Idli Podi
There is no unique recipe for this very famous idli podi or gun powder as some people call it. Every household has their own version of it and I bet everyone feels theirs is the best. You are sure to find this spicy powder in most of the South Indian household. Some people like it very spicy and others like it mild. The proportion of ingredients and the ingredients itself vary from family to family. This can be mixed with ghee or sesame oil or coconut oil and served along with idlis. Again this is my mom in law’s version and its mind blowing and very spicy too.
Ingredients:
- Kerala red rice or boiled rice 1/2 cup
- Udad dal 1/2 cup
- Red chillies 10-12 or as reqd
- Curry leaves 3-4 sprigs
- Asafoetida 1 tsp
- Cumin seeds 1 tbsp
- Salt to taste
- Pepper corns 10-12
Method:
- Dry roast the rice in a thick iron kadhai till it puffs up nicely.
- Repeat the same for the udad dal too.
- In the same kadhai, roast the cumin seeds till it crackles. Now add the red chillies, pepper corns  and curry leaves and roast it well. Switch off the gas and add salt and asafoetida.
- Allow all the ingredients to cool well. Take a dry mixer jar and add all the roasted items and grind it in a mixer till its a coarse powder.
- Check salt and store it in an air tight container. It stays well for a couple of weeks.
- Mix it with butter, ghee, coconut oil or sesame oil and serve it with steaming idlis.
Notes:
- If you don’t like it coarse, u can grind it till its a fine powder. My hubby and father in law likes it coarse ( dar-dara).
- You can add chana dal, sesame seeds etc while roasting to get a slightly different flavour.
- This comes very handy when you are in a hurry and you don’t have time to make chutney.
- You can reduce or increase the amount of spices as per your taste.
