Curry Leaf Rice

Ingredients

1. Basmati Rice - 2 cups
2. Salt - as needed
3. Turmeric Powder - a pinch
4. To Roast and Powder (Preparing Curry Leaf Powder)
5. Curry Leaves - about 1 cup packed
6. Urad Dal - 2 tbsp
7. Channa Dal - 1 tbsp
8. Garlic - 1 clove
9. Dry Red Chillies - 5
10. Peppercorns - 5
11. Coconut - 2 tbsp
12. For Seasoning
13. Asaefoetida - a pinch
14. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
15. Sesame Oil - 2 tbsp

Method

1. Cook the rice with required salt and a pinch of turmeric powder and keep aside.
2. Dry roast the dals, garlic, peppercorns, dry red chillies and coconut till it turns golden brown. Roast it in low flame to prevent it from getting burnt.
3. Add the curry leaves and toss everything on low flame till the leaves turn crisp. The whole roasting process should take about 12 minutes. Switch off and cool everything.
4. Grind everything to a coarse powder and keep aside.
5. Heat oil in a wok and do the tempering with mustard seeds and asafoetida.
6. Add the cooked rice and the ground curry leaf powder. Switch off.
7. Toss till everything comes together. Check for seasonings and add salt if needed.

Tips
You can make the Curry Leaf Powder in bulk and store it. This way you can make curry leaf rice instantly with left over rice. If you intend to store the powder, do not add coconut. Here's the recipe for Curry Leaf Powder.