Kothamalli Podi/Coriander Leaves Powder

I am not really fan of podis with rice, but I love them with my tiffins, like idly/dosa. They always come in handy when you are running out of time to prepare chutney or sambar. I infact always, add a spoon of podi on my plate when having idli/dosa even if there chutney and sambar. I recently posted a version of molaga podi which goes beautifully with idli/dosa. If you are looking for something different then you should try this kothamalli podi. It tastes great with the tiffins and also with curd rice. But it is not a podi to be had with plain rice.

To get a nice podi, make sure to dry the leaves well in shade before powdering, else you may end up with a thick mass rather than podi. The amount of chillies mentioned below, gives a mild podi, not very spicy, but feel free to add more if you like it spicier. 

What you’ll need

1. Fresh Coriander Leaves – 1 Big bunch (about 2 cups of tightly packed leaves and tender stems)
2. White Urad Dal/ Ulatham Paruppu – ½ cup
3. Dried Red Chillies – 4 to 5 (Increase if you want it spicier)
4. Asafoetida – a small piece
5. Tamarind – gooseberry sized ball
6. Jaggery – ½ tsp (optional)
7. Salt to taste
8. Oil – 2 tsp

Method

1. Clean the coriander leaves, keep the tender stems and discard the hard mature ones. We need leaves and tender stem.
2. Wash the coriander and let it stand in the colander for about 30 minutes. Then spread the leaves and stems on a clean kitchen towel and dry in shade until all the water/moisture from the leaves has gone. Leaves should be nice and dry.
3. Once they dry, roughly chop them and set aside.
4. Heat a Kadai with 2 tsp oil, add the piece of asafoetida and when it puffs up add the urad dal and fry until it starts changing color, at this point add the tamarind piece and the dried red chillies and fry until the dal turn nice golden brown. Keep stirring continuously on medium heat so that the dal browns evenly and doesn’t burn.
5. Allow to cool.
6. Now in a clean dry mixer jar, add the dal, asafoetida, red chillies and tamarind and grind to a coarse powder.
7. Now add the dried coriander leaves, and using the pulse mode of the mixer, pulse it few times, until you get a coarse powder. Add salt to taste and jaggery and pulse again.
8. Transfer to a clean bottle and use.
9. Always use a clean dry spoon.

Use it as a condiment with idly/dosa or even with curd rice.