Idli milagai Podi

Idli milagai podi is an quick side dish when we don't have time to prepare sambar / chutney. It is a unique dipping condiment.Not only it can be used as sidedish, sometimes I like to use it as " Curry powder" while cooking some veggies.  Pieces of Idly / Dosa broken & dipped in milagai podi will takes you to heaven. Sometimes you never count the Idly / Dosa when you have delicious milagai podi. There are some secret tricks to enhance the aroma of podi. Of such is adding roasted sesame seeds and Jaggery powder. In my recipe, I used to add curry leaves & garlic (as am great lover of Garlic, you can add if you like). Lets check the recipe.

Ingredients :

Split urad dhal - 1/2 cup
Channa dhal  / Kadala Paruppu - 1/2 cup
White sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
Red chilli - 5 (Increase or decrease depends on taste)
Hing / Asafoetida - 1/2 tbsp
Curry leaves - 2 springs
Garlic cloves - 4 (Optional)
Jaggery - 2tbsp
Salt - 1/2 tbsp

Method :

Dry roast sesame seeds till it start to pop up. Keep it aside.

In a wok, add 1 tbsp of oil followed by adding curry leaves & garlic cloves. Roast till it become golden brown. Keep it aside.

In the same wok /pan, add urad dhal and channa dhal till it turns brown. Roast till the dhal start to get golden brown. Always do it in medium flame as dhal used to get burn easily. Once done transfer it to a plate and allow it to cool.

Finally in the same pan with 1/2 tsp of oil, add red chillis and fry till it become crispy. Switch off the flame and allow the contents to cool.

Once cool, powder the sesame seeds first in the mixie to a fine powder,(Don't grind sesame seeds too much as it may ooze oil) followed by grinding roasted dhals (channa + urad), garlic, curry leaves & red chills. Finally add Jaggery & hing and give a quick blend. The consistency can be either coarse or smooth powder depends. My family prefers bit coarser.

Mix everything and adjust the salt. Now nice garlic flavoured Idli milagai podi is ready. Store it in an airtight container to retain the flavour. Don't make it as large batch, always suggest to make small batches and finish in 1-2 months to maintain the flavour & freshness.

Enjoy fresh homemade Idli podi top up with Gingely oil.