Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

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Recently we had several cold fronts and storm systems that caused the temperatures in our area to drop well below freezing. A couple of systems dumped a lot of snow too, which in our region means everything pretty much comes to a stand still. All that snow, ice and cold weather had me craving something hot and hot chocolate was the first thing that came to mind :)

Luckily since I had been planning to make hot chocolate mix for a while now, I had stocked up on all the ingredients for it. Otherwise with impassable roads I would not have been able to make a run to the grocery store to pick up the things I needed to put this mix together. This is one of the easiest mixes ever and it tasted way better than the store bought versions I have had in the past. It's a perfect treat and a great way to warm up on a cold wintery day :)

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Ingredients and Method to make Hot Chocolate Mix (Adapted from this recipe)
1 and 1/2 cups of dry non fat milk (Milk powder)
1 cup sugar (see notes)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup french vanilla non diary creamer
1/8 tsp salt

Gather all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Process in batches in a blender/mixer to a smooth powder.

Store in a dry air tight container and use as required.

To make 1 cup of hot chocolate mix 1/2 cup water + 1/2 cup milk in a microwave safe cup, or in a small pan on the stove top. In another cup add 4 Tbsp of hot chocolate mix, pour hot water+milk on it and mix well until it dissolves. Enjoy.

For a richer taste, make it entirely in milk.  Top with whipped cream or marshmallows if you like.

Yielded approx 4 to 4 1/4 cups of hot chocolate mix
Approx 16-17 servings

Notes:
This hot chocolate is not cloyingly sweet like some of the store bought ones, it has a rich taste with a milder sweetness, if you like more pronounced sweetness in your beverage increase the quantity of sugar in this recipe to 1 and 1/2 cups or to taste.

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Homemade Rasam Powder

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As mentioned in this post, rasam is a soup like preparation originating in southern India and is made with tamarind juice and spices like cumin and pepper and is served over a bed of rice. It is a very light dish and it can be had as a soup too. In a traditional south Indian meal, rasam is served as the second course and usually follows sambar or some equivalent dish. Since both pepper and cumin help in aiding digestion and help in improving intestinal health, rasam is considered ideal food when recovering from any kind of illness.

Usually the rasam powder I use is the store bought kind. But when I ran out of it some time back, I decided to try making my own powder. I had my mother in law's recipe for rasam powder noted down in my book and a quick check showed me that I had all the ingredients for the powder in my pantry. This powder did not really take very long to make, which was somewhat of a surprise and I got a fair quantity with these proportions.

The very same day that I made this powder, I made tomato rasam (that will be my next post) All I can say is,  wow  what a difference !! Such a small change and such a huge difference in taste, totally worth the effort of making this powder definitely :) After tasting rasam with this powder, I doubt I will be able to go back to using store bought rasam powder :)  

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Ingredients and Method to make Rasam Powder
1 cup coriander seeds (dhania/kothamalli virai)
1/2 cup whole black pepper (milagu)
1/2 cup cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 cup split pigeon peas (tur dhal/ tuvaram parappu)
12 to 14 dry red chilies (or to taste)

Dry roast the first three ingredients on medium heat until aromatic. Remove and keep aside to cool.
Dry roast the lentils until aromatic and slightly reddish. Remove and keep aside to cool.
Dry roast the dry red chilies for just a few seconds. Remove and keep aside to cool.

When cool, powder all the ingredients together in a blender/ grinder until it turns into a fine powder.
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Store in an airtight container and use as required in rasam.
This powder has a shelf life of months without refrigeration.

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Homemade Pav Bhaji Masala Powder

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Since the first time I made garam masala at home and experienced the difference it made to the dishes it was used in, I was sold on the idea of making spice powders at home. The freshness and taste of homemade spice powders is incomparable and it elevates even an ordinary dish to something special.  Now  whenever  I run out of some of the spice powders I use,  I avoid re-stocking them immediately, hoping that it acts as an additional motivator for me to make the powder at home.

This time the spice powder I ran out of and decided to make at home was Pav bhaji masala powder. Pav bhaji is a very popular street food from India. Pav Bhaji literally means bread and vegetables. The vegetables are cooked and mashed and spiced with a special pav bhaji masala and generally topped with generous quantities of butter and served with this pav which is used to mop up the mashed vegetables.

I have made pav bhaji a few times since I made this powder and every time I do, it surprises me how much fresher and tastier the bhaji tastes because of the masala. It does not take very much time to make and can be stored for a good amount of time in the pantry, so it is definitely well worth the effort. I am sure I am never going back to store bought masala powder for pav bhaji after tasting bhaji made with this powder :-)

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Ingredients and Method to make Pav Bhaji Masala Powder
5 black cardamoms
1/4 cup coriander seeds (Dhania/ kothamalli virai)
1/8 cup cumin seeds (Jeera)
1/8 cup whole black pepper (miri/ milagu)
1 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds (saunf/ sombu)
10 whole red dry chilies
13  1 inch pieces of cinnamon
2 tbsp dry mango powder (amchur powder)

Dry roast all the ingredients except amchur powder for a few minutes on low to medium low heat until the spices release an aroma.

Add dry mango powder and roast another minute or so. Remove from heat, cool thoroughly and grind using a spice grinder to a fine powder.
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Store in an airtight container and use as required  in pav bhaji. (see notes)

Notes:
If pav bhaji is not quite your thing, this powder can even be used in place of curry powder or to spice up any other Indian style curries or dishes

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Homemade Garam Masala Powder

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For a while now I have been wanting to make my own garam masala. Fresh ground spices always add far more flavor and enhance the taste of the dishes that they are used in..... I was additionally motivated when I came across this article in Time magazine that suggested that some of the masalas that had been tested were shown to contain lead in them. A startling discovery that made me determined to start making my own masalas....... well, at least some of the masalas that I use most often:-)

 

Various sources including books and friends gave me an idea of the main ingredients of garam masala. I just went with my instincts on the quantities to be used in the masala.The results were awesome, the masala was so very fragrant and flavorful. Unlike some of the masalas that are required in south Indian cooking like this molaga podi (spice powder) or this thengai podi (coconut- lentil powder), making garam masala is much more simpler. It only entails a light roasting of all the spices together, some cooling and grinding and voila you have a garam masala that is miles ahead in terms of taste and flavor when compared to store bought ones.




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Ingredients and Method to make Garam Masala
1/4 cup fennel seeds (saunf/ sombu)
1/4 cup cumin seeds (jeera/ jeeragam)
1/4 cup coriander seeds (Saboot dhania/ kothamalli virai)
5 Dry red chili (Lal Mirch)
7 - 1 inch cinnamon sticks (dalchini/ pattai)
12 Black cardamom pods (Badi Elaichi)
1 tbsp cloves (lavang/ kramb)
10 small or 5 large bay leaves (tej patta )
5 star anise (Chakra phool)
1 tbsp black cumin seeds (shah jeera)
1 tbsp whole black pepper (kali miri)
1/2 tbsp ground nutmeg (jaiphal)

Dry roast all the spices together on low heat in a heavy bottomed pan for 4 to 5 minutes or until aromatic.
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Cool and powder in the spice grinder or a coffee bean grinder until fine. Remove and store in an air tight container or bottle and use as required in recipes.

Some recipes that use Garam masala

Kadai Paneer ( Indian Cottage Cheese curry)

Baingan Bharta (Vegan Oven Roasted Eggplant Curry) 

Punjabi Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower and Potato curry)  

Aloo Palak (Potatoes in spinach gravy curry) 

Gobi Chana Masala (Cauliflower and chickpeas curry)

Chana Palak (Spinach and Chickpeas curry)

Mushroom Peas curry with yogurt tomato gravy

Rajma (Red Kidney Bean Curry)

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Flax and Peanut Chutney powder

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There is always at least one type of chutney powder/ spice powder in stock in my pantry. When my stock of chutney powder begins to dwindle, I make another batch quickly. I cannot imagine not having some chutney powder at home, not only because these powders are convenient and versatile but also very healthy.

In addition to the traditional use of these powders as instant chutneys, they are also a great way to add spice or flavor to just about anything. When my in laws were visiting we made sabudana khichdi and found that it was not spicy enough, so my mother in law and I decided to add a little of this chutney powder to spice it up  I was a little wary about this fusion of south Indian style chutney with Maharashtrian style khichdi,  but the khichdi ended up tasting awesome. Now I add this powder to my khichdi often:-)

If you too are looking for ways to include the flax in your family's diet than this chutney powder is a great way to do it. As you know flax has immense health benefits, I have already mentioned some when I did my post on another type of flax chutney powder, so I will not get into it again :-) The nutty flavor of flax blends in perfectly with the complementing flavors of peanut, sesame and lentils in this chutney and makes it a fabulously tasty way to incorporate flax in our diet :-)



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Ingredients and Method to make Flax and Peanut Chutney Powder
1/2 cup raw unsalted peanuts (singdana/ kadalai)
1/2 cup brown sesame seeds (til/ ellu)
1/2 cup split yellow chick pea lentil (chana dhal / kadalai parappu)
1/2 cup whole black gram lentil without skin (Whole udad dhal/ muzhu ulandhu) can be substituted with the split variety too
1/2 cup flax seed meal (powdered flax seeds/ alsi/ali virai)
25 dry red chilies (or according to taste) (see notes)
1 inch piece of jaggery (optional)
salt to taste ( I used approximately 1 1/2 tsp salt)

Dry roast each of the above ingredients seperately except salt and jaggery until each of them are reddish brown and aromatic. The red chilies will turn a shade darker and flax seed meal does not change color a lot, but it emits a nutty aroma when done.

Cool all the ingredients to room temperature and powder them in a spice grinder/ blender.Powder the lentils first coarsely, then add sesame, peanut, flax and red chilies and powder in short bursts. Over powdering after the nuts are added may result in clumping. Add jaggery and give another short churn. Finally add salt and mix well.
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Store this powder in an air tight container. This powder can be kept on the shelf for a few weeks, but if you think it may take you months to use it up, it is recommended to store this in the refrigerator as flax can turn rancid quickly.

Serve a small quantity of this powder mixed with a few drops of sesame oil with either dosai/ adai/ idli , or add this chutney powder to spice up your curries. Alternatively it can be mixed with yogurt to make an instant dip.

Notes
Use dry red chilies as per your taste. My current batch of red chilies are not very spicy so even with 25 of them I only got the chutney powder to be mildly spicy. If you have very spicy red chilies you may have to use far less of them, so do use your judgment on the quantity to be used.

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Tea Spice Powder ( Chai Masala)

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To call me a chai enthusiast would be somewhat of an understatement, a bit like saying that the sun can be a little bright :-) For me chai can in turn refresh, revive or soothe depending on my current frame of mind, and I am convinced that only the prospect of having morning chai gets me out of my bed. When I say chai I mean tea that is made with spices and has some milk added to it, what is known as chai latte in the coffee shops these days, not black tea. I am pretty specific about the strength of the tea, the quantity of the milk, ginger and spices to be added to the tea. In short, about tea, I am very very picky :-)

Since I am so specific about my chai I find that the masalas(tea spice powder) that I get in the stores just do not cut it with me. The solution.... I make my own chai masala and find that I vastly prefer it to the store bought ones. This chai masala is something that I keep in hand most times. I make it with the spices I like in my tea. I have not referred to any particular recipe but have used proportions that work for me. I use this chai masala in pretty much the same proportion in my chai as I had used this other masala I posted a while ago . If you like masala chai, try this masala you will be sure to stay away from the store bought versions after using this:-)




Here is a picture of some of the spices used in this chai masala



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Ingredients and Method to make Chai Masala

25 whole green cardamoms (elaichi/ ellakkai)
2 (2 inch pieces) of cinnamon (Dalchini/ pattai)
1 tsp whole black pepper (Kala miri/ Milagu)
1 tsp dried mint (optional)
2 star anise (Anas phal)
5 whole cloves (laung)
1 tsp ginger powder

Break down cinnamon sticks with a mortar and pestle into smaller pieces.

Grind together all the ingredients mentioned above in a spice grinder until fine

Keep in an air tight container and use as required

I use this tea masala in the same proportion in my tea as this one I posted a while ago.

Yields about 7 heaped teaspoons of masala

Notes

You can easily double the quantity of spices to make more masala and store up for a little while.

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Quinoa and Flax Spice Powder (Chutney powder)

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Quinoa with its numerous health benefits is beginning to appear more frequently in my dishes as I learn new ways to sneak this super healthy grain like seed into our diet. After trying potato curry with quinoa and flax I decided I would love to have quinoa in a chutney powder.

Chutney powders like this spice powder(molaga podi) are an essential part of my pantry. A few drops of sesame oil transforms dry chutney powder to a perfect accompaniment for dosas or idlis (crepes and steamed cakes) and this lasts a long time without refrigeration making it perfect for emergency " I don't know what to make to go with this " days :-)

Despite my wariness about the result of this experiment, this quinoa spice powder turned out very well. Its spicy and slightly nutty taste worked very well when I used it in place of the above mentioned Spice powder(molaga podi) . It was also versatile enough that it can be used to spice up curries, to spicing up sandwiches and can even be mixed with plain yogurt to create a quick healthy dip.




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Ingredients and Method to make Quinoa dry spice powder

1/2 cup quinoa
1/4 cup split black gram lentil (udad dhal)
1/4 cup split chick pea (chana dhal)
1/4 cup flax seed meal
approximately 35 dry red chillies or according to taste (see notes)
salt to taste

Dry roast each of the ingredients separately (quinoa, split black gram lentil, split chick pea lentil) until reddish, remove from heat and keep aside seperately.

Dry roast flax seed meal until aroma from it releases and keep aside.

Dry roast dry red chillies until it starts to turn darker and seems crisp, keep aside.

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When all of the above ingredients are cool, powder them in a spice grinder separately at first until it forms a coarse powder.

Then add everything together and grind to a finer powder.

Add salt and give it another turn in the blender/ grinder until it mixes well.

Cool thoroughly and store in an airtight container. This will keep for a few weeks easily without refrigeration, in case you want to store longer keep it in the refrigerator as flax seeds get rancid quickly.

Use this spice powder to spice your curries, or use in place of molaga podi (spice powder ) with a few drops of sesame oil along with dosai/ idli or add it to your soups or sandwiches to spice them up.

Notes
You can skip the flax seed meal and increase the quantity of either of the lentils instead. In case you skip the flax seed meal you can store this without refrigeration.

The red chillies I have right now are not at all very spicy and so I have to use quite a bit of them to get a little spice. Please adjust the quantity of red chillies according to taste and the level of heat you want from this powder.

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Spiced Curry Leaves Powder ( Karvapillai Podi )

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Curry leaves are aromatic dark and shiny leaves used in Indian cooking and is an integral part of a lot of curries, hence the apt name, curry leaves, I guess :-) For generations Indian families have used these leaves for their digestive properties as part of home remedies for digestive disorders. These leaves are also said to help in preventing premature gray hair and various sundry health benefits.

When I was younger, I used to carefully remove the leaves that were used as part of seasoning in a curry and keep it aside even though I was told they were good for me, I never really seemed to care for it very much. But now as with many other spices and herbs I avoided earlier, I find myself re-looking these leaves too and they have become a constant part of my kitchen now, in one way or the other they find a presence in a lot of my dishes.

I knew that a spiced curry leaves powder was made in my home when I was younger but I never got around to making it since it requires a large quantity of curry leaves and finding them in such quantities in Indian stores is quite difficult, not to mention pricey. So the other day when I was shopping for groceries at the local Indian store I happened to see dried curry leaves being sold there, reasonably priced and definitely more long lasting then the fresh ones I usually buy. I bought that and have been using it in my cooking for a while now and do not find any discernible difference in taste from the fresh ones.

Spiced curry leaves powder is a dry powder that has a long shelf life. It is versatile enough to be used as a side with some rice dishes like yogurt rice, or it can be mixed up with a little bit of cooked rice, add a few drops of clarified butter/ ghee or sesame oil and voila you have an instantly flavored healthy rice dish. This powder can also be used to spice up yogurt to create an instant dip, or to spice up curries. Simply put, this versatile and healthy powder manages to find its way to the dinner table one way or the other almost each day.




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Ingredients and Method to make Spiced Curry Leaves Powder ( Karvapillai Podi)

2 1/2 cups of Dried or Fresh Curry leaves ( I used dried) ( Also known as karvapillai/ curry patta)
1/4 cup split chick pea ( chana dhal)
1/4 cup split black gram lentil ( udad dhal)
Dry Red Chillies about 30 ( or according to taste)
1/8 tsp Asafoetida / hing (optional)
salt to taste

Dry roast each of the lentils seperately until it turns reddish, keep aside seperately.

Dry roast the curry leaves (yes even the dried ones) until the it turns a little brownish and you can hear them make a crackling type of sound when they are stirred and keep aside

Dry roast the red chillies until they turn color and keep aside.

Cool all the ingredients thoroughly before proceeding to powder them

Powder the split chick pea until slightly coarse, then add split black gram lentil to it and continue to powder until they get the bread crumb type look, keep aside.
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Powder they curry leaves into a fine powder and keep aside.

Powder the dry red chillies with a pinch of salt if required until reasonably fine and keep aside.

Now mix all these powdered ingredients together in a blender, add salt and asafoetida and powder until fine.

Store in an airtight container and use as required to spice up your rice, yogurt or curries

Suggested Variation

Dry roast a small piece of tamarind and powder and add to the spiced powder and mix well.

Alternatively add about 1/4 tsp of amchur powder (dry mango powder)( or according to taste) to the final powder and mix thoroughly, this imparts a slight tartness to the final powder

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Thengai Podi ~ Thengai Molagai podi ~ Spiced Coconut Chutney powder

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Are you one of those people that avoid coconut and all coconut related products like the plague, believing it to be the ultimate source of saturated fat and a great diet buster. If yes, then you may find some of the facts in this post both surprising and interesting.......... Growing up, all and any information that got passed on about coconuts seemed to be about its saturated fat and how bad it is for the health and especially for heart health. So coconut oil that once featured regularly as a cooking aid disappeared from our homes at least with respect to cooking and was replaced by refined oil. But for the last year and more I have been reading about a lot of research on the subject of coconuts and coconut oil and it seems to me that this much maligned food from the past is getting touted as an amazing health food with a whole array of health benefits. A lot of research on coconut and coconut oil says it helps in a whole host of health issues from losing weight , to maintaining healthy functioning of thyroid and enzyme systems, to improving digestion and immune system to preventing gall bladder diseases and dissolving kidney stones. Coconut oil is even said to help in controlling blood sugar and in effective utilization of blood glucose thereby preventing and treating diabetes.

After reading about the health benefits of coconut oil and coconuts from multiple sources, I decided to cautiously re introduce it back in my kitchen but in moderation. I feel in moderation and in small quantities it cannot do much harm. If you want to learn more about the health benefits of coconut and coconut oil check out this link. I find it amazing that there has been such a reversal on the opinion of coconuts and coconut oil,what do you think, feel free to share your thoughts on this topic

The re introduction of coconut and coconut related products in my kitchen means that one of my childhood favorites has made a reappearance in my kitchen. Spiced coconut powder or  Thengai podi as it is known in Tamil ( a language spoken in southern India ) is simple to make and delicious. Literally thengai means coconut and podi means powder but this simple term does not do justice either to the versatility of the powder or to its multi layered taste. Traditionally this powder is served as an accompaniment with plain yogurt rice but this powder can be used in myriad ways and its usage is by no means restricted to south Indian cuisine. This powder works wonderfully in spicing up yogurt to make an instant dip, or in wraps and sandwiches or to spice up or flavor any bland food.



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Ingredients and Method to make the Spiced coconut powder (Thengai Podi)
3/4 cup grated coconut (either fresh or frozen) I used frozen thawed to room temperature
3 tbsp split yellow chick pea (chana dhal)
3 tbsp split black gram lentil (udad dhal)
2 little pieces of tamarind
1/2 tspn mustard seeds
4 whole dry red chillies salt according to taste ( I used approximately 1 tsp for this quantity)
drop of coconut oil ( optional)

Place a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat. Add a drop of coconut oil (if using) and roast the coconut scrapings on low to medium heat until the coconut turns reddish in color.

Remove from heat and keep aside. In the same pan roast the split yellow chick pea until it turns reddish in color. Remove from heat and keep aside.

Do the same process for the split black gram lentil and keep aside. In the same pan heat the mustard seeds and the tamarind together for a few minutes until the tamarind starts to change color. Remove from heat and keep aside.

Dry roast the red chillies until it starts to turn color too and keep aside.
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In a small spice grinder or in your regular blender/ mixer powder the lentils , mustard seeds, tamarind and red chillies coarsely.

Add the coconut to it and powder further until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.
 Do not over powder this as the powder needs to have a little texture to it. Add salt to this mixture and give it another little turn in the spice grinder.

Remove, cool thoroughly and store in an air tight container.This has a shelf life of about 10 to 12 days any longer and the coconut could get rancid. If you want to store longer you could probably refrigerate it, I normally do not have to worry about this part since it gets consumed pretty quickly at my place :-)

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Flax Chutney Powder

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Flax seeds are literally a kind of wonder food. These tiny seeds are said to have amazing capabilities like improving the immune system, decreasing risk of Alzheimer's, reducing cholesterol and high blood pressure and stabilizing blood sugar levels.  These seeds are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids and high in both soluble and insoluble fiber. 

Given that this is such a healthy food, it should be a no-brainer to include this in our diet. Having said that, actually including it in our diet has proven to be a little more challenging than I expected. I usually use flax seeds in my bakes as I did when I made these sweet potato rolls . But since I do not bake every day or even two or three times a week (though I would love to) just using them in bakes makes me feel like I am not using enough of it. So when I came across this recipe on Archy's site, I was thrilled with the idea of using flax seeds in a spice/ chutney powder. I adapted the recipe and added a few ingredients that I thought would enhance the taste.

This powder is very versatile and can be used to spice up yogurt to make an instant dip or used along with a few drops of sesame oil to make a chutney to go along with savory crepes/ dosai. You can add a little to cooked rice to make an instantly flavored rice. I have even used it to spice up my curries with thoroughly enjoyable results.

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Ingredients and method to make Flax chutney powder

1/2 cup flax seed meal (also known as Alsi ) (see notes)

1/4 cup raw unsalted peanuts

1/4 cup unsalted split roasted chick pea (dalia/ pottu kadalai)

1/2 inch tamarind

1/2 tsp brown sugar

20 curry leaves

15 dry red chillies (or according to taste)

1/4 cup brown sesame seeds

1 1/4 tsp salt (or according to taste)

Dry roast flax seed meal, raw peanuts, curry leaves, dry red chillies and brown sesame seeds SEPARATELY and keep aside to cool.

Flax meal needs to be roasted until aroma arises from it, peanuts until they change color and lose rawness, curry leaves until they become dry and crisp.

Powder all the ingredients along with the tamarind, brown sugar, and roasted chick pea until mostly fine.

Add salt to taste and give it another turn in the spice grinder. 

Store this in an airtight container and use as required

This powder will stay for about a month or maybe more without any refrigeration.

Notes

Flax seed is known as Alsi in India. Flax seed meal is just powdered flax seeds, so if you have the seed you can powder it in your spice grinder.

Instead of raw unsalted peanuts you can use unsalted roasted peanuts too, if you use roasted peanuts you can skip roasting the peanuts step.

You can grind this powder to a very fine texture too if you like, I make it reasonably fine and allow a little coarseness because I like to taste the bite of some of the ingredients and it also gives me a more molaga podi  like texture this way

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Lentil Powder (Parappu Podi) Version 2

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Since I have already explained about the handy lentil powder in this post , I will not go into that again.  Suffice to say that I always keep this powder in stock in either of its versions since I like the thought of having some back up plan in case I am unable to get anything ready for dinner.Although I always manage to get something ready for dinner, the very thought of having some kind of fall back plan gives me satisfaction especially on those days when I get late in getting dinner started.

This version of the lentil powder is different from the earlier version of the powder I posted on this site and differs subtly in taste since it has more ingredients and the curry leaves in this powder imparts a wonderful aroma to this powder and enhances the taste and flavor of this powder. This one is another one of my mother in laws recipes that she gave me and has become a regular in my kitchen since.

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Ingredients and Method to Make Lentil powder (Parappu Podi) Version 2 

1 cup Split red gram lentil (also known as split pigeon peas / tur dhal )

1/4 cup split yellow chick pea ( chana dhal )  

1/4 cup split moong bean (moong dhal )

20 large curry leaves

5 dry red chillies (or about 3 if you have very spicy red chillies) 

2 tsp whole black pepper (or 3 tsp of whole black pepper if you want more heat)

1 1/2 tsp salt

Dry roast each of the above ingredients separately except the salt. The lentils need to be roasted until they turn reddish and are exuding an aroma.

The curry leaves need to be roasted for a few seconds until it turns dry.The black pepper and red chillies until it changes color.

Cool all of these ingredients and powder in a blender/ spice grinder until fine.

Add salt and give it another turn in the blender/ spice grinder until the salt mixes well with the powder

Keep stored in an airtight container for months and use as required.

Notes

When serving the powder needs to be mixed with hot rice and served with a few drops of ghee (clarified butter) or sesame oil on top. About one teaspoon of this lentil  powder will be required for about 3/4  cup of cooked rice or more or less depending on your taste and how much heat you would want.. Serve with any curry and appalams/ pappadums  on side to make a complete meal.

This lentil powder (Parappu podi) is off to the Colors of Taste: Powders- Podi as an accompaniment event being hosted by Smitha

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Tea Spice Powder and Spiced Tea

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Tea is an integral part of my day and my daily routine. Tea is also one of those rare things,that I really miss when I am unable to have it.This does not happen often, only when I am traveling, especially to southern parts of India which is coffee land rather than tea.That is not to say you cannot get tea in these parts of the world, only that the tea made there does not really taste right to me. Okay I admit it, tea is one thing that I am really very picky about. All you tea drinkers out there know that how we make tea varies the taste of the tea drastically, use a tea bag to steep the tea and you get a mild tasting tea sans the bitter taste, boil the tea leaves and depending on how long you boil the tea leaves you land up with a little bitter or a lot bitter tea.Each person likes it in their own way and there is no right or wrong way of making tea.

My brother S who also shares my interest in tea, describes the process of making tea a "constantly evolving process". That's because the way we make tea has been changing over the years. But for me the process of making tea changes with the season too. In summer I make tea with herbs like mint and basil and in winter I make my tea with ginger, cardamom and a dash of freshly ground pepper for added flavor.

Recently I came across this recipe for a spice blend for chai tea and I was intrigued, especially when I saw dried orange as one of the ingredients for the spice blend. I was eager to try it soon and luckily had most of the ingredients on hand, so I made this spice blend the same day I saw the recipe for the first time.I modified the recipe and ground the ingredients to a fine powder so that I could use it to get the flavor to blend in quicker.

Once I made it though, I was very wary and skeptical about actually using the powder in my tea. I kept getting nervous that the orange in the spice powder would cause my milk to curdle and also since I have never used coriander seeds in my tea powder, was worried how this would taste and afraid my tea would get messed up. I am happy to say my fears were totally unfounded, the tea tasted fantastic, the orange added a hint of an exotic flavor to the tea and this spice blend turned out to be a keeper. So if all the late nights and staying up on long calls with family and friends has left you groggy, try making tea using this spice powder, it should both wake and perk you up when you need it the most :-)

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Ingredients and Method to make Tea spice powder

2 star anise

1/2 tsp whole black pepper

1 whole stick cinnamon

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1 1/2 tsp cardamom seeds

2 thin slices of orange(skin included) (any variety of orange will work)

Preheat oven to 200 deg F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or aluminium foil.

Place slices of orange on the tray and bake until dried turning once every hour. (Took me 2 1/2 hours to dry the orange).

Toss all the spices together and process in spice grinder until ground to a fine powder.

Store in an airtight container and use as required.

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Ingredients and method to make Spiced Tea

1 cup of water

1 cup of milk (I use 2 %)

2 tsp of brown sugar (or any other type of sugar)

2 tsp of loose tea powder

1/2 tsp of tea spice powder from above

grated ginger as per taste

Heat water on the stove top. When it heats up add grated ginger, sugar, spice powder.

When the water begins to boil add the loose tea powder let it boil for a scant 20 seconds to half a minute and remove from heat.

Simultaneously,in a separate container heat milk until it gets to boiling point or use a microwave safe mug or dish to heat milk in the microwave until it is close to boiling point.

Add this milk to the tea and mix well and strain into two mugs.

Serve hot.

Yields 2 cups of tea.

Notes:

If you are using milk which is creamier like it is in India you may want to reduce the quantity of milk.

Adjust sugar and other spices as per taste, my tea tends to be only mildly sweet not very sweet.

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Spice Powder (Molaga Podi)

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Molaga podi or Spice powder is an absolute essential which is always kept in stock in almost all south Indian homes.This is one of those simple powders that require few ingredients but is extremely tasty and can be stored for upwards of six months easily.This is generally used as an equivalent of chutney by adding a few drops of sesame oil to the required quantity of powder and by dipping a bite of dosa (indian savory pancake) or idli (rice and lentil steamed dumpling) or pretty much any other dish that you wish to spice up a little.

The first time I attempted making this powder I was clueless on how to proceed as I had neither observed my mother or any one else while they made this. My father had purchased a cookbook called Cook and See by Meenakshi Ammal which was the English version of the book "Samaithu Paar" by the same author for me, to help me in my amateur attempts in the kitchen. Now this book was a treasure trove of authentic south Indian recipes.Unfortunately though the author used measures like "azhaakku" which to a novice like me did not make any sense.I asked one of my aunts and she told me to substitute one cup for an azhaakku.
Emboldened by her advice I ventured into making this molaga podi for the first time. In retrospect I realize my interpretation of the quantity of red chillies required was not even in the ball park of the actual requirement since the resultant powder looked a deep and angry red and just by looking at it,I knew I had messed up big time...sigh....well anyway never one to give up easily I called up my aunt to find out if there was anything I could do to salvage this powder.

Seeing as this happened before the digital camera revolution,I could only describe the condition of my powder to my aunt.I am sure if my aunt had seen the powder she would have told me to give up on it entirely and either start all over again or run to the nearest store. But since she did not see this she gave me a couple of tips which included adding a little salt and a little powdered jaggery to reduce the fiery spiciness of this powder.None of those tricks helped and it was worse since the powder tasted both spicy and salty...anyway this disaster remained on my shelf in a glass jar for some length of time before I gave up and dumped the entire thing.

Just goes to show you, I guess, that getting proportions wrong can sometimes create disastrous results. This recipe is my mother in law's and my only variation is to use slightly more sesame seeds since I love the taste of sesame and it gives this powder a wonderful fragrance.



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Ingredients and Method to make the Spice Powder ( Molaga Podi )
1/2 cup Yellow split chick pea lentil (chana Dhal)
1/2 cup Split black gram lentil (udad dhal )
1 cup Brown sesame seeds
Approximately about 35 Dry red chillies (or according to taste)
salt to taste (about 3/4 tsp for this quantity of ingredients)

Soak the sesame seeds in just enough water to cover it for at least 15 minutes. (Some people skip this step but do this since the sesame when dry roasted after this puff a little which in turn improves the texture of the powder)

Dry roast the two lentils separately until each of them is reddish brown. Take care not to burn or char these lentils

This is how it looks when dry roasted



Drain the sesame seeds using a fine sieve (like a soup strainer) and dry roast the sesame seeds on low to medium heat until the seeds turn a little browner and the seeds kind of seem puffed.(Do not keep this on heat high since the seeds will pop out, also keep a lid or splatter screen handy just in case ..:)

Dry roast the red chillies until they turn color and become slightly whiter ( this happens very fast so take care)

This is how the dry roasted chillies and sesame seeds look..


First grind the lentils separately until the are kind of quartered and are small bits and keep aside.
This is how the lentils will look coarsely ground




Then in the blender jar, place the roasted dry chillies,then sesame seeds and grind a bit until the red chillies are powdered coarsely.Now add the coarsely ground lentils and grind everything together until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add salt to this and mix well.

Store in an airtight container after it is thoroughly cooled. This does not require refrigeration and stores well for a long time.

Serve this with a few drops of sesame oil to make it a chutney or spice up plain yogurt with this powder and use it as a spicy dip.

This is my entry to the Long Live the Shelf event being hosted by Roma

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Lentil Powder ( Parrappu Podi )

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Lentil Powder is a pretty uninspiring name for something which has taste,nutrition and convenience all rolled into one.This is a staple in most South Indian homes and is good to have on hand on days when time is short and making an elaborate lunch or dinner is not possible.This is served by sprinkling this powder on hot cooked rice (either brown or white) and adding a few drops of ghee(clarified butter) or sesame oil and a fragrant rice dish is ready.

This brilliantly simple powder is made of only four ingredients even including the salt and it can be prepared and stored in an airtight container easily for six months and even a little longer than that.This recipe can easily be doubled to make a bigger quantity of this powder.

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Ingredients and method to make the lentil powder.

1/2 cup red gram lentil (Tur Dhal)
2 tsp whole black pepper
4 dry red chillies
salt to taste ( I used about 1 tsp)

Dry roast the red gram lentil until it starts turning reddish and there is some aroma from it.

Dry roast the whole black pepper and the red chillies.

Cool all of this and powder it in a spice grinder or regular blender until mostly fine.

Add salt to taste and mix well and store in a clean dry air tight container.

Serve with hot rice and a few drops of sesame oil or clarified butter(ghee) ,papads and any gravy curry or with just yogurt on the side.

Approximately use about 1 tsp of this powder for about 1/4 cup of rice.

Variation :This can also be made using split mung bean (split moong dhal) instead of red gram,with all other proportions the same.

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