Recipe Talk

what is sambaar powder or sambhar powder?

hope this helps
Sambhar masala or Sambaar Powder (also spelled Sambar) is a classic spice blend commonly used in South Indian cooking. It is especially used in cooking Lentils (Dhal or Dal) and mixed vegetable. Sambhar Masala can be either made at home by mixing spices such as turmeric, coriander, cayenne, fenugreek, cumin and pulses or easily bought in store. A simple classic recipe of Sambhar masala is given below.

Ingredients:

spices:
10 dried red chilies
6 tablespoon cilantro (coriander) seed
2 tablespoon cumin seeds
11/2 tablespoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoon fenugreek

pulses or lentils:
2 teaspoon urad dal or dhal (white split gram beans)
2 teaspoon channa dal or dhal (yellow split peas)
2 teaspoon mung dal or dhal

Preparation:

Take out seed and stalk from chilies. Heat all spices except turmeric in low-medium heat until they give rich aromatic flavor. Make them toasted without burning.
Heat all the pulses (lentils) in low medium heat. Make them toasted without burning.
Grind and mix both with turmeric.

Indian Herb & Spice Mixes

chat masala = chaat masala To make your own: Roast in a pan one tablespoon coriander seeds and two tablespoons cumin seeds, then grind them along with two tablespoons black peppercorns, one tablespoon crushed dried red chile peppers, one tablespoon amchoor powder, and one tablespoon salt. Substitutes: garam masala

curry powder To make your own: Combine equal parts ground coriander, ground cumin, ground pepper, turmeric, and ground ginger OR 4 parts ground coriander + 2 parts ground cumin + 2 parts ground tumeric + 1 part ground ginger (For more variations, visit the Illinois Cooperative Extension Service's Curry--Ingredients page, or the recipe for Curry Powder posted on RecipeSource.com.)

five-spice See: 1. Chinese five-spice powder 2. panch phoron

garam masala = Indian sweet spice mix = sweet spice mix Notes: You can buy this either whole or ground. Durban is a well-regarded brand. To make your own: 2 parts ground cardamom + 5 parts ground coriander + 4 parts ground cumin + 2 parts ground black pepper + 1 part ground cloves + 1 part ground cinnamon + 1 part ground nutmeg (Adapted from a recipe in Substituting Ingredients by Becky Sue Epstein and Hilary Dole Klein. See my sources.) or see the recipe for Garam Masala posted on RecipeSource.com. Substitutes: equals parts cumin, pepper, cloves, and nutmeg, all ground OR curry powder (spicier, different flavor)

Indian sweet spice mix

masala Notes: This is the catch-all Hindi term for a spice mixture. Popular masalas include garam masala, chat masala, and sambar masala.

panch phoron = panch pharon = panchphoran = five spice Notes: This is a Bengali spice mix that combines aniseed, cumin, fenugreek, mustard and nigella. Don't confuse it with Chinese five spice powder, which is completely different. Substitutes: garam masala OR curry powder

sweet spice mix

tandoori seasoning To make your own: See the Tandoori Rub posting on RecipeSource.com.

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