Sambar powder(Sambar Podi) is a must in every south indian household.I am sure everyone have their own version of making sambar powder at home. This recipe is from my mothers handwritten book. As I’ve mentioned already, ammas sambar and biryani is always a hit among our relatives and friends. So thought I should have her sambar powder recipe with measurements here.
Homemade Sambar Powder Recipe – Ingredients
Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Powder | Recipe Cuisine: South Indian
Recipe Category: Powder | Recipe Cuisine: South Indian
Coriander seeds – 3/4 cup (55 gms)
Red chillies (long variety) – 3 cups (225 gms)
Fenugreek seeds – 1 tbsp
Urad dal – 1/4 cup (55 gms)
Toor dal – 1/4 cup (55 gms)
Channa dal – 1/4 cup (50 gms)
Pepper corns – 1/8 cup (20 gms)
Jeera – 1/8 cup (15 gms)
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tbsp
Method:
- Measure and keep the ingredients ready. First fry roast red chillies along with urad dhal till dal turns golden brown and chillies turn slightly browned,Set aside.Then dry roast chana dal till golden brown, set aside.
- Followed by toor dal, then jeera and pepper until dal turns golden brown and pepper jeera gives nice aroma.Set aside.
- Then let mustard seeds splutter, set aside.Then add coriander seeds, then fenugreek seeds each seperately. Set aside.
- Allow all the ingredients to cool down then grind it in a mixer to a slight coarse powder. Allow it to cool down and then store in a clean airtight container.
Mittu just loves sambar esp ammas sambar be it for idlys or dosas she would literally drink it with a spoon 🙂 For her sake, sambar is on our menu at least twice a week.
My Notes:
- Adjust red chillies according to your spice level 3cups can be increased to 4 cups if you prefer a little spicy.
- Adding hing is purely optional, if you are adding add a tsp along with mustard seeds.
- The color of the powder purely depends on the red chilli variety.Also always fry red chillies along with the dals to avoid blackening…if the red chillies turn dark/black then it will affect the color and taste of the sambar powder too.
Pretty clicks as usual and the jar is so cute 🙂
Loved the recipe and the shots. No wonder your mom's Sambar powder is such a hit 🙂
Toor dal and Chana dal is an interesting addition. Sure to try this one 🙂
Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwww.. Amazing pictures dear.. love the presentation too.. thanks for sharing !!
Indian Cuisine
Wow, awesome recipe & beautiful clicks! Thanks for visiting me & leaving nice comment 🙂
You know I am so lazy, I get the MTR sambhar powder or a local brand one. I need to ppush myself to make it at home. Amma's sambhar and powders are the best aren't they?nice pictures. Have a good weekend 🙂
PS: Cannot wait to see the oats appam recipe.
Phew! Finally I got a good recipe for home made Sambhar powder, thanks Sharmi! Going to try it this weekend!
Nice podi,thanks for sharing..wonderful clicks dear..lovely presentation.
I like the homemade podi too. I make sambhar for my daughter, she loves having with dosai & idli. Amma`s recipes are always the best.
I remember amma making Sambhar powder from scratch during our childhood days.Now of course,with so many good brands of Sambar podi available in the market,she doesn't make it anymore.Love the clicks,esp the jar!
deliciously done sambar powder looks wonderful
I agree with Divya, my mom used to make them from scratch too and my eldest siser does the same too, but i always use shop bought ones, even though nothing can beat home made powders, this looks so so good.
i get sambar powder from ambika depot shd sure try this nice color…
Lovely color for the sambhar powder!
Homemade masalas are unbeatable! A great post with beautiful pictures!
US Masala
Naanum mittuvum ore katchi, sambar na yennakum Uyir..Needless to say i cant survive with this powder..lovely clicks..
I use sambar powder for everyting.. not just sambar… Must try your version sometime.
I am so babied by my Mom's sambar that I have started making the podi it at home. Just love the way kitchen smells when we roast and grind them. Lovely pics as everytime.
homemade is really good and fresh …. lovely pictures sharmilee ……
Sambhar podi looks perfect.
Home made spices are so much better than shop bought ones.
Love the jar, spoon, pictures and of course the sambar podi too. Makes it easy to whip up sambar in a jiffy.
Vardhini
VardhinisKitchen
Thanks for the recipe…Sambar powder looks super!!
http://vegetarianmedley.blogspot.com/
Yours pics are always very beautiful… loving 'em..
http://krithiskitchen.blogspot.com
Event: Serve It-Chilled
nice version of sambhar powder and beautiful clicks as always
wow…wat lovely presentation….look so rich…hands down sambar is my fav curry….but i have never made the powder at home…would love to give this a try….
Lovely pics…sambar powder tht to home made is always the best!
This is new to me. Thanks for sharing the family recipe.
amazing pictures 🙂 and it looks great i love the color! 🙂
Have a great weekend,
Lucy,
nice click n presentation! nice sambar powder!
Fantastic clicks. I just love the second one a lot 🙂 Nice version of sambhar podi too 🙂
A staple ingredeint in south Indian kitchens. Thanks for sharing your mom's authentic recipe with us — I'll try it soon!
Finally Home Made Sambhar Powder
Is it 4 cups of red chili ??
@Jayanathi : Yes yes it is 4cups only we use long red chilli variety and it is less spicy so the sambar powder will not be very spicy, go ahead 🙂
Hi Sharmilee, I see urid dal in the picture not in the recipe Please reply
@Manju : Just noticed I've missed it, now added it. Thanks for noting down and letting me know!
How to measure Red chilli exactly in cups?. Can you please tell it in grams?
I use only measuring cups and am really not sure of the gram measures here.. But you easily measure red chillies in cups as you measure the other ingredients..
hardly 10 chillies fit in the cup. DO we have to break it and measure?
No I didnt break the chillies…My 1 cup holds 250ml
Hi Sharmi, Ur photography is awsome…
and u said corrieander 1.5 cups what it means is that i should take 1 1/2 cup or something
@Srileka : Thank You! Yes it is 1 and 1/2 cups
must try & store this ! my hubby loves sambhar so this one seems like a must try… thanks 🙂
thanks a lot for sharing ur mothers sambar podi receipe. It was a hit. Good work. Plz give the receipe of your ammas biriyani receipe also.
hi, do you wash the dals with water before dry roasting it? thanks for sharing your recipes.
@SweetPea : No no just dry roast dont wash it…
hi … i don't have coriander seeds,but instead i have coriander powder. Can i use it ? if yes what should the quantity be ?
@Amruta : Coriander seeds used will give the powder a great flavour…so I suggest you to use the seeds
Hi Sharmi,
I have not tried it yet, but had a question – is this version good with idli/sambar only and not with rice? Am asking coz I have couple of tamil friends who had one version for tiffins and a different one for rice. Dont remember the difference though.
Thanks!
This sambar powder is mainly for lunch sambar….usually for tiffin sambar we dont use sambar powder or make instant roast and ground powder….but no harm you can use this powder for tiffin sambar too….Attimes I have used this too and it tastes great.
Hi Sharmi
Can we prepare sambar powder using mixie too? As i have seen our elders going for flour mill to grind the powder. Does the quality still remain the same? Thank u
Quality remains the same only…the only thing is that if we use mixer it will be a little coarser, when given in mill we get fine powder.But for smaller quantity we can grind using mixer itself.
Hai Sharmi
Your blog gives a detailed description of the procedure with pictures…Great….In step -3 of the above method, the description says Coriander leaves.. It was bit confusing for a moment.. but then,the picture goes perfect with the coriander seeds…So, its Okay..
wonderful work….. Keep going!!!
Oh that was a typo…have corrected it now 🙂
Hi,
I was about to make the sambar powder but wanted to ask if I need to soak the ingredients for 6-7 days under the sun and then start the preparation.
Very nice powder. I tried it and tasted delicious ! This is the first time I made any kind of sambhar powder. And I am very happy with the results 🙂
This is a truly excellent sambar powder recipe, and I've shared it with friends. Tell your mom she's made converts! The most unusual thing is it has no turmeric, but of course that can be added to the dal. Mine didn't look as orange as yours in the photo, probably because I only added 10% as many chiles. (I'm american.) I'm not used to roasting each ingredient separately, and have been lazy with just tossing them all in together, but I'm a convert. Again, thank you.
Hi sharmi,
I am a regular reader of your blog and your recipes turns out to be good.However when I tried your recipe for sambar powder it turned out too spicy when I made sambar with it and couldnt consume only.I had used 3 cups of long variety red chillies not the kashmiri chilli which could be the reason.pls let me know if there is any solution to reduce the spiciness of the powder like adding any dal?
Guess it depends on the red chilli variety…may be reduce it next time