Ingredients for sambar recipe ¾ cup Toor dal (or split pigeon peas) (refer notes) 1 to 2 tablespoon Tamarind or tamarind paste as needed ¼ cup Coriander leaves few with tender stalks – chopped salt as needed 1/8 teaspoon turmeric (skip if your sambar powder has it)
Make sambar powder - Skip this if you have the powder While the dal cooks, make the sambar powder. Dry roast red chilies, urad dal and chana dal until golden & crisp. Add coriander seeds & fry till aromatic. Remove to a plate. Next add methi seeds and saute until slightly dark. Then add cumin, fry for a minute.
Tamilnadu brahmin style sambar powder recipe for making lunch sambar. 1 Coriander seeds / Dhania - 3/4 kg 2 Red chilli - 1/4 kg (Use 1/2 kg for more spice) 3 Toor dal, Urad dal, Chana dal - 200 gms each 4 Pepper - 50 gms 5 Cumin seeds / Jeera - 50 gms 6 Methi / Fenugreek seeds – 1.5 tbsp 7 Turmeric sticks / Virali manjal - 100 gms
Each region, each family, each household has their own variation of this spice blend. This is a very authentic Tamil Brahmin version of sambar powder that mother has perfected over the years of cooking. To begin making the Sambar Powder Recipe, we will first dry roast all the ingredients.