Home made Sambhar Powder

Though this is a very simple post I decided to write this for few reasons. It will be helpful for readers when they try few recipes where I use this home made sambhar powder. Beginners would get an idea about this powder too. There are many variations in the proportion and ingredients used for this powder and I follow my MIL's recipe as usual :). Once you taste the aroma of home made powder I am sure you wont feel like buying store bought powders!! Lets see the procedure to make sambhar powder.

Sambhar Powder

Cuisine: Indian Category: -- Difficulty level: Easy Prep Time: -- Cook time: 30 mins Servings: 2 Cups

Ingredients Dry Red Chilies 2 cups Dhania 1.5 Cups Toor Dal 1 Cups Urad Dal 1/4 Cup Channa Dal 1/4 Cup Pepper corns 1 Tsp Methi seeds 1 Tsp Curry leaves (optional) 1/4 Cup

Method             1.     Dry roast the dals along with dhania, pepper corns and methi seeds in medium flame for few minutes. Once the dals turn golden brown add curry leaves and saute for few minutes and switch off. Roast chili with 1 Tsp oil for 2-3 minutes.     2.     Cool down all the ingredients separately. First grind the chili for 2 minutes. Add the dry roasted ingredients and grind till you get smooth powder as shown.      3.     Store in air tight container and use a dry spoon.                                           Notes

·         You can use the same proportion and adjust quantity as per your preference. I use 4 fistful red chilies and dals in this proportion to get lesser quantity.      ·         If you want to grind in bulk amounts just sun dry all the ingredients separately for 2 days and grind in mills.       ·         If we grind in home the powder will be slightly coarse. But I prefer grinding fresh!!      ·         Stays good for many months. Always store in airtight container and use dry spoon. My mom insists to store it in stainless steel or glass container to retain aroma.

You can try the following kuzhambu using this powder :) 

• Paruppu urundai Kuzhambu
• Manathakali Vathalkuzhambu
• Vendhya Kuzhambu
• Sodhi Kuzhambu 

Idly milagai podi

Most of us love to pair idly/dosa with "idly milagai podi" or simply "idly podi". But many of us opt to use store brought powder thinking its a complex process to make it. On the contrary it is very easy to make at home and nothing beats the freshly ground powder!. We can use this powder as a quick fix to increase spice level in sabjis , tomato rice etc. Sharing my MILs version of this powder. Do try it and I can assure once you taste home made powder you will not think of getting store bought powder again :).

Idly milagai podi

Cuisine: Indian Category: Side dish Difficulty level: Easy Prep Time: 5 mins Cook time: 10 mins Servings: 1/2 cup

Ingredients Channa dal 1.5 Tbsp Urad dal 1 Tbsp Dry red chilies 20 Asafetida A generous pinch Sesame seeds 1 Tsp Mustard 1 Tsp Oil 1 Tsp Salt 1 Tsp

Preparation            1.     Dry roast both dals along with mustard and Asafetida for few mins. Once the dals turn golden brown switch off flame. Dry roast seasame seeds for one minute (or till they start spluttering).     2.     In pan add 1 tsp oil and roast the red chilies for few minutes. Once they are roasted well they will bulge a bit and give out oil. Method      1.     Cool down all the roasted ingredients separately.     2.     First grind the chilies coarsely. Add the dals and grind for another minute. Finally add salt along with sesame seeds and grind for another minute.      3.     Serve with idlies/ dosas :).

Notes       ·         Do not change the order while roasting or grinding.      ·         I have used compound asafetida.If you are using powdered asafetida you can add it lastly while grinding.      ·         Adding sesame seeds to hot pan will ensure easy and even cooking of them. Do remove them once they start spluttering else podi will become bitter.      ·         Adding oil while roasting chilies will prevent too much choking.       ·         You can grind the podi as smooth as you like. We prefer it bit coarse!!      ·         Similarly adjust red chili according to your spice level. If you find it too hot you can roast some more dals, powder them and mix. This measure works best for our taste buds :).

Store in airtight container and always use dry spoon:) 

 

Rasapodi- Rasam powder

Rasam powder is such a simple powder to make at home. Usually I roast and grind fresh powder whenever I make rasam and will forget to grind this powder. However this powder comes really handy on days when we feel lazy or tired. Many of my north Indian friends are fan of rasam so they asked to post this recipe. So I finally made the powder . There can be many variations in preparing this powder I am sharing my version.

Rasam Powder

Cuisine: Indian Category: Main Course Difficulty level: Easy Prep Time: 5 mins Cook time: 5 mins Servings: 1 cup

Ingredients Thur dal 2 Tablespoon Corriander seeds 3 tablespoon Dry red chilies 20 Pepper 1 tablespoon Jeera 1 tablespoon Curry leaves 4-5 springs Preparation     1.     Dry roast the curry leaves in medium flame for few minutes. This is done to remove the moisture in the leaves. Once they shrink switch off the flame.

Method            1.     Assemble all the ingredients.     2.     Grind the mixture to a coarse powder. You can grind it to a smooth powder if you prefer that way.                                        Notes

·           Store in air tight container and always use dry spoon.     ·     You can increase or decrease number of chilies according to your spice level. This proportion works best for me!!