Wash and dry the doddapatre leaves. You can place them between a kitchen towel and press them dry.
In a small pan, dry roast whole black peppercorns on low to medium heat, for 2 mins. Stir constantly.
Add cumin seeds and allow them to become fragrant (about 1 minute).
In a spice blender, blend the peppercorns and cumin to a smooth powder. You can store this powder in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for future use.
Add roughly chopped doddapatre leaves to the blender. See "Sauté Option" below if you want to lightly cook the leaves.
Add 1 tablespoon yogurt/kefir and blend the leaves smooth. You may not need yogurt, should you decided to cook the leaves, since the leaves have a lot of water content.
Add salt, the blended peppercorn/cumin powder and blend again for a few seconds. Empty this into a serving bowl.
Whisk in additional yogurt/kefir depending on how thick you like your tambuli to be.
Sauté Option
I love the taste and aroma of raw herbs. Doddapatre is at its healthiest best when consumed raw. However, if you are new to this herb, roughly chop the leaves and sauté for 2-3 minutes until the leaves wilt. This will reduce the intensity of the flavor. Blend the leaves with the water. Follow the rest of the cooking instructions in the recipe.
Tempering:
Heat ghee (or oil) in a small pan. Splutter mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and dry red chili peppers for 20 seconds. Pour this tempering into the tambuli bowl, mix well and enjoy!