Sambar Podi (Sambar Masala Mix)

Category: Home made Powder
Preparation Time: 5 mins  
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Servings: yields around 1 1/2 cups

For a  best tasting Sambar, the secret ingredient is the Sambar podi / Sambar Masala. There are lot of Sambar Masala mix available in the market, but Home made masala is always taste best and fresh :) 

Home made Sambar Masala

If you're used to buy masalas from the store, it might feel like a hectic task to prepare at home. But once we started, we cant resist ourselves from making these at home. Also we can adjust the ingredients as per our liking and preference.

These home made masala powders are filled with aroma, flavour and most importantly no preservatives. Also when we have babies or toddlers, we can easily adjust the spice level when we make it by ourselves at home.

Sambar Podi

I have already posted a Sambar Podi recipe here. This is slightly different and this is my go-to masala for Sambars, Quick Sambar rice, Veg roasts, Puli Kuzhambu, Kootu, Variety rices :)

Make sure to roast the ingredients in low flame or else certain spices will get burnt fast which affects the flavor of the podi. 

For a brighter colour, add byadagi chillies along with the spicy chillies.

Ingredients: 

• Coriander seeds- 1/2 cup
• Channa dal- 3 Tbsp
• Whole Urad dal - 3 Tbsp
• Toor Dal - 2 Tbsp
• Dry Red chillies- 15 - 25 nos (adjust as per spice level)
• Cumin seeds-  1 and 1/2 Tbsp
• Black Pepper- 1/2 Tbsp
• Fenugreek seeds / Methi seeds -  1/2 Tbsp

Home made Sambhar Powder (with coconut)

Category: Home made Powder
Preparation Time: 5 mins  
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Servings: yields around 1 1/2 cups

Home made Sambhar Podi

Home made powders are always special. Usually I would prepare Sambhar with freshly roasted and ground masala (Arachuvitta sambhar). This time I prepared sambhar podi at home so that I can also use it for quick sambhar, stir fries and mixed rice varieties too:) This powder is so flavourful and since I dont want it to be spicy, I had reduced the amount of chillies. Make sure to roast the ingredients in low flame or else certain spices will get burnt fast which affects the flavor of the podi.

Ready to Grind...

Ingredients: 

• Coriander seeds- 1 cup
• Channa Dhal- 1/4 cup
• Dry Red chillies- 10 - 20 nos (adjust as per spice level)
• Cumin seeds-  2 tbsp
• Pepper- 1 tbsp
• Fenugreek seeds-  1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves -  3 springs
• Dry coconut gratings- 1/4 cup
• Cinnamon stick - 4 small pieces
• Turmeric powder -1 tsp
• Asafoetida - a generous pinch

Method:

1. Dry Roast the curry leaves in low flame for 2 mins until it becomes slight crispy
   
2. Add the coriander seeds to the pan and roast for few mins until it gets roasted well and we get a nice aroma; By then the curry leaves would have become crispy. Transfer them to a plate
   
3. In the same pan, add the channa dhal and roast in low flame until it turns glden brown; once done transfer it to the plate
   
4. Dry roast the fenugreek and mustard seeds for a min till the fenugreek seeds gives out nice roasted aroma and then transfer to the plate
   
5. Dry roast the cinnamon sticks, cumin seeds and pepper for a min and transfer it to the plate
   
6. Roast the dried red chillies until they become crispy; transfer it to the plate
   
7. Add the dry coconut to the pan and switch off the stove; roast it until it starts to turn golden brown. Heat of the pan would be enough for it and then add to the other ingredients in the plate
   
8. Finally add in the asafoetida and turmeric powder (If using solid asafoetida we can even roast it for few secs and add)
9. Once the roasted spices cooled down, add it to the mixer jar and grind it to a powder
   
10. Since I used my blender, its a bit coarse powder
11. Spread it in a plate for about half an hour and then transfer to an airtight container
    
12. Store it in a cool and dry place
13. We can use it for Sambhar, Sambhar Sadham, Kuzhambu, vegetable stir fries and rice varieties

    

    So flavourful....

Beetroot Sambhar with Freshly ground Masala (Arachuvitta Sambhar)

Category:  Sambhar Recipes
Preparation Time: 10 mins  
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Servings: 4-5 servings

Beet Sambhar

For the last 1-2 years, I am preparing Sambhar in this way only with freshly roast & ground Masala, since my kid loves it:) Its a bit time consuming, but really worth it. The fresh Masala gives a nice flavour and aroma and of course very tasty than using the Sambar Powder. This time for a change, I added Beetroot in Sambhar and it really comes out very well. Kids who wont like to have beetroot as poriyal will surely like it:)

BeetRoot Arachuvitta Sambhar

 Ingredients: 

For Cooking Dhal:

• Toor Dhal - 1/2 cup
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp (For cooking Dhal)
• Castor Oil - few drops  (For cooking Dhal)
• Water - Around 1 1/2 cups

Veggies:

• Beetroot - 1 no, chopped
• Small onions - 10-12 nos, halved
• Tomato - 1 no, chopped

To Roast &Grind:

• Channa Dhal - 1 tbsp
• Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
• Red chiilies - 1-3 nos (adjust as per spice level)
• Raw Rice - 1/2 tsp (Optional and I didnt use this time)
• Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Methi seeds -  1/4 tsp
• Dry Coconut - 2 tbsp

For Tempering:

• Ghee / Oil -2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chilly - 1 no, broken
• Curry leaves - few
• Asafoetida (Hing) - a generous pinch

Other Ingredients:

• Oil - 1 tsp
• Tamarind - small lemon sized
• Water - as required
• Coriander leaves - for garnishing
• Salt-  to taste

Method:

1. Cooking Dhal: Pressure cook Dhal with required water, turmeric, few drops of castor oil for 3 whistles in medium flame (We can even presoak the dhal for 20-30 mins for faster cooking). Once it gets cooked, mash it up; If we are having more water, reserve a little for adding to the veggies or else take around 1 tbsp of cooked dhal and mix it up with a cup of water and keep it ready
   
2. Preparing Masala: Heat up a small pan, add the Channa dhal and roast it in low flame until it turns golden brown. Then add the coriander seeds, red chillies and raw rice and roast till the seeds start to brown; by this time the chilies would become crisp and rice gets puffed up a bit. Finally switch off the flame and add the cumin seeds, methi seeds and dry coconut, fry well in the heat of the pan itself. Transfer to a plate and alllow it to cool down. Then grind to a fine powder or we can even grind it with little water to a fine paste
   
   
   
   
3. Tamarind Extract: Soak the tamarind in warm water for 15 mins and extract the juice
4. Veggies: Chop the veggies and keep them ready
   
5. Heat 1 tsp of Oil in a pan, add the halved onions and saute for a min
   
6. Add the chopped tomato pieces and saute for 1 min
   
7. Now add the chopped beetroot and saute for 2 mins
   
8. Add the dhal water and allow to cook till the beetroot becomes soft and gets cooked
   
9. Then add the ground masala powder / paste. If we grind to a powder, we can even mix it up with few tsp of water to form a paste so that there will not be any lump formation while adding it. Mix it well and bring it to boil
   
10. Now add the tamarind extract with required salt and allow to boil for 2 mins in medium flame
    
    
    
    
11. Add the cooked dhal and mix well
    
12. Adjust the water quantity and check for salt (Sambhar will tends to become thick while cools down so adjust water accordingly)
    
13. Allow to boil for few mins in low to medium flame 
    
14. Tempering: Heat up a small pan, add ghee / oil, once it becomes hot add mustard seeds followed by cumin seeds. Once it splutters, add red chilly and curry leaves, fry for few secs and switch it off. Finally add the asafoetida
    
15. Pour the tempering over the boiling sambhar and switch it off
    
16. Mix well and garnish with coriander leaves
    
17. Serve hot with Rice or even with Idli / Dosa / Pongal:)
    

Instant Sambhar Ready Mix

Category: Ready Mix
Preparation Time: 5 mins  
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Servings: yields 1 1/2 - 2 cups

I used to prepare ready mixes only when going out on trips:) These would surely come in handy when we stay in hotel and have access to stove or even just the electric rice cooker. And if we have frozen vegetables, this is even quick. Also this would help the people who stays away from home and still needs quick home made food:) If we roast and grind carefully without any water and untouched by hands, I am sure it will stay good for atleast 1-2 months at the room temperature and also we can refrigerate if needed to prolong the shelf life.

We mostly prepare sambhar by grinding fresh masala (Arachuvitta Sambhar) and i just adapted from that for this Ready mix. You can adjust the ingredients as per your liking and preference:) In this sambhar mix, I didnt roast and grind tamarind since I was having only tamarind paste at that time. One more thing, since I had not included tamarind, we can have it like side dish for chapathi too by adding more veggies while cooking:)

Instant Sambhar Ready Mix

Ingredients: 
For Roasting & Grinding:

• Toor Dhal - 1/2 cup
• Channa Dhal - 3 tbsp
• Coriander seeds - 1/4 cup
• Raw Rice - 2 tbsp
• Red Chillies - 2-6 nos(adjust as per spice level)
• Cumin seeds - 3/4 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Cinnamon stick - small piece
• Pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
• Dry Coconut - 1/4 cup
• Tamarind - lemon sized
• Coriander leaves - few
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - as required

For Tadka:

• Oil - 1 tsp
• Ghee - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - few
• Asafoetida - a pinch

For Preparing Sambhar:
1 Serving:

• 2 tbsp Ready Mix + 1 cup of water + Chopped Tomato + Onion + Veggies (I used frozen) + tamarind paste (if not added) +salt (if required) --------> Boil for 10 mins -------> Sambhar Ready!!!

Method:

1. Dry Roast the ingredients under roast & grind one by one separately in a pan till it gets roasted well and gives nice aroma and allow to cool down. Add the turmeric powder and salt at the end
   
2. Grind the roasted ingredients into a fine powder using mixie / blender
   
   
   
   
    
3. Heat oil+ghee in a pan and prepare the tadka with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves
4. Pour it over the ground powder and mix well
   
   
   
5. Once it cooled down completely, transfer to an airtight container / ziplock bag
6. I usually prefer to write the instruction on the ziplock covers to make it easy when we are travelling / or for the bachelors / beginners to prepare:)
   
7. For 1 serving, add 2 tbsp of prepared ready mix, 1 cup of water, 1 chopped tomato, chopped onions, available veggies around 1/4 cup, tamarind paste (since not included in the mix) to a bowl and heat it up; Adjust salt to taste
   
8. Once it reaches boiling, allow to boil for 10 - 15 mins, until the veggies get cooked and switch off. 
   
9. Hot Instant Sambhar is ready to be served:)
   

Vendakkai Sambhar (Lady's Finger / Okra Sambhar)

Category:  Lunch
Preparation Time: 10 mins 
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Servings: 3-4 persons

Vendakkai Sambhar

 Ingredients:

• Toor Dhal - 1/2 cup
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Castor Oil - few drops 
• Small onions - 12-15 nos / Big Onion, chopped- 1 no
• Tomato, roughly chopped  - 1 no.
• Vendakkai / Lady's finger / Okra - 10-15 nos
• Tamarind - lemon sized (I used 1/2 tsp of tamarind concentrate)
• Sambhar powder (Home made / Store bought) -1 - 1 1/2 tsp
• Cooking Oil -2 tsp
• Ghee - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida (Hing) - a generous pinch
• Curry leaves - few
• Water - as required
• Coriander leaves - 3-4 tbsp
• Salt-  to taste

Method:

1. Pressure cook Dhal with required water, turmeric, few drops of castor oil for 3 whistles in medium flame
2. Wash the Lady's finger and wipe dry with paper / kitchen towel; trim the ends and cut into 1 inch pieces
   
3. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and saute the lady's finger pieces well till it starts to brown and without any stickiness
   
4. Once it gets sauted, remove from the pan and set aside
   
5. In the same pan, add 1/2 tsp of oil and add the chopped onion along with pinch of salt; saute well for 1-2 mins
   
6. Add the tomato pieces and saute for another 1-2 mins till it turns mushy
   
7. Add the sauted lady's finger pieces to it and mix well
   
8. Add a pinch of turmeric powder, Sambhar powder and little salt, saute for a min
   
9. Add the tamarind extract with 1/2 cup of water and allow the vegetable to cook well
   
10. When the veg gets cooked, add the cooked dhal and mix well
    
11. Check for salt and adjust the water consistency as per requirement
12. Allow the sambhar to boil for few mins in low / medium flame
13. In another pan, prepare tadka by heating 1/2 tsp oil and 1 tsp of ghee, once it gets hot add the mustard seeds, followed by asafoetida, cumin seeds, curry leaves
14. Add the tadka / tempering to the boiling sambar and switch it off
    
15. Garnish with coriander leaves
    
16. Serve hot with Rice / Idly / Dosa / Pongal