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A wooden bowl and spoon with bright orange sambar podi or sambar spice blend.

Homemade Sambar Powder Spice Blend

Shri Repp
Freshly ground sambar powder is the foundation of a superb sambar. This powder gets its warm nutty taste from the coriander seeds, its heat and red-orange vibrance from the dried whole Kashmiri chilis, and its bitterness from the methi (fenugreek) seeds.
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Cook Time 10 minutes
Course Spice Blends
Servings 0.5 cup
Calories 420 kcal

Equipment

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
 

  1. 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.
    Small bowls that contain individual ingredients to make sambar podi or sambar spice blend. One bowl with dried Kashmiri chili pepper, one bowl with chana dal, one bowl with raw white rice and Indian dried red chilis, a big bowl with corainder seeds, and the last bowl has cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds.
  2. In a medium pan, dry roast ¼ cup coriander seeds and 2 tablespoons 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.
    A hand holding two pieces of chana dal. The left is untoasted chana dal that is pale and the right is a golden piece of chana dal that has been adequately roasted. In the background are whole coriander seeds and chana dal that are being toasted for sambar podi.
  3. Next, dry roast 1 teaspoon raw rice, 3-5 whole dried red guntur or chili de arbol, and 5 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.
    A pan with toasted white rice, dried Kashmiri chilis, and dried red Indian chilis. The ingredients are being toasted for sambar powder.
  4. Add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and ½ teaspoon 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
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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.

Nutrition

Calories: 420kcalCarbohydrates: 79gProtein: 18gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gSodium: 31mgPotassium: 770mgFiber: 36gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 2172IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 447mgIron: 14mg
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