Spice Powders: Idly Milagai Podi
They are crunchy with a mild spice kick and loaded with the awesome smell of sesame oil, which is used as a liquid medium to make a paste out of it.
This flavorful spice mixture is served with nallennai /gingelly oil (sesame oil) or ghee as a side. Every family has its own version of the spice powder. Some may increase its spicy level while some may increase the amount of asafoetida or sesame seeds or my mom also adds horse grams certain times. Since my son seems to love its taste, I drastically reduce the number of red chillies and increase the amount of roasted channa dhal (pottu kadalai).
This spice powder is a great dip for South Indian dishes like idly, dosa, upma, adai and pesarattu.
Idly Milagai Podi Recipe
Ingredients
- 15 dry red chilies
- 1 cup urad dhal (white lentils)
- 1/2 cup channa dhal (black gram)
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp asafoetida chunks (solid variety) or powder
- 1/2 cup horse gram – Kollu/ sesame seeds (optional)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1-2 tsp Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a kadai and cook the solid asafoetida first. If using asafoetida powder, skip this step.
- Roast each ingredient separately in very little oil and cool them. Make sure that you don’t burn them. Always have an eye when you saute them. It will take about 5-8 minutes to roast each lentil on medium low flame.
- Once cooled, grind them into a fine powder. Adjust salt to taste(use rock salt – if possible). Store in a clean air tight container. Enjoy the delicious podi with idly/dosa.
