10 South Indian Curry Masala Powders – Prepared at home

Adulteration of food is common if we buy from outside, where taste and quality are compromised. Many unhealthy ingredients such as food colour and preservatives may be added so as to appeal customers and to make huge profits. Preparing curry powders is a time consuming process and that’s why most housewives prefer to buy curry powders from outside. They can never be the same quality as prepared in home in terms of taste or healthy facts. It also costs more. So why can’t we prepare them at home?

You can prepare curry powders at home once in every month if you are willing to spend a little time. First process is to wash red chillies, coriander seeds and pepper (which we buy from market) at home and dry under direct sun. Then make a fine powder. You should break chillies into two so as to ensure that it’s free of fungus. Wash chillies three or four times and dry them completely. They should turn crispy before you grind it. You can also crush chillies a little and store in a bottle so that you can add them to dishes like fish/chicken fries, Mezhukkupuratti etc.

Never use newspapers to dry chillies and coriander seeds. Instead use clean bed sheet or cotton cloth. Water will be completely absorbed. You can also dry and grind cumin seeds, fenugreek and fennel seeds, so that you can add them to curries easily. Try to consume the curry powders within one month. Otherwise they may lose their taste and flavour. If you have already prepared such powders, you can mix them in correct proportions to prepare garam masala powder, sambar powder, pickle powder, rasam powder etc. Here I provide 10 such curry powder recipes.

1. Garam Masala Powder

Ingredients for Garam Masala Powder:

1. Cinnamon – 25 gm

    Cloves – 25 gm

2. Pepper – 10 gm

3. Cumin seeds – 20 gm

    Fennel seeds – 100 gm

4. Couscous – 20 gm

How to prepare Garam Masala Powder?

1. Heat a pan and heat cinnamon and cloves.

2. Take of the flame, and when it cools a little bit, add pepper and mix well.

3. Transfer the contents to a bowl.

4. Add cumin seeds and fennel seeds to the same pan.

5. When it heats, add couscous and take off the flame.

6. Mix all the ingredients and grind it before it turns cool.

7. Spread on a plate and allow to cool.

8. Store in air-tight containers.

2. Varutharacha Theeyal Masala Powder (Fried Coconut Curry Powder)

Ingredients for Varutharacha Theeyal Masala Powder (Fried Coconut Curry Powder):

1. Coconut – 1, scrapped

2. Shallots – 5

    Garlic – 4 or 5 cloves

3. Coriander powder – 2.5 big spoons

    Chilli powder – 1 big spoon

    Garam masala powder – A pinch

    Turmeric powder – ½ small spoon

How to prepare Varutharacha Theeyal Masala Powder (Fried Coconut Curry Powder)?

1. Blend coconut once in a mixer.

2. Add garlic and shallots and fry till golden brown.

3. Reduce the flame and add the powders.

4. Mix the ingredients well and fry till a pleasant aroma comes out.

5. Take off the flame and allow to cool.

6. Grind the masala in a mixer and store in air-tight containers.

3. Pickle Powder

Ingredients for Pickle Powder:

1. Chilli powder – 250 gm

    Turmeric powder – 1 small spoon

    Asafoetida powder – 2 small spoons  

How to prepare Pickle Powder?

1. Mix together all the three ingredients and store in a container.

2. When you prepare pickle sauté it adding garlic and green chillies.

4. Rasam Powder

Ingredients for Rasam Powder:

1. Pepper powder – 50 gm

    Cumin powder – 40 gm

    Turmeric powder – 2.5 small spoons

     Chilli powder – 2.5 small spoons

How to prepare Rasam Powder?

1. Mix all the powders together and store it in an air tight container.

2. To prepare rasam, sauté crushed ginger and garlic and fry it adding rasam powder.

3. Add cooked sambar dal water and boil it well.

4. Add tamarind juice also.

5. You can also grind a tomato and substitute it for cooked dal water.

5. Fish Curry Masala Powder

Ingredients for Fish Curry Masala Powder:

1. Chilli powder – 350 gm

    Fenugreek powder – 25 gm

    Asafoetida powder – 25 gm

    Turmeric powder – 25 gm

How to prepare Fish Curry Masala Powder?

1. Mix all the powders together and store it in an air tight container.

2. For the preparation of fish curry, sauté the remaining ingredients and add a paste of this masala powder.

3. Add sufficient water and cook fish till water content is fully absorbed.

N.B: Water is added to the curry powder before adding to the sauted mixture so that it won’t burn.

6. Sambar Powder

Ingredients for Sambar Powder:

1. Coriander powder – 300 gm

    Kashmiri chilli powder – 225 gm

    Turmeric powder – 25 gm

    Asafoetida powder – 25 gm

How to prepare Sambar Powder?

1. Mix all the powders together and store it in an air tight container.

2. While preparing sambar, you can add three or four spoons of sambar powder as needed. But sauté it before adding to cooked vegetables.

N.B: You can also add 25 gm each Bengal gram powder and sambar dal powder to sambar powder while storing for future use. It adds more thickness to curry.

7. Meat Masala Powder

Ingredients for Meat Masala Powder:

1. Coriander powder – 300 gm

    Chilli powder – 225 gm

    Garam masala powder – 50 gm

    Turmeric powder – 50 gm

    Pepper powder – 50 gm

How to prepare Meat Masala Powder?

1. Mix together all the ingredients and store in an air-tight container.

2. For preparing meat, sauté onions, green chillies, ginger and garlic first.

3. Use this masala to prepare meat.

4. You can also use the same curry powder to prepare chickpeas curry, green peas curry, potato curry, egg curry, tomato curry etc.

8. Fish Fry Masala Powder

Ingredients for Fish Fry Masala Powder:

1. Pepper powder – 2 big spoons

    Chilli powder – 1 big spoon

    Turmeric powder – 1 big spoon

    Curry leaves – 10, fried and powdered

How to prepare Fish Fry Masala Powder?

1. Mix together all the ingredients and store in an air-tight container.

2. When you need masala, take it as needed, add salt and marinate fish.

9. Biryani Masala Powder

Ingredients for Biryani Masala Powder:

1. Fennel seeds – 25 gm

    Cumin seeds – 25 gm

    Shah jeerakam (Caraway seeds) – 10 gm

    Nutmeg – 5

    Mace – 10 gm

How to prepare Biryani Masala Powder?

1. Mix together all the ingredients.

2. Grind well using a mixer and store in air-tight containers.

10. Chicken Masala Powder

Ingredients for Chicken Masala Powder:

1. Red chillies – 10

    Coriander – 3 big spoons

    Pepper – 1 small spoon

    Cinnamon – 1 inch piece

    Cardamom – 3

    Cloves – 3

    Fennel seeds – 2 small spoons

    Couscous – 2 small spoons

2. Turmeric powder – 1 small spoon

How to prepare Chicken Masala Powder?

1. Heat ingredients no: 1 in a pan.

2. Put off the flame and add turmeric powder.

3. Make a fine powder using the mixer and store in air-tight containers.

Courtesy: Vanitha magazine October 1-14, 2018