KARUVEPPILAI SADAM/CURRY LEAVES RICE/LUNCH BOX IDEA ~ Nithya's Kitchen

It is a daily affair for me to break my head daily what to pack for my hubby and daughter.They both have different tastes and to satisfy both is one big task.I try to make a variety of items keeping their demands in my mind.Everytime i do something different there will be a number of questions aimed at me and this time it was no different.Karuveppilai means curry leaves and sadam means rice in tamil.They were at first very intrigued by the fact that how can i make a rice out of a thing that is used for garnishing.At least making thogayal or podi was heard of but this.... was the question.I somehow convinced hubby to try atleast.Curry leaves as we all know has an excellent source of iron and many valuable minerals.They are also high in protein, carbohydrates and fibres.The fresh aroma of curry leaves is truly comforting as well.I remember mom forcing me to eat curry leaves in daily food during my growing years for long growth of hair.I had curry leaves rice for the first time at a friends place and liked it very much.It turned out to be a true surprise that everyone at home liked it a lot.So here is the flavourful recipe of karuveppilai sadam/curry leaves rice.

INGREDIENTS

Rice	1 cup
Mustard Seeds	1 tsp
Urad Dal	1 tsp
Channa Dal	1 tsp
Peanut	2 tsp
Salt	to taste
Sesame Oil	1 tsp
Ghee	1 tsp
Red Chilli	4
Curry Leaves	3/4 cup
Tamarind	a bit
Asafoetida	a pinch

PROCEEDURE

Cook rice and till fluffy.allow it to cool down by spreading the rice in a flat plate/vessel.Add a few drops of oil to it so that each grain is seperate.In a kadai add oil and add mustard.urad dal ,channa dal,red chilly and asafoetida and fry till golden brown.Now add curry leaves,salt and tamarind and switch off the flame.That much heat would suffice for the curry leaves,otherwise they would turn brown.

Allow it to cool and put in a mixer.Grind coarsely so that when you eat it the curry leaf flavour will hit your tongue.Take another pan and add oil .When it gets heated throw in mustard and peanuts.Add it to the ground curry leaves mixer.Lastly mix this powder with rice and pour in some ghee over it and gently mix.