A combination of aromatic spices are dry roasted and ground together to prepare this flavorsome powder. This powder is used to prepare a popular South Dish – Sambar.
Nothing can beat a homemade spice mix. Perfect combinations of warm spices that adds great authentic flavor to sambar without adding too much heat. A thought always crosses our minds – why bother to make homemade when we can find one in stores?
Well, the answer is simple – it’s
- homemade,
- easy to make,
- fresh,
- no preservatives, and
- without additives just the way we like it and has a WONDERFUL taste!!
How to make Homemade Sambar Powder Recipe?
Dry roasting the spices is a key to this recipe, so please do not skip this step. Dry roasting the whole spices in a dry pan is what makes a huge difference.
It (dry roasting) helps to release the hidden flavorful oils and increases the whole spices fragrance and flavor.
For this recipe, I have dry roasted the dals first and then the spices. Roast until you could smell the aroma and be careful not to burn the spices or they’ll become bitter.
Maintain your heat on a low setting. Allow it to cool down completely and then grind the spices together to its powdered form. Roasted spices are more comfortable to grind than the un-roasted ones.
This homemade version can be made in bulk and stored in an airtight glass jar. Stays good for 6 months in a cool, dry place.
Also see
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them. Would love to hear from you. ?
Homemade Sambar Powder Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup Coriander seeds (Sabut sukha dhaniya)
- 1/2 cup Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 10 pieces of Dried whole red chilies
- 1 tablespoon Methi dana (Fenugreek seeds)
- 2 tablespoon Black Peppercorns (Sabut Kali mirch)
- 4 tablespoon Chana dal OR Bengal Gram
- 2 tablespoon Skinned and split urad dal
- 16 leaves of Curry leaves
- 1 tablespoon Rai (Mustard seeds)
- 1 tablespoon Hing/ Asafoetida
- 1 tablespoon Haldi (Turmeric powder)
- 1-2 teaspoon Desiccated unsweetened Coconut
INSTRUCTIONS
- Assemble: all the ingredients.
- Transfer lentils to a heavy bottomed pan and dry roast them on a medium-low flame.
- Roast until they are light brown in color.
- Keep stirring.. when done, set them side.
- In the same pan, add rest of the ingredients (except hing, haldi, and coconut) and dry roast them. Roast until light brown in color. Be careful not to burn the spices or they'll become bitter.
- Allow it to cool down completely. Add the roasted spices to a mixer/grinder/food processor and....
- Grind it to a powdered form - very fine. Prepares 1 - 12 oz jar - Appx. 340 grams of Dry Sambar masala (1 and 3/4 cup).
- Store it in an airtight container and use as required.
At step 6 you only mention the roasted spices. What about the dals, hing, coconut & haldi. What do you do with them?
Thanks for stopping by Sunita! Lentils were roasted in Step 2. In Step 5, I have clearly mentioned not to roast the rest three ingredients. You just add them at the last to the roasted ingredients.
I tried this recipe. It’s awesome! Making sambar is so easy😊
Thanks Bindu. Glad you liked. 🙂
thankyou madam..thankyou very very muchhh….
Pleasure is all mine.
Thank u mam… 👍 👌
You are welcome. 🙂
Dear Ruchi, fresh curry leaves are very difficult to get in the UK since there was a ban on their import. Would you be able to recommend an alternative? Some chefs recommend the zest of a lime/basil combination. Or can dried curry leaves be used? Thank you Ruchi. I’m looking forward to making this 😘
Sure you can use dried curry leaves.
Dear Ruchi,
Can I substitute the urge dal with anything thing else. Organic is hard to come by here. Thank you
Hello, Mrs. G,
In that case, please skip the urad dal and proceed with the rest of the ingredients.
Thanks!
Hello Ruchi 🙂 Could you please send me a bulk quantity recipe for preparing sambar powder. I mean like 1/2 kg of red chilli… etc So that I can shop accordingly. I wish to prepare in bulk and teaspoon and tablespoons will be difficult to handle for bulk
eagerly awaiting your reply, thank you
Here you go –
4 kg Coriander seeds (Sabut sukha dhaniya)
2.5 kg Cumin seeds (Jeera)
1/2 kg Dried whole red chilies
730 g Methi dana (Fenugreek seeds)
1.48 kg Black Peppercorns (Sabut Kali mirch)
2.96 kg Chana dal OR Bengal Gram
1.48 kg Skinned and split urad dal
4 cups (800 leaves of) Curry leaves
730 g Rai (Mustard seeds)
730 g Hing/ Asafoetida
730 g Haldi (Turmeric powder)
250 g Desiccated unsweetened Coconut
Hope this helps!
Hi ruchi thank you for the recipe . I was about to try this, but I have small hard cubes of hing , not the powdered one. So how I can use that? And please mention the measurement also. Thank you
Wrap the Asafoetida/hing pieces in between a towel and crush it into a fine powder with a rolling pin.
Measure 1 tablespoon and add it to the sambar powder recipe.
Can I leave out the coconut part and make the Sambhar powder please do reply
Hi Marcelle,
You can omit the coconut and continue with the recipe.
Is it mandatory to use urad dal…can I skip on that one? How will it affect the taste?pls help. TIA
Hello Hemangi,
Urad dal and chana dal help neutralize the flavor of dry roasted spices. It also adds fragrance to the sambar.
Hope this helps.
I tried this and the taste is awesome 😀. Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
Glad you liked the recipe. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing the very well-written and worth reading article.I tried this recipe. It’s awesome!
Wish to see more in the coming days
Thank you!