Sambar Powder

Tanjore, late 17th century, Maratha court of Shahuji I (r. 1684-1712). The dish sambar is named after his cousin Sambhaji; by legend the dish arose when palace cooks, out of the kokum normally used in Maharashtrian amti dal, substituted tamarind — and it was named after Shahuji's cousin Sambhaji, who was visiting Tanjore. The recorded history is actually vague; food historian K. T. Achaya traces the earliest reference (as 'huli') to 17th-century Karnataka. From there it radiated through Tamil-Karnataka temple-town cooking.

MTR (Mavalli Tiffin Rooms, Bengaluru, since 1924) and Aachi Masala (Chennai) are the two factory benchmarks; MTR's 1976 commercial blend is the supermarket reference. Tanjore palace tradition uses 18 ingredients; coastal Mangalorean kitchens go up to 24, adding coconut and cinnamon. Most home cooks make a fresh small-batch every 6-8 weeks; the oils in roasted dal go rancid by month three.

Burnt-orange to brick-red, depending on chili-coriander ratio. Smell: roasted dal nuttiness up front, fenugreek bitter-sweet middle, asafoetida and chili bottom. Two teaspoons in 2 cups of toor-dal-tamarind broth turns water into sambar — the powder doesn't taste finished alone, only after it cooks 8 minutes with vegetables.

Toasting the dals (chana and toor) is the load-bearing step — they're the body of the powder, contributing nutty starch and a thickening function the all-spice Northern blends don't need. Fenugreek must be undertoasted (45 seconds, light brown only); over-toasted it turns bitter and ruins a 200g batch.