Authentic Sambar Masala Powder Recipe

Sambar Masala Recipe / Sambhar Masala at Home

Sambar is a very popular dish in the southern part of Indian. Sambar is a kind of a stew where many veggies are cooked along with lentils in tamarind juice. Here we will temper with Indian spices to enhance the flavour of the sambar dish as a whole. There is a special sambar powder which
when included in the sambar gives a unique flavour and tastes awesome. 

 

There are many versions of sambar masala depending on the region. The masala that I am describing here is the most popular and basic sambar masala powder. This spice powder is very easy to prepare at home and helps in preparing the authentic sambar at home. We include ingredients like channa dal, rice, coriander seeds, red chillies, black pepper to make this homemade sambar masala powder.

This authentic sambar masala powder is easily available in the market but I prefer preparing it at home with fresh ingredients and store it for weeks to come. The important aspect of preparing this sambar powder is dry roasting all the ingredients on a very low flame. When the oil releases from the ingredients, that’s when we get a lovely, strong aroma from them and the masala will get the best taste. I will soon be posting the other versions of sambar masalas in the upcoming posts. Please be tuned. I have prepared the shallots sambar with this sambar masala powder and my husband went crazy for this since then.

You can also view my other homemade masalas and spices

Homemade garam masala

Homemade Kasuri Methi

Homemade Paneer

Homemade Condensed Milk

Preparation

Take a pan and put it on flame. Add mustard seeds and roast on a low flame. Keep tossing or stirring so that they cook evenly. Cook until they splutter gently ( You will be able to hear the sound of the spluttering and see the jumping of the tiny balls ). Transfer to another plate.

In the same pan, add black pepper seeds and roast until you get a lovely aroma from them. Transfer them to the same plate where you kept the mustard seeds.

Now add the cumin seeds to the pan and cook on a low flame. Keep stirring continuously to avoid burning and for even cooking. Cook until the seeds change their colour to a light brown colour and you get an aroma from them. Make sure that these seeds don’t burn else the masala will taste bitter. Transfer them to the plate.

Put the fenugreek seeds ( methi seeds ) in the pan and again dry roast them on a low flame. Be very careful with these seeds as they tend to burn very fast. So toss them continuously while cooking them. Cook until light brown colour comes on these rectangular shaped seeds. Transfer them as well.

Now it’s the turn of rice grains. These rice grains will actually help the sambar to thicken. So do not miss out on them. Dry roast until they become more white and transfer to the plate.

Dry roast the red chillies until they turn slightly black in colour.

Put the channa dal in the pan and fry until the grains turn golden brown in colour. Put these in the plate.

Similarly cook the coriander seeds until they become light brown on the outer. You can enjoy the lovely smell of these oval shaped seeds which are very good for digestion. I always get tempted to munch on a spoonful of these seeds whenever I am roasting them for any of my dishes.

Dry roast the spices namely cardamom ( elaichi ), cinnamon ( dalchin ), cloves ( lavang ) all together on a low flame.

Gather all the roasted spices in a plate and allow them to cool completely.

Once they are cool, put them in a blender and make a fine powder. Store it in an airtight container and enjoy as and when required. This sambar masala powder will stay good for 2-3 months.

Ingredients

Coriander Seeds ( daniya )2 tbsp.
Cumin seeds ( jeera ) 2 tbsp.
Fenugreek Seeds ( methi ) 1 tsp
Rice 1 tbsp.
Channa Dal 2 tbsp.
Red chillies 6
Black Pepper Corns 2 tbsp.
Mustard Seeds 1 tbsp.
Cardamom ( Elaichi ) 3
Cinnamon ( Dalchin )1" piece
Cloves ( lavang ) 4

Method

1. Dry roast mustard seeds on a low flame until they splutter. Keep stirring while roasting. Transfer to another plate.
2. Dry roast black pepper corns until you see a light oil releasing from them. 
3. Dry roast cumin seeds until they slightly discolour. 
4. Now fry methi ( fenugreek ) seeds until a light brown colour on them.
5. Dry roast rice grains until they become more white in colour.
6. Similarly fry the red chillies without any oil until they turn light black.
7. Now it’s the turn of channa dal. Fry until they discolour. 
8. Dry roast the coriander seeds until they discolour and you get a nice smell from them. They also turn crispy. 
9. Dry roast the masalas namely cloves, cardamom and cinnamon for a few seconds and switch off the flame.  
10. Allow all these spices to cool down completely and bring them to room temperature. 
11. Once cool, transfer to a blender and make a fine powder. 
12. Store in an airtight container and use when required.

Notes

• You can also include curry leaves. Fry the curry leaves until they become crispy and then blend along with the other spices. I did not include curry leaves because I add the curry leaves in the tadka for sambar. 
• Dry coconut powder can be included in the above mentioned sambar masala powder. But I prefer to use fresh grated coconut in my sambar.  
• Use around 2 tsp of this homemade sambar masala powder for a sambar made with 3/4th cup of toor dal. You can add more as per your tastes. 
• Refer to my shallots sambar for the recipe.