unusual greens : curry patta is not just for the tempering, it can be a leafy green vegetable... making a green rawa idli with curry patta

Can we use the curry patta as a regular green ??

Not just as a tempering and as an ingredient being used in larger quantity. Imagine the amount of antioxidants and minerals you are using per serving. Curry patta lends an incredible flavor to any dish when used as a tempering , the essential oils in the curry patta get infused in the daals , sambars and many dry stir fries. For tempering we use only a few springs of curry patta and I am talking about using it in larger quantities. Think about it, have you ever made a pakoda with curry patta instead of using palak (spinach) or a curry patta daal instead of daal palak. I know curry patta is used so beautifully in the south of India but I have seen my north Indian friends using this wonderfully flavored green just for the aromatic properties.

 Making a curry patta chutney is a great idea,  one tightly packed cup of curry patta, 3/4 cup of coconut flesh, 3-4 green chillies and 3-4 garlic cloves, salt to taste and a quick whiz in the mixie is all you have to do for a yummy chutney.... many of my north Indian friends think that curry patta cannot be eaten raw and temper such a chutney with curry patta and mustard seeds fried in oil, which is not necessary at all. This chutney is great with any dosa, idli or uttapam. I make many versions of green chutney (will post them sometime) with curry patta especially in the rainy season when i do not use store bought mint and coriander leaves. Curry patta is my savior even in rainy season.

There is loads of information about curry patta on the internet, it's health benefits and thousands of yummy recipes. I love south Indian food with all the coconut , curry patta and spices. I wonder how the vadas and masala dosas are enjoyed by all my north Indian friends so much and the drumstick sambar and curry patta podis are conveniently given a miss (what is that?).

Here is a green idli for my friends who tend to remove the curry patta from the sambar and upma :)

I have a handsome curry patta tree in my garden and make a very useful curry patta masala powder whenever the overgrowing branches are lopped off. Apart from that I prefer making a coarse paste of fresh curry patta in the chutney grinder of my mixie , without using any water. About 40 full grown springs of curry patta make 2 heaped tbsp of this crumbly paste.

This is very useful for making a green pohe where I just throw in (a heaped tbsp or two) while frying the onions and potatoes and nobody will pick and throw the leaves from the plate ( I prefer eating them even if whole leaves are used for tempering). Pohe becomes diabetic friendly when a tbsp of curry patta is there per serving, think about it. This is a late evening picture without using flash so the color is not very bright, but it looks beautifully green.

And now about the green idli, the same curry patta crumble paste is used to make this pillow soft idli , served with green plantain peel chutney (another unusual green) and the combination of this idli chutney has become a favorite at my place .

2 cups of mota rawa (coarse grain semolina) dry roasted on very low flame (I store rawa after roasting it this way) is soaked in a cup of fresh curds whisked with a cup of water, 2 tbsp of curry patta paste, 1/2 tsp soda bi carb and salt n pepper to taste. Wait for about 10 minutes till the mixture looks like the second picture. The curry patta can be added to the regular idli batter too, this is my instant idli recipe.

The idli being instant, I hate using the plastic microwave safe idli mold. One, it has to be retrieved from the forgotten corners of the kitchen shelf and secondly, plastic is not environment and health friendly. So I use my glass or ceramic bowls for suitably sized idlis. See the batter into the left bowl and the fluffed up cooked idli in the right side bowl of the first picture below. One minute is enough for one idli to be cooked covered on high power. Use a knife to ease the idly out of the bowl, or just dunk in some chutney in the same bowl and enjoy. The idli is great even at room temperature and can be a great tiffin box lunch too.

Two large idlis per serving, smeared with the luscious plantain peel chutney... heavenly taste ...

The chutney may not look very pleasing by the look of it but it's really really tasty. Peels of two green plantains are chopped roughly and microwaved for a minute. Grind with an largish piece of ginger , 4-5 cloves of garlic, 4-5 green chillies and 2-3 tbsp of chopped coconut flesh. Add salt to taste and lemon juice or tamarind pulp for sourness.

Fulfilling your green quotient of the day, a bright green idli and a green chutney to smear it with. One more interesting healthy chutney with one more version of rawa idli is posted earlier too cooked in a similar way, healthy food made possible with little bit of effort and a little bit of imagination, and healthy is not always boring. If you like your breakfast or snacks fried, this instant semolina-curry patta vada with similar ingredients can be your idea of yumminess. Ilike this idli better.

A spoonful of heaven. Roasted or fried dry fruits like cashews, almonds or peanuts can be included in the idli batter to make it even more interesting. We like it this way or that way....