what is Chettinad Masala?
The famous Chettinad Masala from Tamil Nadu is famous for its use of spices is considered as the spiciest and most flavorful spice mix which is actually the cuisine of the community called Chettiyars or Nattukotai Chettiars or Nagarathars. Chettiars were a community of spice merchants who traveled all around world and got home exotic varieties. It has an array of 16 or more spices carefully selected and blended in perfect harmony to get the right flavor. The freshly ground spices along with coconut and curry leaves make make Chettinad cuisine stand apart.
The most important ingredient for the masala from the state of Tamilnadu is Dagad phool/ Stone flower or KalpasiWhat is Kalpasi or dagad phool or stoneflower ?Kalpaasi / Stone Flower/ Dagad Phool is a peculiar spice with a peculiar shape for many people but not for the Chettinadu locals. In Tamil, ‘Kal’ means stone and ‘paasi’ means light green moss that grows on rocks in running streams or rivers or on trees in hill stations. It does not have a particular shape, some are curly like some dried flower that is very light in weight. Kalpasi has shades of black, gray, white and pale green in it. You won’t be able to get its fragrance if smelled raw. However, kalpasi releases a very strong aroma when tempered for curries and gravies. The fragrance is something close to what star anise releases when tempered in hot oil, but stronger than that.
To make this Chettinad Masala , you have to gather close to 16 or more spices including dry red chilies, kapok buds, Star anise, black pepper corns, poppy seeds, fennel seeds, Mace, Green cardamom, cinnamon swirls, cloves, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves stone flower and toasted them in a particular order just to release their essential oils, allowed them to cool and pounded them in mortal and pestle. If you are somebody who wants to learn about indian cooking, then do check some other posts like Mangalorean Fish Curry, Kundapur Masala Powder,Madras Chicken Curry which I have done along with some of my blogger friends under #flavorsofregionalcooking .
Ingredients for Chettinad Masala
Ingredients:
- 2 to 3 cinnamon stick of I inch size
- 10 to 12 green cardamom
- 1 star anise
- 1 blade Mace
- 10 to 12 cloves
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 3 tsp black pepper
- 3 to 5 kapok buds
- 1 tsp stone flower
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 5 tbsp coriander seeds
- 4 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 10 to 15 dry red chilies
- 2 tsp poppy seed
- 2 sprig curry leaves
- 2 tbsp grated coconut (optional)
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
1. Use a thick bottomed pan over a slow flame and dry roast all the spices except the turmeric powder in the order above just to release their essential oils, allowed them to cool and pounded them in a traditional mortal and pestle or your dry grinder.
Note: Its optional to add coconut also,you may add the coconut while cooking the curry.
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