Sambar Powder (Sambar Masala)
Authentic south Indian recipe for sambar powder or sambhar podi, a spice mix made by roasting and then blending together spices and legumes. It adds the most amazing flavor and texture to south Indian style dals called sambar or kuzhambu.
Servings: 30 servings (recipe makes approximately 3 cups of sambar powder)
Calories: 34kcal
Equipment
- 1 powerful blender (or spice grinder or coffee grinder)
- 1 Skillet or wide pan
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups coriander seeds
- 1 cup dry red chili peppers (like Kashmiri red chili peppers or byadgi peppers, loosely packed. Use moderately hot peppers. This sambar masala is not too hot but if you are very sensitive to heat you can cut down the quantity of peppers by half)
- ⅓ cup chana dal (Bengal gram dal)
- ⅓ cup toor dal (split pigeon peas)
- 2 tablespoons urad dal (black gram dal, optional)
- 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds or methi seeds (methi dana)
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- ¼ cup curry leaves (fresh or dry are both fine. Some south Indians don't use curry leaves in their sambar powder and you can leave them out, but if you do that be sure to add fresh curry leaves to the sambar when you are making it.)
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
Instructions
Roast the ingredients
- Dry-roast the red chili peppers in a medium skillet over medium-low heat for about five minutes or until they turn almost crispy. Remove to a plate and set aside to cool.
- To the same skillet add the remaining ingredients except the turmeric and the curry leaves. Roast them over a low heat setting. Slow-roast the ingredients until they have slightly changed color and are very aromatic. This takes me about 10 minutes.
- Remove the roasted ingredients to a plate and set aside.
- Finally, roast the curry leaves, if they are fresh, until they are very dry and crisp. If you are using dried curry leaves you can skip this step.
Blend the sambar powder
- Once the ingredients have cooled you can start blending them. Begin by blending the chili peppers first. It really helps to have a powerful blender that can make a fine powder. Then add all of the remaining ingredients to the blender jar, including the roasted spices and lentils, turmeric and curry leaves, and blend into as fine a powder as possible.
Sift the sambar powder
- Use a sieve or strainer to sift the blended powder into a bowl.
Store the sambar powder
- Store the sambar powder in an airtight mason jar for up to a year in a cool, dark place, or, preferably, in a fridge, which will extend its life.
Notes
- Be sure to turn on your vent hood or vent fan or leave a window in the kitchen open any time you roast chili peppers.
- When roasting the ingredients, always use low heat. Traditionally sambar ingredients are put out to roast in the hot south Indian sun before being blended. To reproduce that indirect heat, keep your stove on a low setting so the spices toast gently but thoroughly.
- Sifting the ingredients is an optional step, but doing so will reward you with a silky, creamy sambar. Any coarse ingredients you sift out can be blended again and added to the sambar powder, or reserve them in a separate jar and use them to season stir-fried vegetables.
Nutrition
Serving: 1.5tbsp (approx) | Calories: 34kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 83mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 483IU | Vitamin C: 80mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg