When we were young, all the masala powders – sambar powders would be ground in a grinding mill. The heavy stainless steel boxes would be filled with freshly ground hot masala from the mill. The milling process generated a lot of heat. After reaching home, the masala powder would be carefully spread on a newspaper to cool and dry. The whole house would smell spicy and people would sneeze here and there as the smell was so strong. Fast forward to today, the size of the families have shrunk and the mills are slowly vanishing from the cities. Even though there are very good ready made sambar powder packets available in the market, the whole ritual of roasting and grinding spices gives a “high” that I love so much. I make it once a month and store it in an air tight container. I get many requests asking me to suggest a ready made brand of sambar powder. I am from Tamilnadu and I like tamil style sambar powders.
I like the brands Aachi and Sakthi Sambar Powder.
Here is how to do sambar powder from scratch. Ingredients like Poppy seeds and fennel seeds are not traditional. They add it at my place as its aromatic. So its up to you to use fennel and poppy seeds. The flavour wont be over powering as we are adding very little.
Note: We call this as all purpose kuzhambu milagai thool. You can use it for curries as well as for sambar. If you will use this powder only for making sambar, Please omit the fennel seeds and poppy seeds.
The recipe is fairly simple. We will need to roast all the ingredients and then grind them. The key is to roast all the ingredients in a low flame. The spices would burn fast if roasted on a high flame. The masala would taste bitter if burnt spices are used. So have patience, play some music and enjoy roasting the masalas.
First lets roast the dry red chillies. All the ingredients for this recipe are dry roasted except dried red chillies. I add a scant 1/4 teaspoon of oil and roast the chillies in oil. The oil helps the chillies to roast better. Do not add too much oil. Take a heavy pan and add in the oil and the chillies. Keep sauteing. When the chillies plump up, they are done. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.
Dry roast the coriander seeds until fragrant and the color of the seeds are slowly starting to brown here and there. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate to cool.
Add in all the other roasting ingredients and dry roast on a low flame. Keep sauteing until the toor dal has changed color and is brown. Set aside on a plate to cool.
Let the mixture cool completely. Take a mixie jar / spice grinder and grind the roasted ingredients. When the ingredients are half ground, add in the turmeric powder and asafoetida. Grind to a fine powder.
Sift the ground masala to remove any lumps that must have formed during grinding and to aerate the powder. Let it cool and dry for an hour. Bottle the powder and store it in an air tight container and use it within 45 days.
Here are some of the recipes where you can use this sambar powder.
CHINNA VENGAYAM SAMBAR – TAMILNADU ONION SAMBAR
MANJAL POOSANIKAI SAMBAR / PUMPKIN AND LENTIL SAMBAR
PASI PARUPPU SAMBAR / MOONG DAL SAMBAR
- Measurements Used - 1 Cup = 250 ml (approx) 1 teaspoon = 5 ml, 1 tablespoon = 15 ml
- ¼ teaspoon vegetable oil
- 20 Dry Red Chillies
- ½ Cup Coriander Seeds
- 2 Tablespoon Black Pepper
- 2 Teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
- 1 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds (optional)
- 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- ¼ Cup Toor Dal
- 2 Tablespoon Rice
- 2 Teaspoon White Poppy Seeds (Optional)
- 3 Tablespoon Cumin Seeds
- 2 teaspoon Turmeric
- 2 teaspoon Asafoetida (Hing)
- Take a heavy pan and add in the oil and the chillies. Keep sauteing. When the chillies plump up, they are done. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.
- Dry roast the coriander seeds until fragrant and the color of the seeds are slowly starting to brown here and there. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate to cool.
- Add in all the other roasting ingredients and dry roast on a low flame. Keep sauteing until the toor dal has changed color and is brown. Set aside on a plate to cool.
- Let the mixture cool completely. Take a mixie jar / spice grinder and grind the roasted ingredients. When the ingredients are half ground, add in the turmeric powder and asafoetida. Grind to a fine powder.
- Sift the ground masala to remove any lumps that must have formed during grinding and to aerate the powder. Let it cool and dry for an hour. Bottle the powder and store it in an air tight container and use it within 45 days.
Subodh says
January 18, 2019 at 8:23 pmI made it and it added excellent authentic taste to Sambhar. Thanks for sharing this receipe
Suguna Vinodh says
January 20, 2019 at 9:50 pmThank you very much!
Ravichandran Natesan says
October 17, 2018 at 4:00 pmPonni rice is raw or boiled ..
Jenifer says
September 7, 2018 at 12:34 amCan you please tell me which rice you’ve used??
Suguna Vinodh says
September 7, 2018 at 5:31 pmponni.
Radhika says
September 2, 2018 at 12:18 amHi Kannamma,
You have mentioned that the fennel and poppy seeds are optional.
But given a choice, which one would you add to the Kuzhambu thanks
Divya says
March 14, 2018 at 12:06 pmHi am using kashmiri chilli how much i shall add for 1 kg sambar powder
Eashu says
March 7, 2018 at 7:46 pmHi
very happy to see the sambar recipe .It is as exactly how my Mom used to prepare, at thath time i didnt take interest to know the measures of the ingredients.Since ours is large family we have to prepare and store it for months. I request you to give me measures for 2 1/2 kg chili like how much quantity i have take other ingredients since now my Mom is no more. Kindly oblige
with regards
Suguna Vinodh says
March 7, 2018 at 9:58 pmHi Eashu. I have never tried such large quantities. You can just weigh the ingredients and scale up accordingly. It will work. Thanks.
JAYASH says
February 24, 2018 at 1:17 amSIMPLY BEAUTIFUL…
Suguna Vinodh says
February 26, 2018 at 9:07 pmThank you so much!
Soniya khanna says
January 30, 2018 at 10:37 pmThis recipe is good… But kindly edit the 3rd point like this “Add in all the other roasting ingredients except turmeric powder and asafoetida…. ”
People may roast turmeric powder and asafoetida too and spoil the recipe.
hirannia says
January 7, 2018 at 1:26 amwhy did u add rice?
Subasri says
August 31, 2017 at 8:45 pmIf we want to use the powder for long period what ingredient we have to use
Suguna Vinodh says
August 31, 2017 at 9:10 pmyou can store the powder in the freezer.
Gayathri says
August 25, 2017 at 3:20 amThanks for your recepie..I would like to do this recepie for 1kg ..So can u pls tell me the measurements?
G.Sripadhan says
June 11, 2017 at 8:42 amHi
Many thanks for sharing Sambar podwer recipe, i going to try it out, i have seen in some recipes, some are using Channa Dal instead of thoor Dal, some are using both channa Dal & Thoor Dal.
Also the measurements mentioned are for(Serves 1.5 cups), i am confused, the total quantity is for only one time use, or the quantity can be used for 30 days.
For making sambar for approx 5 persons it is safe to use 3 TBspoons of sambar powder???
Dr swadesh Garg says
June 10, 2017 at 8:40 pmit looks perfect blend of spices soon ill make sambar power according to u..thanks dear. God bless u
Pricilla says
May 10, 2017 at 11:36 amSambhar tasted delicious with this sambhar podi recipe!Thank you so much!Love ur recipes Kannamma!Keep it coming!
Suguna Vinodh says
May 13, 2017 at 3:27 pmThank you Pricilla.
Revathe narayan says
April 24, 2017 at 8:38 pmIndha ingradients sakthi massala taste varuma.
Mohan Pitamber Hajjel says
April 14, 2017 at 7:48 pmDelicious
Mohan Pitamber Hajjel says
April 14, 2017 at 7:47 pmVery Nice Informative
Srividya Pujari says
April 7, 2017 at 4:23 amLoved your sambhar powder recipe… It came out perfectly as my family would have loved… I am going to try more of your recipes for sure…. Thank you for penning it down with so much details… God bless you
Suguna Vinodh says
April 8, 2017 at 12:09 amThank you very much!
Priscilla Chettiar says
April 5, 2017 at 5:02 amHi.. Suguna
I recently came across your blog..
I was struggling to get perfect idli batter… That’s when I found your blog..
Now I make idli batter without fear n perfect idli..
My in laws are from Coimbatore..
I Tried your vendakkai puli khulumbu…
They were impressed with the aroma n perfection of the recipe..
I also made my own tamarind paste n sambar powder for the first time..
A big thank you for being so patient to pen down everything so beautifully n detailed..
God bless you n your family always
Suguna Vinodh says
April 6, 2017 at 3:09 pmThank you so much Priscilla. Glad you are rocking the kitchen!
usha prabhu says
April 4, 2017 at 1:08 amHi
Your sambar powder is very similar to my mother’s ingredients. I need to carry it to UK, can you please share the quantity required for 1 kg sambar powerder
jayasreevijay says
March 22, 2017 at 6:19 amHello akka,
Can I use mysoor dhal instead of toor dhal ?
Thanks
Suguna Vinodh says
March 22, 2017 at 9:26 pmHave never tried masoor in sambar powder. The flavour may differ.
Ramya says
March 21, 2017 at 7:16 pmHi Suguna,
Is it mandatory to add turmeric powder for this recipe? We always add turmeric powder seperately be it dal or curry or stir fry. Will the recipe be any different if I don’t use turmeric powder?
Suguna Vinodh says
March 22, 2017 at 9:32 pmYou can skip the turmeric powder if you dont like. There is nothing mandatory in any recipe. Do what your family prefers.
Neerja says
March 4, 2017 at 6:06 pmLoved your sambhar masala powder, was so easy to prepare and as good as the market one. Thanks a lot!
Suguna Vinodh says
March 10, 2017 at 1:56 amThank you so much.
sheeba says
December 17, 2016 at 6:01 amThanking you for sharing very helpful…My Kid likes my food very much all credit goes for you….Thank you
Suguna Vinodh says
December 17, 2016 at 11:22 amThank you!
sheeba says
December 17, 2016 at 6:00 amThanking you sharing very helpful…My Kid likes my food very much all credit go for you….Thank you
Priya says
November 23, 2016 at 1:13 pmHelpful recipe.. very detailed.. Thanks for sharing
Suguna Vinodh says
November 23, 2016 at 2:09 pmThank you