A spice powder used to make sambar, a South Indian lentil soup. This recipe gives you one of the most flavorful one.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 10 minutes
  • Total time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 1 · 1 cup
  • Category: Condiment
  • Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ tablespoons bengal gram ((chana dal or senaga pappu))
  • 1 ½ tablespoon black gram ((skinned urad dal or minapappu))
  • 1 tablespoon toor dal ((pigeon peas split or kandi pappu))
  • 8 to 12 red chilies ((adjust to taste))
  • ¼ cup coriander seeds ((or daniya) 4 tbsps of 22 to 25 grams)
  • ¾ teaspoon methi seeds ((fenugreek seeds or menthulu))
  • 2 sprigs curry leaves ((kadi patta or kervepaku) (optional))
  • 2 teaspoon cumin ((or jeera))
  • 1 teaspoon pepper corn ((optional))
  • 1/8 teaspoon asafoetida ((hing) (optional))
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric ((haldi powder))

Method

Preparation

  1. Clean lentils, coriander seeds and cumin seeds.
  2. Heat a pan and regulate the flame to low.
  3. The entire roasting should happen on a low flame which brings out the aroma from each ingredient.
  4. Dry roast chana dal, urad dal, toor dal and red chilies until golden. If you are making this in large quantity then roast each ingredient separately until deep golden.
  5. Add coriander seeds and methi seeds.
  6. Roast till the coriander turns crunchy and lightly roasted. By then methi seeds also turn slightly dark & aromatic.
  7. When you begin to smell the methi seeds nice, add curry leaves and roast until they turn crisp.
  8. Then add cumin and pepper (optional). Roast until it turns crunchy. Turn off the stove.
  9. At the end of this step, you should have deep roasted dal, methi, coriander seeds, crisp red chilies & curry leaves.
  10. Add turmeric and hing. Transfer to a wide plate and cool completely.

How to make Sambar Powder

  1. Add these to a blender/grinder jar.
  2. Make a fine powder. Cool completely and store in a airtight glass or steel jar.
  3. Use sambar powder as needed. It keeps good at room temperature for 3 months.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.