Mom's Spice Powder for Dry Curries

Tweet

It is divinity that shapes, not only your ends, but also your acts, your words and thoughts.

~ Swami Sivananda

...and I truly believe in that. For me, God is just one force which is out there some where acting as a beacon, guiding us through the right path.

Many women hailing from the southern states of India - Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu perform a pooja called "Vara Lakshmi Vratham" for good health, wealth and prosperity. Every festival in Hindu mythology is associated with a story and here is how it goes for this Vrata -

You can see my mom's decorating skills here...

....In the kingdom of Magadha of yore, there lived a brahmin woman called Charumathi in a town named Kundina. The prosperous town was the home of Charumathi and her husband. Impressed by her devotion to her family, Goddess Mahalakshmi appeared in her dream and asked her to worship Vara-Lakshmi (Vara = boon, Lakshmi = goddess of wealth) and seek to fulfill her wishes. Varalakshmi is yet another form of Lord Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. The prayer/worship was prescribed to be offered on the Friday of Sravana month preceding the night of full moon... Source: wikipedia

My mom, dad and little sister came to Bangalore to visit us. It felt so great to have them around and celebrate my first Vratam after moving back to India.

May Goddess Lakshmi bring loads of prosperity, good health, joy and happiness to each one of us. :-)

I must have mentioned umpteen number of times, how awesome-a-cook is my mom. She is the queen of express cooking as being a working mom and two children to manage, she always had little time on hand & 4 hungry tummies to feed.

Today, I am sharing one of her podi recipes - a spice powder when sprinkled on any cooked vegetable taste so great that you would want for more.

Mom's Spice Powder for Dry Curries

This is a must-have in every kitchen and comes handy when you are feeling lazy or short-of-time. Just sprinkle this at the very end on any cooked vegetable like - eggplant/brinjal, potato, bell pepper, okra etc and it transforms into something else. and the recipe is one of the easiest them of all. Try it for yourself! 

Psst Psst - I also used this as a stuffing for eggplant and it tastes amazing!

Ingredients:

2 cups dry, shredded coconut powder (or dry coconut, cut into small pieces)
Salt - to taste
3 tsp red chilli powder
10 garlic pods, with skin
2 tsp cumin seeds

Preparation:

Put everything in a grinder and grind until everything is blended together. Adjust salt if needed.

Note: If you are using dry coconut pieces, grind in small bursts and mixing in the middle so that oil doesn't ooze out.

Sending this as an entry to Back to Basics: Spice Powders hosted by Jaya, the Desi Soccer Mom and also to Valli's Condiment Mela.

With utmost happiness and joy, I want to let you all know that this blog has started its 5th year of existence. It wouldn't have been possible without your immense love and constant support. I hope you would continue to encourage me in future as well. :-)

until next time,
Siri