Idli Podi Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 15 Dried red chilies, Regular, seeds and stems removed
• 10 Kashmiri dried red chilies, seeds and stems removed
• ¼ cup Urad dal (split, skinless black gram)
• ¼ cup Chana dal (Split bengal gram)
• ¼ cup Peanuts
• ¼ cup Sesame seeds
• ½ cup Desiccated coconut
• 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoon Hing (Asafoetida)
• 2 teaspoon Jaggery (Gur), , powder jaggery

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Remove and discard the stems of the dried chilies. You can discard the seeds if you prefer a mild spicy taste.
2. Optional step: Wipe down the chilies using a damp paper towel. Spread it on the kitchen towel and let it dry out. Or keep in the sun if possible. This step is optional and it depends on how dusty or dirty your chilies are.
3. Start roasting all the ingredients one by one on medium-low heat. Take urad dal in a pan and dry roast with stirring constantly until they are light golden brown in color. Make sure not to burn them. Remove it to a plate.
4. Similarly, dry roast chana dal until golden brown in color and remove it to the same plate.
5. In the same pan add peanuts and roast until they turn golden. Remove it to a plate.
6. Next is sesame seeds and roast them until you notice a slight color change and some seeds may start to splutter.
7. Next is dry chilies and roast them until they become warm and moisture-free. Make sure not to over-roast or burn them otherwise, you’ll start sneezing.
8. Now turn off the stove, the remaining heat is enough to roast the coconut. Add dry coconut and roast with stirring constantly until light golden in color.
9. Let everything cool down completely.
10. Transfer to a blender or grinder jar, and add salt, hing, and jaggery powder. Grind into powder (slightly coarse here and there but overall it’s a fine powder or podi).

NOTES

1. Use medium-low heat when dry roasting. This will help to prevent them from burning.
2. Stir the spices and lentils constantly while roasting. This will help to ensure that they brown evenly.
3. Do not burn the spices and lentils. Burnt spices will have a bitter taste that will ruin the flavor of the idli podi recipe
4. Let the spices cool completely before grinding them. This will help to prevent the powder from becoming clumpy.
5. Optional Add-ins: Curry leaves, garlic cloves.

Spice Level Of Idli Podi:

1. Mild: Use all Kashmiri dried chilies. These have a mild spicy flavor but give a bright red color.
2. Medium spicy: Follow the recipe as mentioned (use the mixture of Kashmiri chilies and regular dried red chilies). Also, discard the seeds of the chilies.
3. Spicy: Use all regular chilies or reduce the number of Kashmiri chilies or skip them.
4. Extremely spicy: Use the spicier version of dried chilies aka Guntur chilies.