GBP-Curry leaves powder-Preserve the Greens!..

Blame the scorching summer in Tamil Nadu!!..most of my plants started dying out.Feeling much disappointed I discouraged myself working more with the Kitchen garden patch, except for a few saplings of curry leaf plants.They demanded to be watered twice, daily, in the shadow of other shrubs, to be protected from the direct heat of the sun.

Forward 5 months..Viola!.. The greens survived !!..They are still small and I had to snap the stalks a few from each of the half a dozen plants to carry on with the Curry leaves powder or the Karuveppilai podi, wanting them to grow well!.


The curry leaves(Murraya Koenigi) are believed to have wonderful medicinal/curative properties and nutritional qualities.Learn more about them here and here.

Green Blog Project was started by Inji of Ginger and Mango. This is my contribution to Deepz of LETZ COOK who is hosting the Green Blog Project - Summer 2007(April-Oct) event.

Ingredients:

2 cups Curry leaves-de stalked,washed and dried
A tsp of Cumin/Jeera seeds
A tsp of Bengal gram Dal/Kadalai paruppu
A tsp of Broken urad dal
6 nos-more or less-Red chillies
A tbsp of Coriander seeds/Kothamalli
A few drops of oil-for frying chillies
A goose berry sized ball of Tamarind-Sundry to remove any water content.
A pinch of Hing/asafoetida
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Dry roast the ingredients one by one, separately(except tamarind) .
Curry leaves,Coriander seeds,the dals,Jeera and the chillies in that order.

2. Bengal gram and urad dal should acquire a deep red colour.

3. The Curry leaves should be roasted stirring continuously till crisp.Add Hing while doing so.

4. Trickle a few drops of oil while frying the chillies.

5. Keep the flame to medium while frying.Maintain constant temperature throughout.Roasting is the most important part as it decides the quality of the powder.

6. Cool the ingredients.Pulse the dals first, followed by the other spices and dry grind in a mixer. Add the curry leaves and lastly the tamarind.This order is to be followed as the moisture content in the tamarind hinders the uniform powdering of the spices. Let the powder be a little coarse and not too powdery.

7. Store the powder in an air tight container.Stays fresh if refrigerated for 6 months.


Mix the powder with hot rice and ghee to make the instant and healthy Karuveppilai sadam.

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