Sambar Masala powder | Glutenfreewhisk

Making sambar masala powder at home after podi masala is another best decision that I took to enjoy South Indian lunch at home. Sambar was never my favorite curry as it was never to my liking whenever I ate at any restaurant. It was always either too spicy or too watery to my liking and I absolutely dislike it. I love my curry to be of a thicker consistency and not extremely watery. Making sambar at home gives me that freedom to prepare it as per my liking.

Sambar masala is available in the market with multiple spices and ingredients added with stabilizers and flavoring agents but making it at home with selective ingredients and control on spices is a good way to make your own spice mix. For example, I have skipped adding haldi in my Sambar masala as while cooking any curry we add turmeric or haldi in almost every curry. Also, I haven't added hing or asafetida as I personally don't enjoy its flavor and after watching some content about the adulteration this ingredient goes through, I prefer avoiding it whenever possible. And the best part is I can adjust the spice level as per my taste buds.

The learning I had while preparing Sambar masala powder at home was that even if I dry roast dried mango (raw mango whole, not the powder), it is not possible to grind it in my Sambar masala mix. I roasted and added it to my blender as I saw a famous content creator who roasted and added imli and I don't know how she was able to achieve what she claimed to have achieved. Anyways, my suggestion is to add imli pulp or dried mango later when you are in the process of making sambar. You can even refer to my sambar recipe to understand it.

A lot of people add imli or tamarind in sambar masala as it goes great in south Indian curries. You can even squeeze fresh lime juice if you don't have either of the above-mentioned ingredients for that tangy taste. This tanginess is a must in sambar recipe.

I have done my fair share of blunders as well for my first take in making both sambar Masala and sambar at home and have only learned from them. Once I didn't bother to cook the sambar powder in sambar curry as I was scared that if I burn the already roasted sambar masala ingredients while making sambar That I will burn it all, but I was wrong. I end up making raw tasting masala in my sambar recipe that was not a pleasant experience.

But my sambar powder recipe is full proof. Very little spice just enough to give it a kick, the right amount of everything. Indulgent and delicious.

INGREDIENTS - 

4 tbsp aarhar dal

2 tbsp urad dal

3 tbsp chana dal

4 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp meethi/ fenugreek seeds

3 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp black pepper 

1-2 stalk curry leaves

1-inch dried red chili

1-2 tbsp desiccated coconut

4 Roasted dried mango, shaving

METHOD - 

1. In a pan roast the red chili and curry leaves, once they are about to get done add the desiccated coconut and roast it as well. Set aside to cool.

2. Now roast cumin seeds, coriander seeds, meethi dana and black pepper. Once roasted and fragrant. Set aside to cool.

3. Now in the same pan roast the washed dals one by one until they have all its water soaked and are roasted well. Allow all the 3 dals to cool as well.

4. Now grind everything to a fine powder and store it in a glass bottle and refrigerate it so that the shelf life increases.

5. While making sambar at home do not forget to add the roasted dried mango in it. 

NOTE - Make sure your dal is clean if you are using dried one. I prefer washing my dal to remove the impurities and then roasting it. It takes sometime so be patient as the end result is great. You have to add turmeric powder, salt, mango or imli later while making sambar as they are important part of sambar masala powder.

Check the full recipe on YouTube (Gluten_free_whisk) - Sambar Masala powder recipe

Sambar Masala Powder | Glutenfreewhisk