Kollu Karuveppilai Podi
Kollu Karuveppilai Podi literally translates to Horse gram (Kollu) Curry leaves (Karuveppilai) Powder (Podi). There’s a saying in Tamil which translates to “Give Sesame seeds to a person who is very weak, thin and needs to put on weight. Give Horse gram to a person who is having very low energy because of obesity and needs to reduce weight”. Horse gram and curry leaves are a great combination for good health, wellness and come under the category of super foods. So this spice mix powder is a perfect recipe for a quick and extremely nutritious meal supplement.
Horse gram is considered the most protein rich lentil, a very high energy food and helps to control excess weight. That is precisely the reason race horses and cattle are fed this. Curry leaves also help in weight loss and boost the immune system. With a combination of spice, sourness, sweetness and saltiness, this powder is very tasty and can be used in many ways.
You can make and store this spice mix for lazy meal days when you want to whip up something real quick. Use it to make a mixed rice, or add it as a flavour enhancer to any of your dry vegetable curries. You could also use it as an accompaniment for Idly, Dosai or Utthappam. Sprinkle this on top of your soup or salad too!
Ingredients
Kollu (Horse gram) – 1/4 cup
Chana dhal – 1 tsp
Karuveppilai (Curry leaves) – 2 hand fulls
Whole black pepper – 1 tbsp
Dry red chillies – 2
Salt – 1/4 tsp (or to taste)
Dry Mango powder – 1 tsp
Jaggery powder/brown sugar – 1 tsp
Cooking Sesame oil – 1/2 tsp (optional)
Ghee – 1 tsp (optional)
Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp
Yield
3/4 cup
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
20 mins
Method
1) In a medium heavy pan add cooking oil (if using) and heat on low flame. You can also dry roast the following ingredients. Add the horse gram, chana dhal, black pepper and red chillies to the pan. On low heat, roast all this evenly, until the chana dhal becomes slightly golden. Remove the pan from heat and transfer the roasted ingredients to a plate. Add salt, mango powder and asafoetida to this. Mix once and leave it to cool down.
2) In the same pan take ghee and heat on low flame. Add curry leaves and roast until the leaves dry out and become crisp (should take around 5 mins if they are wet but only 2 mins if they are already dried). Mix continuously so the leaves don’t get burnt unevenly and char. Switch off the heat now. Keep mixing the leaves every 2 mins or so until they come to room temperature, then transfer it to a plate.
3) In a mixer jar, take all the roasted ingredients except the curry leaves and pulse once or twice. Then add jaggery/brown sugar and the roasted curry leaves into the mixer. Grind everything to a coarse powder.
4) Your Kollu Karuveppilai Podi is ready. Spread it on a plate for 15 mins to cool it down. Then transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate.
Notes
- Whenever you roast pulses or any ingredient that has to be powdered after roasting, use a reasonably medium or heavy bottomed pan. The ingredients have to be roasted slowly for best results. If the pan is very light or thin at the bottom, then the ingredients may char, without getting roasted evenly. Slow, even roasting brings out maximum flavour from the ingredients.
- You can use tamarind instead of mango powder. If you are using raw tamarind, a small marble sized piece is enough for this recipe. Add the tamarind along with curry leaves and roast. In case you are using tamarind powder, then add 1/2 tsp for this recipe.
- I’ve used cooking sesame oil to roast the dry ingredients. I love the flavour of sesame oil. I’ve also roasted the curry leaves in ghee for a nice aroma. Ghee really brings out the flavour in curry leaves. You can roast all the ingredients in a dry pan also, if you want your spice mix to be completely fat free and vegan friendly.
- You can sprout horse gram just like you would Mung beans (see our Banana Stem & Mung Sprouts Curry recipe to get tips on sprouting). Sprouted horse gram is easier to digest and adds a lot more nutritive value to this recipe.
- When refrigerated, Kollu Karuveppilai Podi stays fresh for nearly 3 to 4 weeks.
Beginners’ tips
- The colour of horse gram is light to medium brown. For beginners, it might be difficult to find out when it’s roasted to golden colour. That’s the reason I’ve added a small quantity of chana dhal in this recipe. When you see chana dhal changing into golden, then the horse gram also would have roasted to golden at the same time.
