MINT-CORIANDER-COCONUT POWDER (PUDINA-KOTHAMALLI-TENGA PODI)

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MINT-CORIANDER-COCONUT POWDER(PUDINA-KOTHAMALLI-TENGA PODI)
People prepare Kothamalli podi (Coriander powder), some prepare Pudina podi (Pudina powder) and yet others prepare Tenga Podi (Coconut powder). These are usually had as an accompaniment to our daily meals, idli, dosa or adai. But here is an exotic creation from my kitchen. I combined all 3 and the result is a tasty podi combined with the nutrition of the mint and coriander and the aroma of roasted coconut.
Ingredients
Coriander leaves – 1 bunch
Mint leaves – 1 bunch
Curry leaves – 10-12
Grated Coconut – 1 cup
Udad Dal – 2 tbsps
Chana dal – 2 tbsps
Red chillies – 4-5 (If you like it spicier you can add more)
Tamarind – A lemon size ball
Oil - 1 tsp
Asafetida (Hing) – 1-2 teaspoons
Salt to taste
Method
De-stem the Mint leaves (pick the leaves from their stem), Pick the coriander leaves, De-stem the curry leaves, Rinse them in a colander well and spread on a newspaper till it is dry. If you can sun dry it will be good, the reason to dry them out is to get rid of the moisture that the leaves have after washing them.
Heat oil in a Wok (kadhai), Add the udad dal, chana dal and the red chillies, Tamarind, Asafetida. Fry until the dals turn pink and the chillies turn plump. Keep aside on a plate.
Now in the same kadhai add the Udad dal and Chana dal and roast till it is light pink in colour.
When it is well roasted, a lovely aroma is emanated. Roasting enables the dals to get powdered easily and also roasting enables to store the masala powders for longer time. Once roasted, remove from flame and allow it to cool down. Then run it in the dry mill to a coarse powder consistency. Keep aside.
In the same kadhai, put in the sun-dried leaves, add salt and roast until they reduce in volume and loose moisture. Keep aside.
In the end roast the grated coconut until it gets a faint pink color and gives that wonderful coconut aroma. Now in the dry mill of your blender, run the roasted leaves and keep aside and then the coconut and then mix all 3. Check for salt, if required add at this stage Run once more in the blender, so the salt gets mixed well with the other ingredients. This time don’t run the blender too much, just one spin would be enough.
This should be coarse as shown in the picture not too fine. If you grind all the ingredients together and not separately as directed then you will notice that the dals don’t get powdered and if you run it too much to ensure that the dals get powdered then the mixture will be too fine and not so tasty. All the ingredients get grounded at different levels hence it has to be done separately.
Serve it with Idli, dosa, Adai or Rice and enjoy this savory powder.
This powder can be kept outside for 2 days and inside the refrigerator for 15 days. Use a clean, dry spoon always for it to have a longer shelf life.