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sambar powder.
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5 from 45 votes

Homemade Sambar Powder

Discover the essence of South Indian cuisine with this homemade sambar powder. Sambar masala powder is a unique spice blend that adds a special touch to the popular South Indian lentil stew known as sambar. This easy-to-follow recipe allows you to create an authentic Brahmin's style sambar podi right in the comfort of your home.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Other
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free, Hindu, Low Calorie, Low Fat, Low Lactose, Low Salt, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 25 tablespoons of sambar masala (around 400 grams)
Calories: 100kcal
Author: Shilpa Kerur

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Heat a pan and dry roast chana dal until it is golden, taking care not to burn it. Set it aside.
  • Next, add urad dal and dry roast it until it is golden. Set it aside along with chana dal.
  • Add coriander seeds to the same pan and dry roast them until they are aromatic. Set it aside.
  • Now, dry roast curry leaves until they are dried and crispy. Set them aside.
  • Add both varieties of dried chili (Byadagi and Guntur) and roast them until they are crispy and puff up. Set them aside.
  • Dry roast fenugreek seeds until they are golden brown. Add it to the rest of the ingredients.
  • Dry roast cumin seeds until they are aromatic. Add hing and turmeric to it and fry for a few seconds (not more than 10 seconds). Set everything aside.
  • Turn off the heat. Add the coconut and fry for a few seconds. Coconut can burn very easily so take care to dry-roast with the gas turned off. Transfer it along with the rest of the ingredients.
  • Let all the ingredients cool down completely.
  • Grind into a fine powder using a spice grinder or mixie.
  • Store in a dry and clean air-tight container.

Notes

It is important to dry roast the chana dal and urad dal well, taking care it does not burn. Both the dal have to be roasted until they are lightly golden. This is the most time-consuming part of roasting. The rest of the ingredients will be done very quickly.
After adding hing and turmeric powder, mix only for a few seconds (not more than 10 seconds). If not, it will burn.
Do all the roasting on low heat. Heat the frying pan initially and then reduce it to low before you start dry roasting.
Coconut tends to burn very quickly so dry-roast it with the flame turned off. It only needs to be heated up for a few seconds before grinding.
This recipe here gives me 400 grams of ground powder. You may choose to half or double the recipe as per your need.

Nutrition

Calories: 100kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 16mg | Potassium: 333mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 4121IU | Vitamin C: 195mg | Calcium: 82mg | Iron: 2mg