Karuveppilai Sadam or Curry Leaves Rice

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 cup curry leaves (packed)
• 1 tbsp chana dal
• 11/2 tsp urad dal
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 dry red chilies
• 1 tbsp sesame seed oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp chana dal
• 1 tbsp raw peanuts
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
• 1 tsp salt

Steps

1. Wash and dry the curry leaves well. In a kadai/pan, heat 1 teaspoon of oil on low flame. Add the curry leaves and mix well. Keep stirring to evenly roast the leaves. Make sure to do this in low heat. The curry leaves should not change color. It should just fry and become crispy. It will take a good 6 to 7 minutes on low flame. You will notice that the leaves start to become crunchy.
2. Remove the fried curry leaves to a bowl.
3. In the same pan, heat one more teaspoon of oil and fry the urad dal, chana dal, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, red chilies, and black pepper. Fry until they are aromatic and tamarind piece at the end and fry for a minute. Turn off the heat and then add the fried curry leaves to the pan and let the whole mixture cool down to room temperature.
4. Grind the mixture coarsely…
5. The karuveppilai powder is now ready. This powder can be stored for later use as well. Cook the rice and let it cool down. I usually add a little oil to keep the rice from sticking.
6. In a wide pan, heat 1 tablespoon of gingelly oil and add the mustard seeds. Let the seeds crackle and then add chana dal, red chili, asafoetida powder, peanuts. You could also use cashews instead of peanuts for a different taste.
7. Once the nuts are fried, add the cooked and cooled rice along with the ground curry leaves powder and salt. I used ¾ of the powder that I ground. Add half of the powder and gently mix to combine. Taste and adjust the salt if needed. If needed, add more karuveppilai powder and mix.
8. Serve with potato curry or chips!