Idli Miligai podi /Malga podi

Flavorful and delicious spice powder made with roasted lentil and spices

Milagai podi or malgapodi is a popular powder/chutney/podi of every south Indian kitchen.It is a nice accompaniment to serve with dosa ,idli,adai and vada. When ever I go to any south Indian restaurant  I love the malgapodi more then the chutnies served with idli and dosas.

When I met a south Indian friend of mine she shared her family recipe with me.Though there are many recipes to make malga podi and every family has their own traditional family recipe but the main ingredients remains the same, just different ratios of ingredients or few more or less ingredients to be added . Addition of tamarind and jaagary is optional ,you can add or skip both.

Traditionally Malga podi is served mixed with little sesame oil but you can use ghee or have plain like I do. Idlis smeared with malga podi and ghee taste wonderful and also very good to pack in kids lunchbox .I loved it with plain steamed rice or even with roti and parathas.This spicy and flavourful podi goes well with almost every thing, it is also a very good accompaniment as a dry chutney and easy to carry along for travelling and journey.

Prep time -20 min
Difficulty level - easy
Spice level - medium
Cuisine - South Indian
Type - powder,side
yield - 1.5 cup

INGREDIENTS-

• Bengal gram /chana dal -1/2 cup
• White lentil /urad daal -1/2 cup
• Kashmiri red chilis/lal mirch -10
• Sesame seeds / till - 1 tbsp
• Whole coriander seeds/sabut dhaniya -1 tbsp
• Salt /namak - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida- /hing - pea size
• Dry tamarind /Imli -1 tbsp
• Jaggary /gur -1 tbsp
• Cooking oil - 1 tsp
• Whole pepper corn /sabut kali mirch - 10
• Dried curry leaves-10

PROCEDURE-

1. In a pan add oil and both lentils/daal.
2. Roast till they become red in color.
3. Now remove the roasted daal from the pan and keep aside.
4. Add sesame seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns in the pan and dry roast till they give a nice aroma.
5. Remove from the pan and keep aside
6. Add 1 tsp of oil in the pan and add red chilies and roast for a minute on low heat.
7. Add curry leaves and asafoetida and stir for few seconds and remove from the pan.
8. Let  the ingredients cool down completely.
9. Grind the roasted ingredients, jaggary, salt and tamarind  in the mixer to make a coarse powder.
10. Store in an air tight jar.

Serving suggestions-Mix with little ghee or sesame oil or use just as a dry powder to serve with idli,dosa or vada.

NOTE-

Addition of jaggary and tamarind is optional,depends on individual taste and preference, tastes great both ways.