Monday, January 20, 2014

Curry leaves powder (karuvepillai podi)



Wishing you all a very happy new year, may this year be filled with joy and happiness all around. I know its a bit late to wish, but there its good to wish anytime rather not wishing. I am starting this new year, with a greenish recipe, green is the color of spring which always imitates the prosperity in every new beginnings.

Curry leaves powder was in my to do list for a long time, I am happy that I gave a try to this. I got this recipe  at the right time when Idly podi got over in my pantry, was in need of a podi . My husband is not a good fan of idly podi, he liked this and was asking this for all the dishes even if there is a side dish.

Curry leaves are one of the major ingredients in South Indian cooking. It is known for its property of getting attractive hair, often dried leaves are  mixed with coconut hair oil for improving hair growth. Its different from the store bought curry leaves powder, I made it coarse to give a nutty flavor to the podi. It can be grounded smooth.




Preparation time : 60 minutes 
Quantity : 35 oz (approx) ~ 1 kg

Ingredients :

Curry leaves : 2 cups (tightly packed)
Red chilies :  5 whole 
Urad dal : 1 cup
Channa dal - 1/2 cup
Coriander seeds: 1 tbsp
Garlic powder - 2 tbsp 
Salt - as per taste 
Oil - 1 tbsp 



Method: 

Wash curry leaves and dry them completely. In a pan, dry roast curry leaves. I roasted it for 5 minutes and micro waved for 1 minute. Keep the stove on medium so that it will not burn. Curry leaves should be crisp, when you try to tear it should break like chips. 
In a  pan add a tbsp of oil, roast the chilies and keep it separately. If you try cutting the chili, in  pan it should be crisp, that is the point it gets fried ( it took 5 minutes ). Remember , the stove should always be on medium for this recipe. Put this in a plate for cooling.
Then fry coriander, until brown and Cool it in the same plate along with chili. Then fry urad and channa dal together until golden brown and cool it. 
Once cooled, grind chilies at first with coriander, then add the dals to the blender. Now grind everything except curry leaves with salt. Finally add the curry leaves and grind it. Now you can see the powder turning into a beautiful green color. Spread it in a plate, add garlic powder ( I used McCormick). 

Once cooled store it in a dry container. Serve with idly, dosa we enjoyed it with chapatti too.

Note: You can adjust the spice taste, with the number of red chilies. 











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