Sambar Powder is a masala blend of lentils and spices that makes Sambar divinely delicious. Sambar Podi called in Tamil is a handy masala common in most of South India households stocked to make Sambar effortlessly, makes sambar flavorful & tasty too. Learn to make Sambar Powder Recipe with step by step pictures and video.
Sambar Masala or Sambar Powder is flavorful 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.
What is Sambar Powder?
Sambar Powder is one of the most essential spice blend mix needed to make Sambar. Sambar Powder or Sambar Masala is made using lentils, red chilies and few spices. Sambar is a South Indian curry made using lentils and vegetables. Sambar is served with tiffin items and also with rice.
Sambar Powder is a handy ingredient to make tasty, flavorful 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.
Sambar Powder Video
Sambar Powder Ingredients
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 Chilies makes the Sambar powder spicy. The quantity can be adjusted based on the family liking (mild spicy to very spicy). I have used round variety of red chilli for home style Sambar Powder(but you can replace it with regular 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 color 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 & color of Sambar powder.
- Coriander / Dhaniya: Coriander seeds is another key ingredient in Sambar Powder. Coriander seeds have a great flavor 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.
- Cumin : also called as Jeera adds earthy, warming and aromatic flavors 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 specialty as I haven’t seen many of them adding mustard in sambar powder. Mustard have anti-inflammatory properties and aids in digestion.
Sambar Powder – Home Style & Traditional method
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.
- Home style 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.
How to make Sambar Powder Step by Step
1.Measure and keep the ingredients ready. First dry roast 3 cups red chilies along with 1/4 cup urad dal till dal turns golden brown and chilies turn slightly browned and crisp,transfer to a plate. If dry red chilies is roasted separately it may get burnt easily so always roast it along with any dal.
2.Dry roast 1/8 cup pepper until crisp, let it crackle then transfer to the same plate and set aside.
3.Dry roast 3/4 cup coriander seeds until golden and aromatic. Transfer to the same plate and set aside.
4.Dry roast 1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds until golden. Transfer to the same plate and set aside.
5.Next dry roast 1/8 cup cumin seeds until golden brown. Transfer to the same plate and set aside.
6.Then dry roast 1/4 cup chana dal until golden brown. Transfer to the same plate and set aside.
7.Dry roast 1/4 cup toor dal until golden. Transfer to the same plate and set aside.
8.Finally add 1 tablespoon 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!
Sambar Powder – Traditional Iyengar Style
Amma’s 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 tried making sambar yesterday and loved it to the core…it has a different flavor 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 chilies
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
Step by Step
- Measure all your ingredients(I halved the original recipe).Dry roast red chilies till the chilies 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 separately till golden brown and set aside.
- Dry roast fenugreek seeds for 2 mins,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.
Expert Tips
- Adjust red chilies according to your spice level – 3 cups can be increased to around 4 cups or more if you prefer sambar powder to be spicy.
- Adding hing is purely optional, add a teaspoon along with mustard seeds if you are adding hing.
- The color of the powder largely depends on the red chili variety. Also always fry red chilies along with the dal to avoid burning. If the red chilies turn dark/black then it will affect the color 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. If you are making in a small batch you can grind it your regular mixer itself.
- Make sure you cool down completely before you grind it. Also after grinding spread it on a plate, let it cool down before you store.
- 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.
Storage
Sambar Masala looses flavor and aroma through evaporation when exposed to too much of light, air so store in airtight 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 for 3 months in room temperature and even for a year in fridge / freezer
FAQS
1.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!
2.How do you make Sambar Powder?
Dry roast spices, lentils, chili 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 flavor.
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 chili or round variety of red chili for making sambar powder.
5.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 .
Tried this Sambar Powder Recipe ? Do let me know how you liked it. Also tag us on Instagram @sharmispassions and hash tag it on #sharmispassions.
📖 Recipe Card
Sambar Powder Recipe (Sambar Masala Recipe)
Ingredients
Home Style Sambar Masala
- 3 cups red chillies 225 gms
- 3/4 cup coriander seeds 55 gms
- 1 tablespoon 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 cumin seeds 15 gms
- 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
Traditional Sambar Powder
- 1/4 kg dry red chilies
- 100 grams coriander seeds
- 50 grams chana dal
- 50 grams toor dal
- 50 grams urad dal
- 50 grams pepper
- 25 grams fenugreek seeds
- 50 grams turmeric sticks virali manjal
Instructions
Home Style Sambar Masala
- 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.
- Dry roast pepper until crisp,Transfer to plate.
- Dry roast coriander seeds until golden and aromatic, transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Dry roast fenugreek seeds until golden, transfer to plate.
- Next dry roast jeera followed by toor dal until golden brown.Transer to plate.
- Then dry roast chana dal.
- Roast till golden brown, set aside.
- Finally add mustard seeds let it splutter, transfer to the plate and set aside and cool down completely.
- Transfer the roasted ingredients to a plate and cool down.
- Transfer the ingredients to a mixer jar.
- Grind it a fine powder.
- Allow it to cool down and then store in a clean airtight container.
- Fresh aromatic sambar powder ready!
Traditional Sambar Powder Step by Step
- Measure all your ingredients(I halved the original recipe).Dry roast red chilies till the chilies 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 separately till golden brown and set aside.
- Dry roast fenugreek seeds for 2 mins,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.
Video
Notes
- Adjust red chillies according to your spice level – 3 cups can be increased to around 4 cups or more if you prefer Sambar powder to be spicy.
- Adding hing is purely optional, add a teaspoon 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 burning. 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. If you are making in a small batch you can grind it your regular mixer itself.
- Make sure you cool down completely before you grind it. Also after grinding spread it on a plate, let it cool down before you store.
- 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.
RAKS KITCHEN
Pretty clicks as usual and the jar is so cute 🙂
Paaka Shaale
Loved the recipe and the shots. No wonder your mom's Sambar powder is such a hit 🙂
Rinku Naveen
Toor dal and Chana dal is an interesting addition. Sure to try this one 🙂
Ambreen
Wow, awesome recipe & beautiful clicks! Thanks for visiting me & leaving nice comment 🙂
RedChillies
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.
Shireen Sequeira
Phew! Finally I got a good recipe for home made Sambhar powder, thanks Sharmi! Going to try it this weekend!
Suja
Nice podi,thanks for sharing..wonderful clicks dear..lovely presentation.
Cilantro
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.
Divya Kudua
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!
Torviewtoronto
deliciously done sambar powder looks wonderful
Happy Cook / Finla
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.
Kalpana Sareesh
i get sambar powder from ambika depot shd sure try this nice color…
Sanjeeta kk
Lovely color for the sambhar powder!
Priya
Naanum mittuvum ore katchi, sambar na yennakum Uyir..Needless to say i cant survive with this powder..lovely clicks..
Laavanya
I use sambar powder for everyting.. not just sambar… Must try your version sometime.
Radhika @ foodfor7stages
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.
Kalyani
homemade is really good and fresh …. lovely pictures sharmilee ……
Swathi
Sambhar podi looks perfect.
simply.food
Home made spices are so much better than shop bought ones.
jeyashrisuresh
nice version of sambhar powder and beautiful clicks as always
miri goes phishing!
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….
Sushma Mallya
Lovely pics…sambar powder tht to home made is always the best!
Angie's Recipes
This is new to me. Thanks for sharing the family recipe.
Lucy Lu
amazing pictures 🙂 and it looks great i love the color! 🙂
Have a great weekend,
Lucy,
Rekha shoban
nice click n presentation! nice sambar powder!
Nithya
Fantastic clicks. I just love the second one a lot 🙂 Nice version of sambhar podi too 🙂
Plateful
A staple ingredeint in south Indian kitchens. Thanks for sharing your mom's authentic recipe with us — I'll try it soon!
Jayanthi
Finally Home Made Sambhar Powder
Is it 4 cups of red chili ??
Sharmilee! :)
@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 🙂
Manju
Hi Sharmilee, I see urid dal in the picture not in the recipe Please reply
Sharmilee! :)
@Manju : Just noticed I've missed it, now added it. Thanks for noting down and letting me know!
Anonymous
How to measure Red chilli exactly in cups?. Can you please tell it in grams?
Sharmilee! :)
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..
Anonymous
hardly 10 chillies fit in the cup. DO we have to break it and measure?
Sharmilee! :)
No I didnt break the chillies…My 1 cup holds 250ml
Srileka Arul
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
Sharmilee! :)
@Srileka : Thank You! Yes it is 1 and 1/2 cups
beena
must try & store this ! my hubby loves sambhar so this one seems like a must try… thanks 🙂
maya v k
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.
sweetpea
hi, do you wash the dals with water before dry roasting it? thanks for sharing your recipes.
Sharmilee! :)
@SweetPea : No no just dry roast dont wash it…
Amruta Gupte-Ghodke
hi … i don't have coriander seeds,but instead i have coriander powder. Can i use it ? if yes what should the quantity be ?
Sharmilee! :)
@Amruta : Coriander seeds used will give the powder a great flavour…so I suggest you to use the seeds
Megha
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!
SHARMILEE J
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.
Sowndarya Lakshmi
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
SHARMILEE J
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.
Sharmila Anbalagan
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!!!
SHARMILEE J
Oh that was a typo…have corrected it now 🙂
Liang
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.
Geeta
Do you need to wash and dry the chillies and corriander seeds?
Sharmilee J
No need if its clean..we can just pick out the specks before roasting
V
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 🙂
Jonathan Kandell
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.
Bindu Valsala
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?
SHARMILEE J
Guess it depends on the red chilli variety…may be reduce it next time
Manju
Hi Sharmi great sambar powder recipe. How to measure coriander seeds (3/4) cups?
Thanks
Manju
Sharmilee J
I just measured in my measuring cup only
Deethu Krishnan
Awesome!! My husband is a big fan of sambar made using this podi. Amazing!!! Keep posting such great authentic recipes!!!
Neeraja Rao
Thank you. If hing is to be added, is it 1 tsp of hing powder or the solid form that you meant? Please reply
Sharmilee J
you can use 1 tsp hing powder too
Nisha
Hi,
Is the mustard seeds only 1/2 tbsp? Looks a lot more. Please help.
Nisha
Sharmilee J
Yes yes it was a typo its 1 tbsp thanks for noting and letting me know 🙂
Suganya Prasaad
I made this yesterday, as I couldn’t get my podi stock from my mom this time. Mom’s recipe is almost same, still I followed yours as I wanted exact measurements. It turned out so so good.. today’s sambhar is just heavenly. Thank you for this recipe Sharmi. I’m a follower of your blog since a long time but this recipe is definitely close to my heart now as I wasn’t thinking this day would come when I had to grind my own podis. I was so used to getting from mom since the day I got married. This is new normal and I’m glad I could make it like her version. Well almost there! Gives me a lot of confidence though, to grind everything on my own from now on!! Have a good day Sharmi.