Idli Podi Recipe| Edible Gun Powder

Idli Podi / Milagai podi is South Indian condiment, often served along with Idli & Dosa. Made with essential pantry ingredients found in most South Indian household, this condiment is healthy, spicy and delicious.

Idli Dosa Podi makes everything so tasty and better.

Here's how I make this classic South Indian style homemade Idli Podi!

What is Idli Podi?

Idli Podi is often known as Edible Gun Powder , Milagai Podi, Molagapodi, Gun Powder Chutney or Spiced Chutney powder.

This podi is usually a ground blend of  roasted lentils, chillies, hing  and salt.  Resulting flavors are slightly tangy, savory, and spicy, with coarseness.

Every household in South India has their own version of this homemade molaga podi. Some like it spicy so they add extra dose of dried red chillies and some like it extremely mild, so they literally add dried chilli for color.

My friends love to add dried coconut, curry leaves to this chutney powder. One of my Andhra friend also adds garlic cloves. I have an Andhra Chutney powder if you fancy making.

To serve, add a tablespoon of this idli chutney pudi and add a tablespoon of Sesame oil or dollop of Ghee to completes the flavors.

I have to confess for many years, my family would send me this Dosa Molagapodi, Rasam Powder & Sambar Powder. My mum's version would be different from my granny's and mother in laws and like wise. In-fact I have 3 versions of this podi written down in my recipe book. All the three versions are simply delicious and reflect traditional Palakkad style podi.

Often I am being asked why homemade dosa podi does not taste like MTR Spiced Chutney Powder? The answer lies in the question itself. Homemade traditional spice blends reflect family traditions and flavors and they are not commercialised.

Color of the Chutney Powder depends upon the variety of chilli used. There are so many varieties of dried chilli available in the market, you can use a combination of regular dried chilli and kashmiri chilli.

When I made my recent Idli Dosa Podi, my local Asian stores ran out of regular dried red chilli and they only had Kashmiri red chilli. I made this batch with the available chilli and that also reflects on the vibrant color of my podi.

Ingredients you will need

How to make Idli Podi step by step

1. In a frying pan, dry roast the dals - urd dal & channa dal separately until they are golden brown. Set them aside.
2. To the same pan, add sesame seeds and roast until they change color. Transfer them to the plate.
3. Add ½ teaspoon oil and add the red chillies, Saute them for 3- 4 minutes or until they have a uniform color. ( Roast in low flame ) . Transfer them to the same plate to cool down. Adding oil for roasting chillies is optional.
4. Add all the ingredients to the blender jar or mixi jar, salt & hing and blend to a coarse powder. If you like it smooth, adjust the texture.
5. Store this spicy molagapodi / milagai podi in an air tight container .

How to serve Idli Podi

Scoop a tablespoon of the idli podi on the plate. Make a dent in the middle and mix it with a tablespoon of Sesame Oil or a dollop of Ghee. Enjoy this along with the Idli and Dosa. While this podi is not limited to just idli and dosa, you can enjoy them with other south Indian dishes too.

This molagapodi is quite versatile. My mom uses a good serving of this podi to marinate the arbi (cheppankilangu) to make cheppankilangu roast.

Tips to make perfect Idli Milagai Podi

• Always always roast in low flame , in order to avoid burning them.
• If you are making this podi for storing for a longer time , do not add sesame seeds. After 2-3 months, sesame seeds ( til ) starts to impart a stale odour.
• If you are using oil for roasting the red chillies, always use a neutral flavoured oil like coconut oil / sunflower oil. Use only small proportion for roasting. You can even opt to leave it out.
• For gorgeous red color - My aunt always byadgi variety of Red Chilly and this imparts beautiful color to the powder. You can also use Kashmiri red chilli
• Proportions of roasted Dal in the ingredients varies from family to family. Suit the amount of dal to your liking. Start with ½ Cup Urad Dal and add more if required.

How to store Idli Podi

Store this podi in an air tight jar. If you have made them in large portions, store them in small ziplock bags, so you have lock the freshness for long. This Idli powder stays fresh for up to 3 months.

Only use dry spoon to scoop out the powder for serving. Always check the bottles/ jars are sealed tight and stored in a cool dry place.

More Easy South Indian Condiments