Making a good homemade sambar podi is the key to making a delicious sambar. This post goes in depth on my ideal sambar podi recipe and gives you the tools to understand how to tweak it to make it your own.
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What is sambar podi?
Sambar podi or sambar powder is a South Indian orange-y spice blend used to make the lentil stew called sambar. Everyone has their own ratios of what goes into this podi but at a high level it is a combo of coriander seeds, dal, and chilis.
Purpose of each ingredient in sambar powder
Here are a list of the ingredients in the sambar powder. It is important to understand what each of these ingredients bring to the table so you can adjust the podi to your liking. Start with the base recipe provided below but tweak the ratios based on your taste.
- Coriander Seeds - Add earthy and robust taste but also are important to give body to the sambar.
- Chana Dal - Adds a nutty taste and helps thicken the sambar. The closest substitute is toor dal. In a pinch, you can substitute masoor dal as well.
- Raw Rice - Helps thicken and give the sambar a silky texture.
- Whole Dried Thai Red Chilis - Add a fiery heat to the sambar. Reduce this if you like a milder flavor.
- Whole Dried Kashmiri Chilis - Add a subtle heat but also a vibrant color to the sambar powder.
- Cumin Seeds - Add a nutty and earthy flavor.
- Fenugreek Seeds (Methi Seeds) - Add bitterness to the sambar podi.
Tips on toasting sambar spices
Toasting your spices is crucial to making a delicious sambar podi. When whole spices are toasted, they release their aromatic oils and make their flavors more pronounced. Skipping this step will yield a spice blend that is dull and will not utilize the potential of the spices' flavors.
- Individually toast spices. It is very important to toast spices individually because thicker spices like coriander seeds and chana dal take a longer time to fully toast while the thinner spices like cumin seeds toast fairly quickly.
- Rely on senses rather than the strict timings listed in the recipe. Indicators that the spices are done toasting are when you can smell their aromatic scent, when you can see them brown, or when you can hear them popping in the pan. The timings are more of a rough estimate and can vary depending on the type of pan used and the temperature settings of your stove.
- Toast spices on medium heat. Toasting the spices at any higher heat can cause them to burn.
- When toasting spices for spice blends, dry toast the spices. Dry toasting means that the spices are simply toasted on the pan with no added oils or fats.
- Constantly move spices around to ensure browning on all sides.
- If spices burn, start over, or else the sambar powder will have a bitter and burned final taste.
- The fresher the spices, the better the final powder. Try to source spices that have a harvest date on them so you know how fresh they are.
Tips on grinding sambar powder
- Allow spices to cool before grinding. Skipping this step can cause steam in the spice grinder which can sometimes pop off the lid or cause condensation in the spice blend. Condensation drastically reduces the shelf life of the sambar powder.
- Don't overstuff the spice grinder; instead, grind spices in batches.
- Do not smell or sniff the freshly ground spices when you open the spice grinder. This spice blend has chilis, and the chilis when freshly ground are potent and can cause irritation in the nose and eyes.
- Tap the spice grinder lid to push the spices into the grinder when opening it, to prevent powder from flying around and being wasted.
- If you are using a mortar and pestle to grind the sambar powder, take care to grind the spices in small batches to get as fine of a powder as possible. Make sure to use a series of smash motions (up/down) as well as rotating circular motions to really help break down the spices.
Shelf life and storage tips
It is best to allow the sambar powder to fully cool before storing it away. Store in a cool, dark, airtight container for the longest shelf life. Sambar podi is most flavorful within six months of grinding.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best substitute for chana dal in sambar podi is toor dal. However, in a pinch you can use split and hulled moong dal to create the same thickness and nuttiness in the dal.
The flavor of sambar powder diminishes with time. However, the flavor should still be present up to six months after grinding.
Kashmiri chilis are bigger chilis that are much milder than guntur/arbol dried red chilis.
Homemade Sambar Powder Spice Blend
Product Reccs
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (18 g) coriander seeds
- 2 tablespoons (31 g) chana dal or substitute masoor dal (red lentils)
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) raw rice any kind (basmati, jasmine, short grain)
- 3-5 (3-5 g) whole dried red guntur or chili de arbol stems removed
- 5 (15 g) whole dried Kashmiri chilis stems removed
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) fenugreek seeds aka methi seeds
Instructions
- Note: The spices will be toasted with other spices of similar thickness because they all toast at different times. The timings in this recipe are guidelines but the indicators given of smell and color are more important to follow. It is important not to burn the spices or else it will impart a bitter taste to the final powder.
- In a medium pan, dry roast ¼ cup (18 g) coriander seeds and 2 tablespoons (31 g) chana dal on medium heat until you can smell the fragrance of the spices. This should take ~5-6 minutes. A visual indicator is that the chana dal will be a deep golden brown. Remove the spices from the pan and set aside in a bowl.
- Next, dry roast 1 teaspoon (4 g) raw rice, 3-5 (3-5 g) whole dried red guntur or chili de arbol, and 5 (15 g) whole dried Kashmiri chilis on medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until you start to see the rice puff slightly and turn white and the chilis crisp Remove the spices from the pan and add to bowl with other spices. When the chilis cool, a good way to tell that they were toasted properly is to try to break them in half. If the chilis snap and are brittle when bent then they have been toasted enough. If the chilis are soft and refuse to break, it is an indicator that they need to toast more.
- Add 1 teaspoon (2 g) cumin seeds and ½ teaspoon (2 g) fenugreek seeds to the pan and toast for ~1 minute or until you start to smell the fragrance of the cumin and it starts to slightly darken. Add to the bowl with other spices.
- Allow all the spices to cool for 5-10 minutes. This is important as warm spices will create condensation when ground and therefore reduce shelf life of the sambar powder.
- Work in small batches to add spices into the spice grinder and grind all the sambar spices to a fine powder. It helps to use your fingers to snap the chilis into smaller pieces to aid the spice grinder. Do not directly smell the powder when the spices are ground as the chilis can irritate your nose.
- Wait until the spice blend feels cool to the touch and store in an airtight container or use to make sambar. Sambar podi is most flavorful when used sooner but will still be flavorful for up to 6 months.
Notes and Tips
- Ground spices are most potent and flavorful after grinding but can last up to a year in an airtight container.
- Use this sambar podi for this pumpkin sambar recipe.
Kitchenhutt Spices says
thanks to the quality of your recipes & other content...
Cate says
I'm keen to try this and make the pumpkin sambar. I am allergic to chickpeas, so what could I use instead?
Shri Repp says
Hey Cate! I'm so excited for you to try. You can use split moong dal or split masoor dal (red lentil) instead of chana dal as a substitute!