Sambar Powder is a masala blend of lentils & spices that makes Sambar divinely delicious. Sambar Powder is a handy masala common in most of South India households stocked to make Sambar effortlessly, makes sambar flavourful & tasty too. Sambar Powder Recipe is presented here in home style & traditional versions step by step with video.
Sambar Masala or Sambar Powder is flavourful when made at home rather than buying it from stores. You can feel the difference significantly when you try making sambar with the Sambar powder recipe posted here.
About Sambar Powder
Sambar Powder is a handy ingredient to make tasty, flavourful sambar easily & quickly. Sambar made with this Sambar Powder Recipe makes the dishes tastier – Idli, Dosa, Pongal, Vada, Oothapam gets to another level. Mittu just loves sambar especially this sambar – she would literally drink it with a spoon sometimes. For her sake, sambar is in our menu at least twice a week.
Sambar Powder – Sambar Masala – Sambar Podi
Sambar Powder, Sambar Masala, Sambar Podi, Thanjavur Sambar Podi, Udupi Sambar Powder, Iyengar Sambar Podi, Brahmin Sambar Podi all means one and the same Sambar Powder. Sambar powder is called in different names as they are vary slightly with regions & ingredients but the core Sambar Powder recipe is the same.
Ingredients – Sambar Masala is an assortment of spices!
Sambar powder is an assortment of spices – They have rich medicinal value and makes the dish healthy & tasty to relish.
- Red chillies or Laal mirch: Red Chillies makes the Sambar powder spicy. The quantity can be adjusted based on the family likings (mild spicy to very spicy). I have used round variety of red chilli for home style Sambar Powder(but you can replace it with regaular chillies too) and the long variety of red chilli for Traditional Sambar Powder. Bydagi & Kashmiri Chillies can also be used individually or with a mix of one or more variety and both of them give excellent colour and are less spicy.
- Lentils or Dal: Toor Dal, Urad Dal and Chana Dal are added in equal proportions makes the base of Sambar Powder. Dals influence the taste &colour of Sambar powder. If you do not have urad dal, skip it and increase the other two dals by that quantity. Toor dal and Chana dal is not advisable to be skipped.
- Coriander / Dhaniya: Coriander seeds is another key ingredient in Sambar Powder. Coriander seeds have a great flavour when crushed and thus the sharp differentiating taste of Sambar Powder.
- Fenugreek / Methi: Fenugreek seeds gives aroma & nutty, slightly bitter taste to Sambar Powder. Do not use fenugreek more than prescribed quantity as it will make the Sambar bitter.
- Black pepper or Kali Mirch or Pepper Corn : gives the sharp spicy taste to the Sambar Powder. It helps in digestion and weight loss by improving the metabolism of the body. It also helps to reduce cough and has anti-diarrhoeal properties.
- Cumin : also called as Jeera adds earthy, warming and aromatic flavours to Sambar Powder. Jeera also aids in building up our immunity and has anti-bacterial properties.
- Mustard : Adding mustard is this sambar powder recipe’s speciality as I havent seen many of them adding mustard in sambar powder. Mustard have anti-inflammatory properties and aids in digestion.
What we can make with Sambar Powder?
Of course Sambar! It can be added for Kuzhambu, Kootu, Poriyal and as a replacement for Kuzhambu Milagai Thool & Curry Masala Powder when you run out of stock with them!
Sambar Powder – Homestyle & Traditional method
- Homestyle Sambar Masala: Sometimes we do not need answers to all the questions and we are comfortable with it. Especially question like: Why I make Sambar for the 4th time in this week when it is barely Wednesday? Sambar made with my Mom’s sambar powder recipe gives that emotion. This Sambar powder recipe is from my mother’s handwritten book which was originally passed over orally for generations together.
- Traditional Method Sambar Podi: Iyengar style Sambar podi is famous in South India. Sambar Podi is slightly different from the regular sambar powder with ingredients & the quantity of ingredients.
I have shared both the versions of Sambar Powder for you to try at home and take the home with surprise by the different tastes of sambar each time that keeps them happy even when you make sambar 7 days in a week.
Is Sambar Powder necessary for making Sambar?
Not necessarily – however having sambar powder handy at home reduces the effort in making sambar all time. We can grind all the spices fresh each time to make Sambar but who would not want to save time unless you are making it big for marriage like function! Make sambar easily with sambar powder.
If you have any more questions about this Sambar Powder Recipe do mail me at sharmispassions@gmail.com. In addition, follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest ,Youtube and Twitter .
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Sambar Powder | Sambar Masala | Sambar Podi
Ingredients
- 3 cups red chillies 225 gms
- 3/4 cup coriander seeds 55 gms
- 1 tbsp fenugreek seeds
- 1/4 cup urad dal 55 gms
- 1/4 cup toor dal 55 gms
- 1/4 cup chana dal 50 gms
- 1/8 cup pepper corns 20 gms
- 1/8 cup jeera 15 gms
- 1 tbsp mustard seeds
Instructions
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Measure and keep the ingredients ready.
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First dry roast red chillies along with urad dal till dal turns golden brown and chillies turn slightly browned and crisp,transfer to a plate.
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Dry roast pepper until crisp,Transfer to plate.
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Dry roast coriander seeds until golden and aromatic, transfer to a plate and set aside.
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Dry roast fenugreek seeds until golden, transfer to plate.
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Next dry roast jeera followed by toor dal until golden brown.Transer to plate.
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Then dry roast chana dal.
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Roast till golden brown, set aside.
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Finally add mustard seeds let it splutter, transfer to the plate and set aside and cool down completely.
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Transfer the roasted ingredients to a plate and cool down.
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Transfer the ingredients to a mixer jar.
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Grind it a fine powder.
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Allow it to cool down and then store in a clean airtight container.
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Fresh aromatic sambar powder ready!
Video
Notes
- Adjust red chillies according to your spice level – 3 cups can be increased to 4 cups or more if you prefer Sambar powder to be spicy.
- Adding hing is purely optional, add a tsp along with mustard seeds if you are adding hing.
- The colour of the powder largely depends on the red chilli variety.Also always fry red chillies along with the dal to avoid blackening…if the red chillies turn dark/black then it will affect the colour and taste of the sambar powder too.
If you are grinding in bulk you can give it to flour mill for grinding which will give a more fine powder too. - Roasting turmeric sticks helps in breaking easily so I roasted it, that step is purely optional.
- Make sure you cool down completely before you grind it.Also after grinding let it cool down before you store.
How to make Sambar Powder
1.Measure and keep the ingredients ready. First dry roast red chillies along with urad dal till dal turns golden brown and chillies turn slightly browned and crisp,transfer to a plate. If dry red chillies is roasted seperately it may get burnt easily so always roast it along with any dal.
2.Dry roast pepper until crisp, let it crackle then transfer to the same plate and set aside.
3.Dry roast coriander seeds until golden and aromatic. Transfer to the same plate and set aside.
4.Dry roast fenugreek seeds until golden. Transfer to the same plate and set aside.
5.Next dry roast jeera until golden brown. Transfer to the same plate and set aside.
6.Then dry roast chana dal until golden brown. Transfer to the same plate and set aside.
7.Dry roast toor dal until golden. Transfer to the same plate and set aside.
8.Finally add mustard seeds let it splutter, transfer to the plate and set aside.
9.Cool down the roasted ingredients completely.
10.Transfer the ingredients to a mixer jar.
11.Grind it to a fine powder.
12.Spread it over a plate to cool down and then store in a clean airtight container.
Fresh aromatic sambar powder ready!
Expert Notes
- Adjust red chillies according to your spice level – 3cups can be increased to 4 cups or more if you prefer Sambar powder to be spicy.
- Adding hing is purely optional, add a tsp along with mustard seeds if you are adding hing.
- The colour of the powder largely depends on the red chilli variety.Also always fry red chillies along with the dal to avoid blackening…if the red chillies turn dark/black then it will affect the colour and taste of the sambar powder too.
- If you are grinding in bulk you can give it to flour mill for grinding which will give a more fine powder too.
- Roasting turmeric sticks helps in breaking easily so I roasted it, that step is purely optional.
- Make sure you cool down completely before you grind it.Also after grinding let it cool down before you store.
Storage
Sambar Masala loses flavour and aroma through evaporation when exposed to too much of light, air so store in airtight container and preferably in a glass container. You can scale up or down the recipe depending on your needs!
Sambar Powder quantity prescribed in this post lasts for about 6 months for us with usage of at least 2 times a week. I usually transfer half of it to a separate container and store it for later use sometimes I refrigerate it. For daily use I use a small container in the kitchen.
Sambar Podi keeps well even for a year, may be after 4-5 months you can refrigerate it.
FAQs
1.What is Sambar Powder?
Sambar Powder is a masala blend of lentils & spices that makes Sambar divinely delicious.
2.How do you make Sambar Powder?
Dry roast spices, lentils, chiili separately and grind them in mixer grinder to make Sambar powder. Alternatively you can sun dry them until crisp and grind it too but roasting gives more flavour.
3.Is all the spices & dals mandatory for making sambar powder?
Yes – use prescribed ingredients which gets tasty sambar. If you are running out of stock, you can skip urad dal, cumin, turmeric and mustard. Additionally you may use hing, roasted curry leaves. Also you can add powders if you do not have in seeds form. You can also add desiccated coconut to make it tastier, but the shelf life comes down by half!
4.Is there any specific variety of red chilli that is used for Sambar powder?
You can use bydagi, Kashmiri chilli or round variety of red chilli for making sambar powder.
5.Why my Sambar powder is too dark?
If any of the spices / dals are over roasted or added with too much of chilli, the sambar powder will be too dark. If it has to with the colour of the red chilli, you need not worry.
Sambar Powder – Traditional Iyengar Style
Ammas sambar powder recipe posted above is the one I’ve been following all these days which I’ve already posted. I always wanted to try the brahmin / iyengar version of sambar powder as I’ve heard its different and aromatic. I couldn’t get hold of a brahmin version of sambar powder recipe so kept searching but finally last week my search ended….I bought virali manjal(turmeric sticks) just for this recipe sake but was skeptical how to grind it at home as am sure it will get stuck in the mixie when its added as such…..When I was telling this to amma she suggested to coarse grind it using mortar and pestle then add it with other ingredients….and the idea worked too .
I tried making sambar yesterday and loved it to the core…it has a different flavour and I felt it was more like the sambar served in marriages, Now I am happy that I have 2 versions of sambar powder recipe as record.
Ingredients
1/4 kg dry red chilllies
100 gms coriander seeds
50 gms channa dal
50 gms toor dal
50 gms urad dal
50 gms pepper corns
25 gms fenugreek seeds
50 gms turmeric sticks(Virali Manjal)
Note* – I halved the recipe and tried
Method:
- Measure all your ingredients(I halved the orginal recipe).Dry roast red chillies till the chillies turn crisp,Set aside..Dry roast coriander seeds till golden brown,Set aside to cool down.
- Then dry roast toor dal, urad dal, chana dal each seperately till golden brown and set aside.
- Dry roast fenugreek seeds for 2mins,Set aside.Dry roast pepper corns till nice aroma rises and till the spluttering stops.Dry roast turmeric sticks for a minute.
- Collect all the ingredients and let it cool down.Using a hand mortar and pestle coarse grind the turmeric sticks.
- Now add all the roasted ingredients along with the turmeric mixture and grind to a fine powder.Spread in a plate and set aside to cool down.
Store in an airtight container.
Notes
- If you are adding turmeric powder add it as such for grinding no need to roast.
- Roasting turmeric sticks helps in breaking easily so I roasted it, that step is purely optional.
- I prefer adding turmeric sticks as it gives such a nice aroma, am sure that will be missing if we use turmeric powder.
- Keeps well even for a year, may be after 4-5 months you can refrigerate it.
- This sambar powder gives a yellow hue color because of the turmeric sticks.
- Make sure you cool down completely before you grind it.Also after grinding let it cool down before you store.
- You can even sundry the ingredients till crisp and then give for grinding.
- I used my dry mixer for grinding at home.If you are making in bulk then you can choose to give it in mill for grinding.
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