Sāmbhar masala powder (spice mix)

• Servings:
• Roasting time: 15 minutes.
• Grinding time: 2-3 minutes.
• Total time: 18 minutes.

While I try to unearth the origin of a certain food out of my own vagrant curiosity, I end up mind-boggled since more than the views on origin, the evolution becomes a foundation for my thoughts.

The story of Sāmbhar, as not many people would know or agree dates back to the 18th century when Shahaji, the Maratha king of Thanjavur came up with sambar by mixing tamarind curry with lentils and named it in honour of his cousin Sambhaji who was visiting him. While this sounds too predictable, the etymological origin explains the word Sambar (old Tamil:”Champaar”) stemming from the Tamil word Champaaram meaning spicy condiments. “Chambaram kootu” and “chambaram podi” means curry powder.

The mouth watering Sāmbhar has found its way from the “every household’s own version” in South India to the best of culinary delightful hotels across the globe. Some like it spicy, some like it thick, some plain while some a little sweet and sour. There’s no end to one’s personal choice of the Sāmbhar’s customization.

Yet we are living in an age where we have less time and dream of saving that little time for dreaming about our dreams. So be it so, we make a faster version of this delectable Sāmbhar by making a ready-to-use homemade spice-mix, “The Sāmbhar Powder”. Save the bigger quantity in your refrigerator and use it month over month and get Sāmbhar served instantly. What better alas you have your own version of it?

Ingredients:

• Fenugreek seed: 1 tablespoon
• Coriander seed: 2 tablespoon
• Long red chilli: 4-5 no.
• Black pepper: 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida: half teaspoon
• Turmeric powder: 1 pinch
• Mustard seed: ¼ teaspoon
• Cumin: 1 teaspoon
• Fresh curry leaves: 15-20 no.
• Split Bengal gram: 1 teaspoon (optional)
• Split black gram: 1 teaspoon (optional)
• Split green gram: 1 teaspoon (optional)

Preparation:

1. Roast all ingredients one by one with 2-3 drops of oil, keep aside.
2. Let it cool to room temperature.

Method:

1. Grind all ingredients till become fine powder.
2. Sieve and grind again the residue.
3. Store this powder Sāmbhar masala into air tight container, for months.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Sāmbhar masala powder (spice mix) by Nag Ratna Sahu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.