Curry Leaves Gravy

Curry leaves (karuvepilai), is an inherent ingredient for most of Indian & Srilankan cooking, mainly because they grow well in tropical - sub tropical climate (thanks to encyclopedia :). It is high on minerals such as iron, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamins.

Mostly, it is used as a garnishing ingredient for its flavor and is mostly discarded (rarely does anyone eats curry leaves unlike coriander & pudhina). However, thanks to our grandmothers, we can make better use of these leaves & enjoy the full benefit by consuming them in better forms.

One such rich dish is curry leaves gravy that can be had with hot rice, idlis, pongal etc. You can store it for some time and refrigerate it for longer use. So, here you go...

Ingredients:

Curry Leaves : 2 cups (preferably fresh but you can use dried ones too)

Green Chillies: 4-5 medium

Small Onions : 10-12 finely chopped (some use small onions as is; if rqd, you can use chopped big onions)

Chili powder : 3-4 tspn (as spicy as you need it)

Coriander powder: 

Tamarind: Lemon Size (Extract juice)

Salt : To taste

Mustard Seeds: 2 tspn

Uradh dhal : 1 tspn (half white)

Jaggery : 1 piece (optional)

Gingely Oil (til ka thel): 2 - 3 tbspn (oil allows you to store it for a longer duration)

Asafoteida (Hing): 2 pinch

Method:

• Grind the curry leaves with green chillies to a smooth mix
• In a non stick pan (or better a mud kadai), add oil
• Add mustard seeds. As they crackle, add uradh dhal. Next, add the onions. 
• Fry till the onions turn pinkish.
• To this mix, add all spices, salt, and hing. Follow it up with Tamarind extract and curry leaves mix
• Add water to allow the curry leaves to cook till the raw smell is gone
• Stir and cook till the oil separates as a top layer
• Add the jaggery (if rqd) and remove from fire
• Allow it to cool before you store it in any dry air-tight container 

Note: If you have used high amount of oil then it can be kept outside, else, its preferred to refrigerate it. 

Serve it with:

• hot rice & gingely oil
• hot idlis / dosas
• spread on bread as S/W
• spread on rotis / paranthas