Paruppu podi - Powder Varieties

Paruppu podi is a simple to prepare powder variety which can be mixed with hot rice. It also goes well as a side dish in place of idli milagai podi. Though there are many variations to this recipe, I have shared the one which my mother-in-law regularly prepares at home. She always uses more of roasted gram dal for this podi and it gives a very nice aroma to the dish.

Paruppu Podi Recipe

Makes : Around 1 to 1.5 cups

Ingredients

• Roasted gram dal(Pottu kadalai)  -  3/4 cup
• Toor dal  -  2 1/2  tbsp
• Black pepper  -  1/2 tbsp
• Cumin seeds  -  1 tbsp
• Red chillies  -  1
• Asafoetida  -  2 generous pinches
• Salt  -  as required

Method

• Heat a pan and dry roast toor dal till it turns golden brown in color. Keep aside.
• In the same pan, dry roast roasted gram dal till a nice aroma arises. Keep aside.
• In the same pan, add black pepper, cumin seeds, chillies and asafoetida till a nice aroma arises.
• Cool down the ingredients and grind it to a fine powder by adding required salt and store in an airtight container.
• Always use dry spoon to handle it. When handled properly, this stays good for even 1 to 2 months in room temperature.
• Mix with hot rice and ghee or it can even be had in the place of idli milagai podi.

Notes

• My mother-in-law suggests that we can include kollu (horse gram) to make the podi more healthy. If adding use 1.25 tbsp of it along with 1.25 tbsp of toor dal instead of 2 1/2 tbsp of toor dal.
• Red chilly is used lesser as we are also using black pepper.
• The podi may taste bit spicy when had separately, but when mixed with rice, the spiciness will be perfect.