Sambar Masala Recipe

Dosa with Sambar
Ideowl/Flickr/CC BY 2.0
  • 22 mins
  • Prep: 10 mins,
  • Cook: 12 mins
  • Yield: 2 servings
Ratings (10)

By Petrina Verma Sarkar

Updated 03/02/18

Indian cuisine includes a wide variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the range of diversity in soil type, climate, culture, ethnic group, and occupations, these cuisines vary significantly from each other and use locally available spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruits. Indian food is also heavily influenced by religious and cultural choices and traditions. There has also been Middle Eastern and Central Asian influence on North Indian cuisine. Indian cuisine has been and is still evolving, as a result of the nation's cultural interactions with other societies.

Masala refers to any of a number of spice mixtures ground into a paste or powder for use in Indian cooking.

Almost a staple in South India, Sambar is eaten with plain boiled rice (a staple food of Indian cuisine), Idlis, Vadas, Dosas...well almost everything. The main ingredient in Sambar is Sambar Masala.

Sambar Masala uses cumin and coriander, two of the most important and frequently used spices and flavorings in Indian cuisine. 

What You'll Need

  • 1/2 cup coriander seeds
  • 1/4 cup cumin seeds
  • 1/4 cup chana daal (large split yellow lentils)
  • 1/4 cup urad daal (black gram)
  • 1/4 cup fenugreek seeds
  • 1/4 cup black peppercorns
  • 1/4 cup dry red chilli flakes
  • 1/4 cup grated dessicated coconut
  • 1/4 cup mustard seeds
  • 20 dried curry leaves
  • 2 tbsps tumeric powder
  • 2 tsps asafetida powder

How to Make It

  1. Roast all the ingredients - except the asafetida - on a hot griddle until they begin to release their aroma.
  2. Cool on a tray.
  3. Add the asafetida and grind into a fine powder. Store in an air-tight container.
Nutritional Guidelines (per serving)
Calories 614
Total Fat 20 g
Saturated Fat 6 g
Unsaturated Fat 9 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 537 mg
Carbohydrates 103 g
Dietary Fiber 53 g
Protein 30 g
(The nutrition information on our recipes is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. Individual results may vary.)