My innovations - Karuveppilai Podi / Curry Leaf Powder

If you are a first-time visitor, please be sure to like us on Facebook and receive our exciting and innovative information on  our products  and health topics!

Spicy  Karuveppilai  Podi /Curry Leaves Powder

   

Karuveppilai also known as  Curry  Leaves  are an essential ingredient in South Indian Cuisine. It is widely used as a flavor enhancer for food while seasoning.

Curry leaves have a unique aroma & taste and has a lot of medicinal properties. It is very rich in calcium, iron and vitamin A. It makes the eyes cool and reduce the body heat. Also it is very good for hair growth and it prevents graying of hair. I would rather say that if curry leaves do not aid hair growth then, there is nothing that would help the process. If at all you need sure shot results, intake of curry leaves is what will work rather than trying all the hair oils available in the market.

Traditional Approach:

In general, karuveppilai podi is made with these ingredients:
Curry leaves -1 big cup, 
Pepper -2 tsp, 
Jeera -2 tsp,
Toor Dal- 2 tbsp,
Urad dal - 2 tbsp, 
Channa Dal - 2 tbsp, 
Red Chillies- 3-4  and Salt as required . 

Making podi with these ingredients will be good but I wanted to make a twist in taste since most of them do not like the taste of curry leaves and it is normally set aside from regular food intake. 

My Approach:
So decided to change the ingredients but I ensured that it will enhance the health benefits too. So I decided to add Toor Dal, Horse gram/kollu ,Tamarind, Red Chillies, Pepper, Jeera, Flax seed, Dry ginger, Hing,  along with curry leafs and used Gingelly Oil to fry few things 

In  this karuveppilai podi , I added Horse gram (Kollu) because it adds more health benefit....Normally we use Kollu in Parrupu podi only But I add in most of my recipes wherever the taste and flavor suits very well, and I added Flax seed  since I prefer to avoid mustard seed and include flax seed even in day to day cooking.. because of its health benefits. And in this I have added dry ginger pepper and jeera as it increase digestion and increase appetite….Tamarind gives a tangy taste. I used these  ingredients because they enrich the taste and flavor of the podi… 

Curry  leaves  powder  is a very delicious recipe and nothing can beat the delicious flavor of homemade version.

This aromatic spice powder tastes heavenly, when mixed along with ghee / gingely oil and hot steamed rice. 

Ingredients:

·                      Curry Leaves – ½ kg

·                     Toor Dal- 1 cup

·                      Horse gram/kollu -1 cup

·                     One lemon size of Tamarind

·                     Red Chillies- 30

·                     Pepper -  50 grams

·                     Jeera -  1 tbs

·                     Flax seed – 2 tbs

·                     Dry ginger – 50 grams

·                     Salt to taste

·                     Hing – 1 tsp

·                     Gingelly Oil -2 tsp

Method

1.   Wash curry leaves well, pat it with a towel to remove excess water and dry it well in the shade. Spread the washed curry leaves in a cloth and let it dry for 5-6 hours. There should not be moisture in the curry leaves.

2.   Heat the kadai and add the flax seeds and allow it to splutter. Keep it aside.

3.   Dry roste toor dhal , fry it in low flame till it become golden brown and Keep it aside.

4.   Now add the Horsegram / kollu and fry till they become roasted.roast toor dal, urad dal, channa dal until dal turns golden brown. Then dry roast pepper and jeera separately until you get a nice aroma.

5.   Dry roast red chillies for a few minutes.

6.   Add half tsp of oil and fry dry ginger till it turns brown do not burn it.

7.   Now add oil half spoon and roste tamarind in low flame till it turns black and dry no moisture should be there in tamarind.

8.   Now add 1 more teaspoon of oil and fry curry leaves well. Do not burn it .

9.   Dry grind the dal, kollu, dry ginger, tamarind, red  chillies,pepper , jeera first. Then add curry leaves and grind everything together (slightly coarse) along with salt required and Hing.

10. Store it in an air tight container so that it does not loose its freshness.

If you found this post useful, I would really love it if you  share it with your Facebook fans or Twitter followers or Google+ circles today. All it takes is a simple click on the  “like,” “share,” “tweet,” or Google+ buttons below the post. It will keep me motivated. Thank  you!