Idli Podi Recipe
Idli Podi (Milagai Podi) is a South Indian condiment that is popularly served with steamed idli. It is earthy, smoky, spicy, and slightly crunchy and you can make a big batch in just 20 minutes.
Servings: 10 servings
Equipment
- Grinder
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- ½ cup split and skinned black lentil (white urad dal)
- ½ cup Bengal gram (chana dal)
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds (white til)
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing)
- 15-20 curry leaves
- 20-25 Kashmiri dry red chilies
- ¼ cup grated fresh coconut
- 2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Add white urad dal, chana dal, and white sesame seeds to a pan and roast over medium-low heat until slightly browned and fragrant (4-5 minutes). Keep stirring while roasting. Once roasted, remove them in a large bowl.
- To the same pan, add vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add hing and curry leaves. Fry for 8-10 seconds. Remove in the same bowl with the lentils.
- Add Kashmiri red chilies to the pan and roast for 3-4 minutes. I used Kashmiri red chilies as they give a nice color to the podi and are not too spicy. Remove them to the bowl.
- Now add coconut to the pan and toast till slightly browned (3-4 minutes). Remove on the same bowl.
- Let the mixture cool completely.
- Transfer the cooled ingredients to a grinder or a food processor along with salt and grind to make a coarse powder. If your grinder is small, then grind the podi in batches. Once all of it is ground, mix all the batches together.
- Store the podi in a glass container for up to a month in the refrigerator and use it as required.
Video
Notes
Try to keep the ingredients in strong sun for a day for the best result.
Use fresh good quality ingredients.
If the ingredients are not roasted on low heat, they do not get crunchy from inside, and the texture of the podi will not be good. It also reduces the shelf life of the podi.
Stir the ingredients often while roasting and roast them on medium-low heat.
Cool the ingredients well before grinding. Grind them in short bursts otherwise, sesame seeds can release the oil and the powder will become be moist.
You can grind the power coarse or smooth. I like to keep it slightly coarse as I like that texture.
Use a fresh dry spoon to take out the milagai podi.
Nutrition
Calories: 118kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 2g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 388mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 915IU | Vitamin C: 160.1mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 2.5mg
