Various Indian Spice Powders.... (from Shar's mom)

SAMBAR POWDER
Sambar is a thick lentil stew; also spelled “sambhar”. This is the powder that’s used in it. Yummy & Spicy, great w/ rice, dosa, or idli. This powder can also be used to make various curries (eggplant curry is a great place to sub garam masala w/ sambar powder.

Ingredients:
• 1 cup coriander seeds
• ½ cup channa dal (gram dal)
• ¼ cup urad dal (Optional – my mom only sometimes uses it)
• 1/3 cup cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1 Tbsp red chili powder or ¼ cup dried red chilies – can adjust to taste
• 1 – 3 tsp pinches of asafetida (called “hing” in Hindi)

Directions:
Dry roast all ingredients except asafetida until the seeds toast up (start to turn color); about 5-6 minutes. Stir to avoid burning. Pour into a grinder, add asafetida, and grind to a fine powder. Store in an airtight jar with a tight lid.

Use as necessary (typically: 2.5 – 3 tablespoons per 6 cups of sambar). Makes 3 cups of powder.




RASAM POWDER
Rasam is a thinner soup; does not have lentils in it, but is similar to sambar. This is an awesome sinus mover ;-)

Ingredients
• ½ c coriander seeds
• 1 cup toor dal
• 1 Tbsp fenugreek seeds
• 1.5 Tbsp peppercorns
• 1.5 Tbsp cumin seeds
• 4 dried chili peppers (optional/ adjust to desired head – this is pretty hot)

Directions:
Dry roast all ingredients for 5-6 minutes on medium heat. Grind to powder. Store in an airtight container.

Use 2 tbsp per one quart of water



GARAM MASALA
There are two versions in her book; my mom uses a mix of the two

Ingredients
• 6 coriander seeds
• 2-3 large cardamom pods (black cardamom, not the little green ones)
• 10 small cardamom pods (green)
• 2 tsp whole black pepper
• 3 tsp cumin seeds
• 3-4” cinnamon
• 14 cloves

Directions:
This can be both dry roasted & ground, or ground down just as shown.
My mom always dry roasts, but doesn’t roast it if she’s planning on using it “raw” as a garnish (like for the Parsi curry recipe from before). People also think that roasting makes everything less potent….




SESAME POWDER
Great with green beans.

Ingredients
• 1 cup sesame seeds
• 30 dry red chilies
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds (optional)
• 7-8 garlic cloves
• 1.5 tsp salt

Directions:
Dry roast cumin, red chilies and optional coriander on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Stir fry sesame seeds separately for 5 minutes. Let cool thoroughly before grinding. Grind chilies, cumin (and optional coriander – my mom leaves this out) and salt coarsely. Add sesame seeds and garlic and grind for 10 seconds to mix in. Store in an airtight container.

Use in pulihora (pilaf), rice, and curries.
Example of green bean curry: Steam the green beans (or thaw frozen beans). Meanwhile, add oil in a skillet, add break up a red chili and toss that in as the oil heats. Add urad dal. When urad dal starts to brown, add mustard seeds, turmeric powder, salt to taste. Toss in green beans and brown the beans slightly. Sprinkle the sesame powder on top.
My mom sometimes sprinkles this on top of eggplant curry