Karivepaku podi (curry leaf podi)

About this podi

Karivepaku is the Telugu word for curry leaves, the leaf that goes into almost every tempering in a South Indian kitchen. In this podi it stops being a background note and becomes the main flavour. The leaves are roasted until crisp, which turns their sharp, citrusy smell into something deeper and toastier, and then ground with roasted dals and red chilli. The powder is dark green and tastes herby, savoury and gently warm: 2 of 3 on our chilli scale. It's the same style of podi as the one in the curry-leaf ghee podi rice on our Hyderabad Wednesday dinner menu, so if you've eaten that dish, you'll recognise this jar. Curry-leaf podi suits people who love the smell of a tempering more than they love heat. Mix it into hot rice with ghee and the whole kitchen smells like lunchtime.

How to enjoy

• Curry-leaf ghee podi rice at home: hot rice, a spoon of karivepaku podi and a spoon of ghee, mixed well.
• Sprinkle over a ghee dosa or plain idli.
• Stir a little into curd rice for a herby twist.
• Dust over a hot buttered chapati and roll it up.