In a wide and deep pan, dry roast the microwaved coconut on lowest flame. When the coconut begins to brown around the edges, add the rest of the ingredients except tamarind and salt.
Mix well and continue roasting it. Make sure you stir it frequently to ensure uniform browning of coconut. Keep roasting till it becomes a rich caramel colour.
Once it has reached the correct colour, switch off the gas and transfer the coconut mixture to another pan. Let it cool completely.
Add tamarind and salt to the mixture and mix well. Pulse it in a mixie at 1 second interval. Make sure you shake the mixie in between. If you grind it continuously for a long time, it might become oily. After the first two pulses, check the salt and tamarind level and add more if required.
Keep in mind, the taste of tamarind develops as it rests. I like the texture of chammanthi podi little bit coarse than fine powder. Stop pulsing once it reaches your desired texture.
Store it in an airtight container. You can start using it from the next day or two. It should rest for sometime for the flavours to settle in.
You can have it with Rice, Idli, Dosa etc; Sometimes I've it with Upma too...You will get around 1-1.5 cups of Chammanthi podi from the above qty. You can store it at room temp for a month, unless you are living in a very humid place.
Notes
To ensure uniform browning of coconut, you can just pulse the grated coconut and follow the recipe. I skipped that step, that's why you can see some white specs in between. Make sure you keep the flame at the lowest throughout the roasting process. Make sure you stir it frequently, otherwise it may get burnt. If you feel that it's browning too fast, just take it off the heat for a few seconds. I usually store a small qty outside and store the rest of it in the fridge in an airtight container.