Home made Sambar Powder - How to make sambar powder - A fool proof recipe

     Sambar powder is a very basic masala ,which is used in most of the curries in South India. Every home's pantry has this magic powder ,that brings out flavours from the curry. I used to bring loads from India. It is usually, milled in machines in India. But if you don't have any option, we can just dry roast it and grind it in the mixie. Alternatively, we can dry roast the masala and mill it in the machine. Add a tsp of this powder in all the curries, it will be too good. One of my blog reader,was asking about the recipe, so I posted it today. This is a fool proof recipe, which my MIL follows for almost 4 decades.In our home, preapring this sambar powder is almost like a military process. My MIL will strictly follow the cleaning and grinding process. Storage is also a main aspect of  this process. Store the sambar powder in cool and dry place. Never refrigerate the sambar powder, if not it will change the colour.

Drying time - 2 days

Yield - approx 2 kg

Stays fresh - for almost a year

Ingredients:

1.Red Chillies          - 1 1/2 kg

2.Coriander Seeds   - 1 1/2 Kg

3.Pepper corns        - 50 gm

4.Cumin seeds         - 50 gm

5.Methi seeds          - 25 gm

6.Chana dal            - 100 gm

7.Toor dal              - 100 gm

8.Raw rice              - 50 gm

9.Curry leaves        - a cup

Method: 

*  Remove the stalk of the red chillies. Remove any stones in the grinding ingredients. The dust and stones in all the ingredients should be removed. This is strictly carried out by my MIl, every time .This makes the chilli powder to have longer shelf life.   * Dry the ingredients separately under direct sun for atleast 2 days. My MIL will take pain to remove the ingredients and store well inside. The next day, She will take it again to the terrace and dry the ingredients well. When we, dry the ingredients, the weight will reduce to almost half.  * After this strict drying process , my FIL will take it to the mill and grind it finely.Once it is grinded, cool them on a news paper . Never store the chilli powder ,while it is hot. When it is cooled completely, store the chilli powder in plastic containers. For daily use, store chilli powder in small contaienrs. This will make the shelf life of the sambar powder longer.  * I used to bring load of sambar powder to US, when I go to India. My mom prepares sambar powder differently, compared to my MIL. Will post the recipe soon.We can store the sambar powder in dry place. There is no need to store the samabr powder in fridge. If you store the sambar powder in fridge , it will change the colour of the samabr powder.  * Adding curry leaves will give a unique aroma to the sambar. We can also dry roast the ingredients , once it is dried under the sun. This will increase the flavour of the sambar. Always use dry hands to take the sambar powder, if not it will go bad.