Dry Chutney Powder (Type 2)

Marathon morning sessions driving you mad? Relax….here comes a recipe to your rescue! Can be prepared in advance and stored for long. Gives you comfort and generously offers company to idlis, dosas, bread, hot steamed rice when they long for one. Combine it with plain yogurt and serve with crispy South Indian snacks as a dip!

Just a minute….don’t miss reading a tip or two that we share at the tail end of this recipe.

Dish type: Spice powder

Preparation time: 5 min

Roasting time: 10 min

Quantity: 1000 gms (approx.)

Ingredients

Red chillies                  100 gms (Byadagi variety)

Red chillies                  100 gms (Guntur variety)

Black gram                  250 gms

Bengal gram               250 gms

Tamarind                    25 gms

Crystal salt                  1 tbsp

Groundnuts                 50 gms

Roasted gram             50 gms

Curry leaves                1 bunch

Dry coconut grated     250 gms

Asafoetida                   5 gms

Jaggery                        1 tsp (optional and if used, no need to roast)

Directions

Before you begin…

Wash curry leaves in salt water and dry them thoroughly (keeping it indoors) before roasting them.

Make sure your hands, all ingredients, plates, spoons, kadai, container for storing etc. are all absolutely dry all through the process right from preparation till storage of the powder.

Grate dry coconut and keep it aside.

Measure and keep all ingredients required for roasting, ready in different plates.

Now you are ready to start roasting….

Roast all the above ingredients separately (in the same order listed under ingredients) over low flame in a pan.

After each ingredient is roasted keep transferring to respective plates.

Let them cool thoroughly at room temparature.

Dals have to be roasted till they turn light brown.

Dry coconut can be roasted last. When you are done with roasting all other ingredients, turn off the flame. Heat that remains in the pan after switching off the flame is enough to roast dry coconut.

Grind the ingredients in a mixie in the following order: Dry chillies, bengal gram, black gram, groundnuts, tamarind, salt, curry leaves, roasted gram, dry coconut, asafoetida, jaggery. Powder them neither too coarse nor too fine. Store it in an absolutely dry air tight container.

Tete - a - Tete:

While preparing any masala powder, it is always advisable to dry fry ingredients separately due to variance in size, thickness and texture of ingredients. The time and temperature required for each ingredient also varies.

Roasting tips:

Roast byadegi (or Kashmiri) variety of red chillies for approx. 2 to 3 min. These chillies don’t change colour easily. Hence, as soon as you smell the roasted flavour of chillies, remove them from the pan. Roasting Guntur variety of red chillies takes even lesser time as they are not wrinkled like the former. However, the exact time for roasting depends on the amount and type of heat (depends on gas burner, electric stove or microwave). Best method to judge the roasting time for chillies is by sensing the smell.

Recipe Contributor: Smt. Saraswathi

Dry Chutney Powder (Type 1)

This  is the most versatile spice powder, popular in Karnataka, South India and offers itself as a tempting companion to Idlis, Dosas, Chapathis and Hot rice, a spicy spread for toasts and sandwiches.

Dish type: Spice powder

Preparation time: 5 min

Roasting time: 10 min

Quantity: 100 gms

Ingredients

Bengal gram                       50 gms

Black gram                          50 gms

Red chillies                          8 nos.

Tamarind                             A small piece (curry leaf size)

Curry leaves                       2 sprigs

Dry coconut grated         100 gms

Asafoetida                          2 granules (pepper size)

Directions

Roast all the above ingredients separately over low flame in a pan. After each ingredient is roasted keep transferring to a plate. Let them cool thoroughly at room temparature.

Dals have to be roasted till they turn light brown.

Dry coconut can be roasted last. When you are done with roasting all other ingredients, turn off the flame. Heat of the pan that still remains in the pan after switching off the flame is enough to roast dry coconut.

Curry leaves have to be washed and dried thoroughly (keeping it indoors) before roasting them.

Powder them coarsely. Store in an air tight container.

Tete – a – Tete:

While preparing any masala powder, It is always advisable to dry fry ingredients separately due to variance in size, thickness and texture of ingredients.

Recipe Contributor: Smt. Saraswathi

CURRY LEAVES CHUTNEY POWDER

After a busy day out, aren’t there times when we look for a great escape from the kitchen. Come, let’s make today’s twilight light n bright?

Arre, I see you running to the superstore, why…when we can find those green bunches in our own home store! Be it lack of time or lazy to cook, these leaves of curry will never let us fret or fume in a fury… so says a leaf from our Cuisine Kingdom.

Curry leaf, a rich herb with excellent nutritional value and a key ingredient in countless varieties of dishes is more often than not discarded while eating.  So, here comes a wholesome recipe, Curry Leaves Chutney Powder that can be sneaked into most types of dishes….giving that added “zing” to make the dishes delicious, nutritious and full of flavour.

Coming in handy when in a hurry…this spicy hero sits smart by the side of idlis, dosas and steaming hot rice. And ha, don’t hesitate to sandwich this spread between slices of bread!

Dish type: Spice Powder

Time required: 20 min approx

Quantity:  200 gms approx.

Ingredients

Curry leaves                    1 big bunch (washed and dried indoors)

Roasted channa dal         100 gms

Pepper corns                   2 tbsps

Jeera                               3 tbsps

Red chillies                      2 nos.

Dry coconut grated         ½ coconut (measure after grating - 100 gms)

Salt to taste                     1 tsp approx.

Directions

Roast (without oil) curry leaves, pepper corns, jeera and red chillies separately over low flame in a pan. A drop of oil can be used for roasting red chilies only. After each ingredient is roasted keep transferring to a plate. Let them cool thoroughly at room temparature.

Roasted channa dal (Hurigadale in kannada) and grated dry coconut need not be roasted. When you are done with roasting all other ingredients, turn off the flame. Heat that still remains in the pan after switching off the flame is enough to warm up grated dry coconut and roasted channa dal.

Now grind grated dry coconut first to coarse powder form. Add other ingredients and powder them coarsely. Store in an absolutely dry air tight container.

Tete - a - Tete:

Curry leaves have to be washed and dried thoroughly (keeping it indoors) before roasting them.

Seasoning for this powder is optional.

Curry Leaves Chutney Powder is especially good for health during winter season.

While preparing any masala powder, it is always advisable to dry fry ingredients separately due to variance in size, thickness and texture of ingredients.

Healthy Tip:

Dry fry washed and dried (indoors) curry leaves with jeera seeds, powder it and have a tsp of this powder first thing in the morning and/or just before going to bed. This helps regulate bowel function. Ps: This tip is not a medical prescription from me but mere sharing of a leaf from my life experience!

Recipe shared by octagenarian Smt. Meena Lakshminarayana, an expert cook and aunt in law of my dear friend Arati Rangaswamy

Also view in this blog:

Garlic Chutney Powder
Miligayi Powder (Spice Powder for Idli/Dosa)
Pepper Rasam Powder
Vangibath Powder
Menthyada Hittu (Fenugreek Powder)
Sambar Powder
Rasam Powder
Puliyogare Powder