Idly podi / Molaga podi

Ingredients:

Channa Dal - 1 cup
Broken urad dal - 1 cup
Dry red chillies - 15 to 20 based on the spice level required
sesame/thil/ellu - 2 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Oil - as necessary for roasting
Salt - to taste

Method:

Roast the thil/sesame seeds/ellu in a pan. (This alone is done without the oil). Take it and keep it aside.
Heat a little oil in the same pan, roast the dals till they become golden brown. If you do it one by one, evenness is maintained.Take them and keep aside.
Heat a little more oil and roast the chillies. When it is roasted, add asafoetida and take the pan off the stove.
Once all ingredients are cooled down, add salt and grind them together.
Store it in an air-tight container.

Eaten with Idli/Dosa after mixing it with some gingelly oil.

Thoothuvalai podi

Ingredients:

Thoothuvalai leaves (with veins and stems removed) - 1/2 cup
Broken urad dal - 2 tablespoon
peppercorn - 5
Dry red chilly - 2 or 3
Tamarind and salt to taste.

Method:

Roast urad dal, red chillies, and peppercorn in a  heated pan with little oil till the dal turns golden brown.
Roast the thoothuvalai leaves in low flame separately.
Grind the urad dal, red chillies and pepercorn. Add the thoothuvalai leaves, tamarind and salt to the mixture and grind it again.
Store it in an air tight container.

Thoothuvalai has medicinal properties and supposed to be good for cold and cough. You can eat this podi with hot rice and a little ghee.

Thengai podi

Ingredients:

Grated coconut - 2 cups
broken urad dal - 2 table spoon
Dry red chillies - 2
asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
salt and oil as necessary

Method:

Heat the pan. Pour a little oil and roast the urad dal, red chillies till the dal becomes brown. Keep the dal and chillies aside.
Roast the grated coconut in the same pan. When it is dried (you will know it from the sound), add salt and asafoetida to the coconut. Take the pan off the heat.

When all the ingredients cool down, grind them together and store it in an air-tight container. You can add more salt, if needed, when you grind the podi.

This can be eaten with roti, rice and dosa.

Kariveppilai podi (curry leaves powder)

Ingredients:

Curry leaves (washed and dried in shade) - 2 cups
Urad daal 4 tablespoons
Mustard seeds 1/4 tea spoon
Dry chilly - 1
peppercorn - 1 tea spoon
Salt as required
Refined oil - 1 tablespoon

Method:

Roast the urad daal, mustard seeds, chilly, pepper in a heated pan. Take it separately and let it cool. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the curry leaves keeping the flame in sim. Once that cools down, grind it as a fine powder.

A variation is to add a little tamarind and making it a semi dry paste.

Should be eaten with rice with a little ghee/gingelly oil. The semi dry version can be eaten with dosa and rotis also.

Sambhara podi (coriander leaves powder)

Ingredients:

Coriander leaves (separate the stems, wash, strain and dry it in shade) - 2 to 3 cups
urad daal - 4 tablespoons
dry chillies - 4
Tamarind - 1/2 of amla size
Salt as required
Jaggery 1 teaspoon
refined oil - 2 tablespoons
mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon


Method:

Roast the urad daal, chillies in a heated pan. Pop the mustard seeds separately. Grind these separately into a fine powder. Then grind the coriander leaves, tamarind and salt and grind it without adding any water. Add the daal, chilli powder to this, grind it till it get mixed completely. Add jaggery at the last.

Can be eaten with rice or as a side dish to dosa, idli, rotis etc., I like this the best with curd rice.

Kothamalli virai podi (coriander powder)

Ingredients:

Dry coriander seeds 1 cup
Urad Daal 2 tablespoons
Dry chillies 1
Asofoetida (perungayam) 1 pinch

Method:

Roast the urad daal, dry chilli and asofoetida in a heated pan (kadai) till you get a nice aroma. Add the coriander seeds to this and roast it nicely. Grind it to a fine powder.

Should be mixed with rice and eaten. A little gingelly oil or ghee will enhance the taste. This is good for digestion and also for headache and nausea.

Paruppu podi (2 types)

Ingredients:

Toor daal (thuvaram paruppu) 1 cup or 150 gms
Dry chilli (Red) 1
Asafoetida little
Salt to taste

Method:

Roast the toor daal till it turns golden brown. Add salt and asafoetida to the daal and let it cool. Grind it to fine powder in a mixie.

Variation:

In the above ingredients list, replace red chilli with 4 pepper corns and 1/4 table spoon of kus kus.

Roast the kus kus first and then follow the same method.