Vallarai Keerai Kollu Podi / Brahmi Leaves Powder / Vallarai Keerai Idly Podi

" Vallarai Keerai" in Tamil  called as "Brahmi" leaves in Hindi is widely used in Ayurveda Medicine. This green leaf is used to fight against Alzheimer's disease, improving memory, fight against ADHD ( Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder )  and as a general tonic to reduce stress and promote good human health.

Using these rich green leaves, I made an aromatic and flavourful Herbal Green Leaf Powder / Podi which can be enjoyed with hot rice and little ghee on top. It can also be enjoyed with Idli / Dosas too. I made it more nutritious by adding horsegram / kollu to this powder.

You can customize this mixture by substituting Kollu / Horsegram with Toor dal. Add garlic to this powder if you like that taste of it. But its purely optional.

Ingredients

Vallarai Keerai - 2 Big Bunch Bunch

Curry Leaves - 3 Sticks

Horsegram // Kollu / Ulavu -  1/2 cup

Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu - 2 tbsp

Cumin Seeds / Jeera - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 6 or 7

Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Salt - To Taste

Method

Wash the Brahmi Leaves and dry them on a thin muslin cloth or paper for  6-8 hours till they get dried completely. Dry Roast the brahmi leaves and curry leaves together on medium heat in a pan or kadai. Allow them to cool completely.

Dry roast all other ingredients except salt in the same pan till golden brown. Cool them completely.

Grind all together in a mixer grinder / blender to a fine smooth powder. Add required amount of salt and asafoetida and grind once again for 2 seconds to mix them.

Store it in an airtight container and enjoy. 

Tips /Suggestions

As its a dry powder, add a tsp of ghee while serving this with hot rice. If you are using this as a gun powder for Idly / Dosas, add few tsps of Sesame oil and serve. It enhances the taste for sure.

You can make vallarai keerai vadai, vallarai keerai adai, Vallarai keerai kootu / Paruppu too.

Andhra Style Pappu Podi / Roasted Putnalu Pappu Powder / Pappula Podi

Spice Powders always give a nice kick during the start of any meal. At home, we generally have four to five spice powders and we never fail to pick one during our weekend special meals. Out of those, pappu podi is always liked by my kids. This version is a typical andhra style one which was introduced by my mother in law. If you really want to relish a spicy Andhra Style podi served in restaurants at home, try this version and store it in your kitchen for special occasions. You will love it with hot white rice and a spoon of ghee, I promise with a side of a papad.

Ingredients

Putnalu Pappu / Pottu Kadalai / Roasted Chickpeas / Dalia - 3 Cups

Dry Red Chillies - 12 to 14

Garlic Pods - 8 to 10 ( Optional )

Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp

Dry Coconut Flakes - 3 tbsp

Salt - To Taste

Method

Dry roast all the ingredients in a frying pan and grind them into a powder using a mixer grinder. Consistency of this Pappu Podi should be between coarse and fine. Store it in a dry storage container which will stay for months.

Uses

1. Used as an accompaniment with Idli, Dosas.

2. Can be Mixed with hot white rice and ghee.

3. Used as a curry powder while making some special andhra curries.

4. Used for making instant chutneys.