DOSA / IDLI MILAGAI PODI (GUN POWDER)

 

 

Dosa / idli milagai podi or molaga podi is a flavourful condiment for dosa and idli.  It is also used as seasoning / flavouring for podi curry.  Well, at my place it is used in so many recipes that sometimes I think of getting it ground in a mill in kilos.  My husband can eat it just like that.  Apart from being used as a substitute for chutney and sambhar, one can use it in kathrikai (brinjal), vazhakkai (raw banana) or cabbage podi curry as this milagai podi has loads of flavour.  Generally, channa dal, urad dal, til, whole red chilli and salt are the main ingredients of this podi; but I also add kollu (horse gram), tamarind, jaggery and asafoetida to enhance the flavour – spicy, tangy and sweet.  I was watching some cookery show in Podhigai and learnt about the benefits of kollu (horse gram) and decided to use it in my dosa milagai podi.  Note: Kollu is not advisable to pregnant women.

INGREDIENTS
Channa Dal	1 Cup
Urad Dal	1 Cup
Horse Gram	1/2 Cup
Whole Red Chilli	100 g
White Sesame (Til)	1/4 cup (4 tbsp)
Tamarind	15 g
Asafoetida	5 – 6 g
Jaggery	3 tbsp
Salt	To taste

 

METHOD

• Roast all the above, except jaggery and salt, separately until golden brown.  Set aside to cool.
• While frying asafoetida, add a tsp of oil.
• Now, in a mixer first grind white sesame, next grind tamarind and hing, then add in jaggery and salt and pulse it 3- 4 times.  Then throw in whole red chilli and grind well. 
• Finally add dals and horse gram and grind to a coarse powder (neither too fine nor too coarse).
• Store it in an air tight container.

NOTES

• The said measurement will fetch you about 700 g of milagai podi
• I use whole / solid asafoetida.  If using powder, then no need to roast it.  Just add a tsp of hing powder while grinding.
• I never grind everything together because I want my dals to be coarse and all other ingredients to be fine powder.  This gives an extra flavour to my dosa milagai podi.
• I use 60g of Guntur and 40g of Byadgi red chillies