Curry Podi !!

This is the powder that i prepare regularly in big batches. It can be stored in air tight container and has shelf life for months. I freeze a part of this podi and keep a month's quanity outside. This podi is used as a spice powder along with the traditional sambhar powder to the dry curries. This can also be used as additional powder along with the sambhar powder to make arachu vitta sambhar without coconut. 

This is one of my favorite staple as i feel an incomplete cooking without the addition of this podi in my sambhar and dry curries. A healthy podi too, since one of the main ingredient is curry leaves. As i already mentioned, curry leaves is like gold and diamond for us and i try not to waste it. Whenever i get it from an Indian store or if someone gives me a handful, i keep few leaves for some dishes and use the remaining to make this podi. So the leaves are not wasted. I will never make this podi without the curry leaves. My previous batch got over, and i was waiting to make a new batch that is when my mom sent me stuffs from India that included powdered curry leaves. What else does my mind thinks? Obviously this traditional podi. 

 

Before moving on to the recipe, i should definitely mention the source of the recipe. Its my sister in law Archana who taught me this recipe. When we visited her house back in 2017, she made amazing kathirikai (eggplant) podi curry. She gave me a list of ingredients for the podi. I just added mustard seeds along with other ingredients. Let's move on to the recipe.

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time      :  20 minutes

Yield                    : 1kg

Ingredients: 

Coriander Seeds          - 2 cup

Channa dal                  - 1.5 cup

Whole Urad dal           - 1.5 cup (white)

Toor dal                       - 1.5 cup

Peanuts                        - 1 cup (i used roasted)

Rice                             - 1 cup (i used sona masoori)

Cumin seeds                - 1/2 cup

Methi seeds                 - 1/4 cup

Pepper powder            - 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds             - 2 tbsp

Hing powder               - 1 tbsp

Curry leaves                - a bunch ( i used 100g of powdered curry leaves)

Red chilies                 - as shown in picture (i used mix of kashmiri , gundu and long chilli)

Oil                               - 1tsp

Optional :

Turmeric powder        - 1 tbsp (mix with the entire batch , i did not add because i always use a tsp in my dry curries) 

    

 

 

Dry roast the ingredients :

Coriander seeds, Channa dal, urad dal, toor dal, rice - dry roast separately and keep aside. Refer pictures.

Peanuts - if using roasted , dry roast it for just a couple of minutes! if using raw , roast it until the skin removes itself. But i used roasted peanuts. For roasting raw peanuts, check my Nuts Powder recipe.

Dry roast cumin and methi seeds together. A couple of minutes before removing it from the pan, add pepper powder and roast it. Remove and keep it aside.

Dry roast mustard seeds. It starts to crackle.Roast it until the crackling sound stops. Quite similar to sesame seeds. I have attached the video. Please check out.

Dry roast hing for a minute and keep aside.

Add a tsp of oil. Roast the red chilies. For the quantity, refer the below picture. Once done, keep it separately since red chilies are to be ground first followed by the rest of the ingredients.

Reason to add a mix of chilies : Kashmiri gives the color (no spice at all), gundu variety gives the spice and the long chili has less spice than the gundu one. 

Finally, add the powdered curry leaves to the hot pan without turning on the flame. Leave it for sometime. If you are adding whole curry leaves, add a tsp of oil and roast the curry leaves for a couple of minutes and blend it along with the other ingredients. I had powdered one in hand, so i used it up. 

The final roasted ingredients , keeping the roasted chili separately! Allow to cool it down before grinding.

Grinding part starts. Grind the red chilies first.

Now add the remaining ingredients to the mixi batch by batch , blend it to an almost fine powder and the red chilies and give a quick blend . Now, gently mix the ingredients well since its a big batch. 

Curry Podi is ready! This won't be spicy. You can add 1 to 2 tbsp along with a tsp of sambhar powder to 2 cups of dry vegetable curry. This works well especially with eggplant, okra, tindora, potatoes etc.. 

Shelf life : 1 to 2 months in room temperature, 3 to 4 months in freezer!

Try to make big batches. Trust me , small batches will be done in a couple of weeks and we won't feel the urge to make it again within a month. So, make the specified quantity which yields 1 kg!