Recipe Cooked, Photographed and Written by Praveena
PrepTime:5 mins CookTime:20 mins Cuisine:Indian
Because of the current situation I have begun to stock up on different foods. This is one such recipe, it is not only storage friendly (it lasts up to 1-2 months) but incredibly healthy.
This, Mint Leaves Spice Powder / Pudina Karam Podi, is great to eat with hot rice, smeared with ghee or oil, as per taste. It is best served as a condiment with any South Indian tiffins, like idli, dosa, uttapam, upma.
My Mother used to say, such healthy spice powders are to be eaten as a starter / appetiser with steamed plain rice smeared with ghee. As per ayurveda, this aids in digestion of what we eat later in that meal. I follow the same with my kids too!
As soon as my kids got home from school yes’day they instantly smelt what I had made! 🙂 With eyes opened wide & a hungry smile, they said, “Amma, something smells delicious with Mint?! Yum!”
Later on, they had this podi/powder as an accompaniment with steamed rice for their lunch even though I had made dal and curry.
Health Benefits of Mint / Pudina
Mint has health benefits like: Aids in Digestion, Good for dental refreshment, great appetiser,treats nausea & headache, Reduces Depression & Fatigue, Skin Care, Prevents Memory Loss, Weight Loss (info from internet).
Before starting to cook, don’t forget to see the Tips mentioned at the end.
Spice Powder / Podi recipes collection⇒ Powder / Podi
Chutney recipes collection here⇒ Chutney / Pachchadi / Dip
Recipes with Green veggies / leaves⇒ 50+ Recipes with GREENS
Related Posts:
- Pudina Pachadi / Mint Chutney
- Pudina Raita / Mint-Yogurt Dip
- Pudina-Carrot Rice / Mint-Carrot Rice
- Mint-Coconut Chutney / Pudina-Kobbari Pachchadi
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Ingredients:
- Fresh Mint leaves / Pudina – 2 cups (packed)
- Fresh Curry Leaves / Karivepaku- ¼ cup (optional)
- Whole Coriander Seeds / Dhaniyalu – ½ cup
- Whole Cumin Seeds / Jeera – ¼ cup
- Yellow Split Lentils / Chana Dal / Senagapappu – ¼ cup
- Urad Dal / Skinless Black Lentils / Minapa Gundlu – ¼ cup
- Dry Red Chillies / Yendu Mirapakayalu – 25
- Salt – 3 teaspoons
- Dry Tamarind / Chinthapandu – large lemon size
- Garlic pods – 8 (optional)
Special Ingredients:
- Dry Tamarind / Chinthapandi
- Fresh Curry Leaves (optional)
Step Wise Pics Procedure for Mint Leaves Spice Powder / Pudina Karam Podi:
Add the Coriander Seeds / Dhaniyalu, Cumin Seeds / Jeera, Yellow Split Lentils / Chana Dal,Urad Dal / Minapa Gundlu, tamarind. Dry roast by stirring continuously.
Tips:
- Alternate Method:You can dry roast the leaves first, take them separately and then roast the rest of all the ingredients together.
- Keep stirring continuously while dry roasting the ingredients. No multi-tasking please!
- Adjust the salt and spice as per your taste.
- Let the roasted ingredients cool completely and only then grind/blend. If not the powder would be wet and would not have long shelf life.
- You can use any dry red chilly variety, either long or round.
- I have tried both with Guntur Red Chillies, Kashmiri Red Cillies and the recipe turned perfect.
- But if you use the short, round size dry red chillies, you will have to double the count.
- Always use a clean & dry spoon for serving.
- Storage: For longer shelf life, store in a clean, dry, air-tight container at a cool dry place.
- It stays fresh up to 1-2 months. After which it tastes good but the spice level might reduce a bit.
Result:
- Mint has naturally high flavour & aroma, which is somewhat submissive here, because of the addition of other spices.
- This spice powder goes very well as a condiment for any Indian breakfast or with plain rice, or as a topping for salads, wraps.
- It pairs up pretty well with any curries, as a curry powder as well.
Mint Leaves Spice Powder / Pudina Karam Podi Recipe
Equipment
- Frying pan
- Spice blender / Mixie
Ingredients
- 2 cups Fresh Mint leaves / Pudina (packed)
- ¼ cup Fresh Curry Leaves / Karivepaku (optional)
- ½ cup Whole Coriander Seeds / Dhaniyalu
- ¼ cup Whole Cumin Seeds / Jeera
- ¼ cup Yellow Split Lentils / Chana Dal / Senagapappu
- ¼ cup Urad Dal / Skinless Black Lentils / Minapa Gundlu
- 25 count Dry Red Chillies / Yendu Mirapakayalu
- 3 teaspoons Salt
- 1 large lemon Dry Tamarind / Chinthapandu (ball size)
- 8 count Garlic Pods (optional)
Instructions
- Pluck the leaves of Mint / Pudina from its stem. We need 2 cups of leaves. Wash and pat dry them using a kitchen towel.
- Measure all the ingredients and take them onto a tray.
- Put a frying pan on stove top under low flame.
- Add the Coriander Seeds / Dhaniyalu, Cumin Seeds / Jeera, Yellow Split Lentils / Chana Dal,Urad Dal / Minapa Gundlu, tamarind.
- Dry roast by stirring continuously.
- When the pulses are slightly roasted. Half way through, add all the dry red chillies, mint leaves, curry leaves (optional) & garlic pods (optional).
- Dry roast everything, thoroughly until the lentils turn light brown in colour, makes a nice aroma and the leaves wilt. But stir continuously.
- Switch the flame off. Let them cool completely. Take everything into a mixe / spice blender.
- Add salt and grind everything coarsely. Done!!
Notes
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