Sambar powder, freshly roasted and ground

Curry Powder  also...

Sambar Powder

There is one basic sambar powder  for which the ingredients are best given to a flour mill to grind. The hard , dried rhizomes of turmeric, and pungent and tough to home grind dry red chillies, the chana dal, coriander seeds etc , cannot easily be ground to an almost all-purpose flour-like texture at home. If it can, it is laborious, and unless one  lives far from civilization, it is not worth the effort!

Most flour mills will accept only quantities that are a kilogram or may be, even more. Ideally, you share with  friends who use sambar powder regularly; or you pack them in separate ziplock pouches and keep them in the freezer compartment of your fridge.

One can use this powder for dry subzis, in dals..any Indian cooking really.

The other is the FRESH ROASTED & GROUND SAMBAR POWDER. In Tamilnadu, it is called “Varuttu arachcha sambar”. In most  Tambram homes, this is the powder made and used in the sambar, except on a lazy day ! Nowadays, people have started making a jar full of it, and keep it in the fridge, to save themselves the bother of roasting and grinding the powder every day. What is more, it is used  on dry vegetables  too, to add a lot of volume ,texture and taste to it.

Here goes the receipe:

Dry Red Chillies—about 20 of them

Chana Dal—One cup

Dhania seeds- Two cups

Asoefiatida—a couple of pinches

Fenugreek seeds-two teaspoons

Vegetable oil-2 teaspoons

Dry (dehydrated) curry leaves- a few (optional)

Heat a frying pan, and add the oil. When it is hot, put the dry red chillies, and  turn it around, so that all the chillies turn a deep red, almost maroon, and get roasted. The pungent air around will tell you they are done. Take them off the pan, and now add the chana dal, dhania seeds,fenugreek seeds and asoefiatida.

When they are  nicely roasted, add the chillies back,  add the curry leaves, and give them a couple of minutes on the pan, to blend flavours and aromas, as you stir them. Take it off the gas.

After it has cooled down, grind them nicely in a blender. The powder  will, however, remain coarse.

Transfer it to a clean jar, and use it over the next few days, try to finish it in a month at most. For , it is meant to be roasted and ground fresh !