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Sambar Powder – Homemade Sambar Powder

September 7, 2016 by Suguna Vinodh 49 Comments

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sambar-powder-sambar-masala

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.

sambar-powder-sambar-tamil

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.

sambar-powder-sambar-masala-recipe-chilli

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.

sambar-powder-sambar-masala-recipe-coriander

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.

sambar-powder-sambar-masala-recipe-spices

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.

sambar-powder-sambar-masala-recipe-grind

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.

sambar-powder-sambar-masala-recipe-sift

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

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sambar-powder-sambar-masala-recipe

Sambar Powder – Homemade Sambar Powder -Tamil Style Sambar Powder Recipe


★★★★★

4.6 from 17 reviews

  • Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 25 mins
  • Yield: 1.5 Cups 1x
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Description

South Indian Sambar Powder Recipe – Homemade Sambar Powder -Tamil Style Sambar Powder preparation Recipe with tamil style ingredients.


Scale

Ingredients

  • Measurements Used – 1 Cup = 250 ml (approx) 1 teaspoon = 5 ml, 1 tablespoon = 15 ml

Roasting Ingredients

  • 1/4 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 20 Dry Red Chillies
  • 1/2 Cup Coriander Seeds
  • 2 Tablespoon Black Pepper
  • 2 Teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
  • 1 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds (optional)
  • 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
  • 1/4 Cup Toor Dal
  • 2 Tablespoon Rice
  • 2 Teaspoon White Poppy Seeds (Optional)
  • 3 Tablespoon Cumin Seeds

Other Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoon Turmeric
  • 2 teaspoon Asafoetida (Hing)

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  • Category: Masala Powder
  • Cuisine: Tamilnadu

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Suguna Vinodh

I'm Suguna Vinodh aka Kannamma. I love south Indian food and I am passionate about baking. My Favorite things include my Wusthof knife, Coffee, Ilayaraja, Tamil and beaches. I love Jacques Pepin and Julia Child.

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Comments

  1. Pamela Chengappa says

    September 24, 2020 at 5:44 pm

    Thank you Suguna!! Loved this recipe for sambar…just made a batch…infact I love all the recipes…thanks for sharing!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      September 25, 2020 at 2:11 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  2. Deval Mody says

    July 24, 2020 at 11:53 pm

    Thanks for this reciepe. I m gujarati and love south Indian food. Always used store packet sambhar masala. I made the masala last week and today infused it to make sambhar……I loved it cant Express how much difference it makes in taste when we grind masala at home. Thanks once again

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      July 25, 2020 at 12:27 am

      Thank you so much. Glad you liked it!

      Reply
  3. Raji says

    May 30, 2020 at 3:32 pm

    Please can you recommend a good kitchen weighing scale?

    Thanks
    Raji

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      May 30, 2020 at 4:11 pm

      Do check my amazon store.

      Reply
      • Raji says

        May 30, 2020 at 4:48 pm

        You have filed everything so neatly! Every info we need is a click away. Good job! 🙂

        Thanks
        Raji

        Reply
  4. Manimalar.k says

    November 28, 2019 at 12:36 am

    Hi,

    any particular reason is there of using toor dal and not channa dal?

    Reply
  5. Saranya says

    July 13, 2019 at 11:03 am

    Hi.. Can u please tell in spoon measurements for toor dhal and coriander seeds. I’m unable to predict the quantity.

    Reply
  6. Subodh says

    January 18, 2019 at 8:23 pm

    I made it and it added excellent authentic taste to Sambhar. Thanks for sharing this receipe

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      January 20, 2019 at 9:50 pm

      Thank you very much!

      Reply
  7. Ravichandran Natesan says

    October 17, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    Ponni rice is raw or boiled ..

    ★★★★

    Reply
  8. Jenifer says

    September 7, 2018 at 12:34 am

    Can you please tell me which rice you’ve used??

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      September 7, 2018 at 5:31 pm

      ponni.

      Reply
  9. Radhika says

    September 2, 2018 at 12:18 am

    Hi 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

    Reply
    • Mini says

      May 3, 2020 at 2:18 pm

      Made sambar powder using this recipe. It is awesome!!! Thanks a lot for sharing 🙂

      Reply
  10. Divya says

    March 14, 2018 at 12:06 pm

    Hi am using kashmiri chilli how much i shall add for 1 kg sambar powder

    ★★★

    Reply
  11. Eashu says

    March 7, 2018 at 7:46 pm

    Hi
    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

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      March 7, 2018 at 9:58 pm

      Hi Eashu. I have never tried such large quantities. You can just weigh the ingredients and scale up accordingly. It will work. Thanks.

      Reply
  12. JAYASH says

    February 24, 2018 at 1:17 am

    SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL…

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      February 26, 2018 at 9:07 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  13. Soniya khanna says

    January 30, 2018 at 10:37 pm

    This 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.

    ★★★★

    Reply
  14. hirannia says

    January 7, 2018 at 1:26 am

    why did u add rice?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  15. Subasri says

    August 31, 2017 at 8:45 pm

    If we want to use the powder for long period what ingredient we have to use

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      August 31, 2017 at 9:10 pm

      you can store the powder in the freezer.

      Reply
  16. Gayathri says

    August 25, 2017 at 3:20 am

    Thanks for your recepie..I would like to do this recepie for 1kg ..So can u pls tell me the measurements?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  17. G.Sripadhan says

    June 11, 2017 at 8:42 am

    Hi
    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???

    Reply
  18. Dr swadesh Garg says

    June 10, 2017 at 8:40 pm

    it looks perfect blend of spices soon ill make sambar power according to u..thanks dear. God bless u

    ★★★★

    Reply
  19. Pricilla says

    May 10, 2017 at 11:36 am

    Sambhar tasted delicious with this sambhar podi recipe!Thank you so much!Love ur recipes Kannamma!Keep it coming!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      May 13, 2017 at 3:27 pm

      Thank you Pricilla.

      Reply
  20. Revathe narayan says

    April 24, 2017 at 8:38 pm

    Indha ingradients sakthi massala taste varuma.

    Reply
  21. Mohan Pitamber Hajjel says

    April 14, 2017 at 7:48 pm

    Delicious

    Reply
  22. Mohan Pitamber Hajjel says

    April 14, 2017 at 7:47 pm

    Very Nice Informative

    Reply
  23. Srividya Pujari says

    April 7, 2017 at 4:23 am

    Loved 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

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      April 8, 2017 at 12:09 am

      Thank you very much!

      Reply
  24. Priscilla Chettiar says

    April 5, 2017 at 5:02 am

    Hi.. 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

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      April 6, 2017 at 3:09 pm

      Thank you so much Priscilla. Glad you are rocking the kitchen!

      Reply
  25. usha prabhu says

    April 4, 2017 at 1:08 am

    Hi
    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

    ★★★★

    Reply
  26. jayasreevijay says

    March 22, 2017 at 6:19 am

    Hello akka,

    Can I use mysoor dhal instead of toor dhal ?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      March 22, 2017 at 9:26 pm

      Have never tried masoor in sambar powder. The flavour may differ.

      Reply
  27. Ramya says

    March 21, 2017 at 7:16 pm

    Hi 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?

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      March 22, 2017 at 9:32 pm

      You can skip the turmeric powder if you dont like. There is nothing mandatory in any recipe. Do what your family prefers.

      Reply
  28. Neerja says

    March 4, 2017 at 6:06 pm

    Loved your sambhar masala powder, was so easy to prepare and as good as the market one. Thanks a lot!

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      March 10, 2017 at 1:56 am

      Thank you so much.

      Reply
  29. sheeba says

    December 17, 2016 at 6:01 am

    Thanking you for sharing very helpful…My Kid likes my food very much all credit goes for you….Thank you

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      December 17, 2016 at 11:22 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  30. sheeba says

    December 17, 2016 at 6:00 am

    Thanking you sharing very helpful…My Kid likes my food very much all credit go for you….Thank you

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  31. Priya says

    November 23, 2016 at 1:13 pm

    Helpful recipe.. very detailed.. Thanks for sharing

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      November 23, 2016 at 2:09 pm

      Thank you

      Reply

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I’m Suguna, a former financial analyst, now a full-time food blogger. Welcome to my space. I share recipes gathered from my friends and family here. I am passionate about South Indian food. I crazy love knives. A sharp knife is a girls best friend. Hope you like the recipes here. Happy Cooking. Read more.....

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