while grinding, then directly you can store the sambar masala powder in the jar.
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31. Do tap and shake the jar, so that the sambar podi settles down while filling the jar.
32. Close tightly with a lid and keep sambar podi at room temperature
33. Add sambar powder to sambar recipes whenever you make them. for a serving of 4, you can add about 2 to 3 teaspoons of this sambar masala powder in any sambar recipe.
