Curry leaves powder recipe | Curry Leaf Dry Chutney | Curry Leaves Podi | Karuveppilai Podi | Karivepaku Podi

August 28

Nearly a decade ago I was first introduced to the concept of dry chutney. My roommate in Atlanta was from Andhra and she brought homemade dry chutneys - Karela, curry leaf, ghonghura leaves etc. It looked like powder to me when I saw it first, but I felt quite amused when she referred to it as chutney. I was like how can something dry be called a chutney. But slowly I made peace with the fact that even a dry powder can be called chutney because it was so yummy. It would just zing up the taste of anything you had it with.

During all these years I never tried making it though I missed and remembered the taste of those lovely powders. Then lockdown happened. And I started binge buying things out of sheer panic.

So on one such day I had about two bunch of curry leaves with only space to store one bunch of them in dried state. I was speculating what can I do with the rest as I didn't want to throw them away just like that. That's when I saw picture of Curry leaves podi somewhere on a food group in Facebook. I knew what I wanted to do with the extra leaves I had on me. It had to be curry leaves Podi.

Pudi or podi is a generic south Indian term that refers to powder. This is a real quick and flavorful powder. People with a different palate can also try this out once, its such a versatile powder that I am sure you would can easily pair it with your preferred cuisines.

Drying the Curry Leaves

This recipe demands dry curry leaves. So you need to wash the curry leaves properly first and then lay the leaves on a newspaper and sun dry or air dry it for 3-4 days. You can use them just after the extra water has dried off but I prefer using them when they are fully dry. This makes the podi texture also dry and will preserve better and longer.

Alternatively you can let the leaves lay on the newspaper till the water has dried and then microwave it for 30 seconds and take them out. This will dehydrate the leaves super fast and also retain the beautiful green color. When you take it out of the microwave it will be hot so be careful while touching them. Bring them out and let them rest in room temperature for sometime before using them.

Preparation Time : 2 minutes

Cooking Time: 8 minutes

Serving : makes about 50 gm powder

Ingredients :

• Dry Curry Leaves - 1 cup tightly packed
• Shredded Fresh Coconut/ Desiccated coconut - 1 tbsp
• Dry Red Chilli - 4 to 5 (variable)
• Cumin (Jeera) - 3/4th tsp
• Sesame Seeds - 1 tbsp
• Urad Daal - 1 tbsp
• Chana Daal - 1 tbsp
• Coriander Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Hing - 1 pinch
• Oil - 1/2 tsp
• Lemon Juice - 1/2 tsp
• Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Start by dry roasting both the daal on low flame on a tawa for about 2 minutes. Add the red chillies and jeera at this point. Toss them around for another 2-3 minutes. Take care not to burn them. 

Tip: Vary the chilli quantity and type according to your heat tolerance.

2. Now add the shredded coconut and sesame seeds. Toss it along with the rest of the elements on the tawa for about 1 minute. Switch off the heat and toss it for a couple of minutes more till everything starts to brown a little. The heat from the pan will help in roasting them. When they are fragrant, take them off the tawa and keep them to cool down

3. Now in the same tawa take a spoon of oil, heat it on medium. Once the oil is heated a bit add the dried curry leaves. Lower the heat. Toss it around for 30 seconds. It will sizzle and give off a nice aroma. The leaves will start turning crispy. Now add the coriander seeds. Toss them around for about a minute and take off the heat.

Tip: Always take fresh, mature curry leaves without any infestation. The mature leaves are more fragrant. This recipe demands 

Tip 2: If you want you can add one clove of garlic here. Saute the garlic in the same oil till fragrant.

3. Make sure all the ingredients are completely cooled before grinding. Now take them all in a grinder and add salt as per taste, a pinch of hing and lemon juice. Now pulse them and make it into a fine powder. 

Tip: Some prefer adding tamarind. For me the lemon juice worked fine.

Store this in an airtight jar, preferably in a glass jar. This powder if made with all dry ingredients has a good shelf life. I made it last month and still the fragrant and taste is same.

This goes well with just about everything. You can have it along with idli, dosas, upmas or even along with rice and daal. It piques the taste of anything it is added to.