Podi idli recipe is very famous in south indian restaurants as well most of the idli lovers home. Adding flavours to podi idli enhaces the taste and adds to the variety. Here i tried out of 3 flavours namely plain, garlic flavour and tangy and spicy flavour. Podi idli is basically coating on both sides of idli with specially prepared idli milgai podi (gun powder) where the main ingredient is the red chili. Many restaurants offer normal size idlis also coated with idli milagai podi. Idli milagai podi( also called gun powder) is a dry condiment served with Idli and dosa. It is dry powder made with sesame seeds,lentils and red chili. Many people would like to add idli milagai podi in addition to chutney and sambar. So bringing in varous flavours to podi idli is a welcome option. In this i tried the following flavours or variations – plain , garlic and tangy and spicy to idli milagai (gun powder). So please watch my video and enjoy the ghee podi idli recipe, khara podi idli recipe and plain podi idli recipe. While preparing idli milagai podi, i kept in mind not only the taste but health as well. I used black sesame seeds instead of white sesame seeds. Sesame seeds have medicinal properies and dry roasting enhances the flavour. I used a mix of black gram and urad dal instead of using only urad dal. Black gram is rich in protein and soluble fibre. How to roast red chili without facing irritation from red chili fumes? Whenever we roast red chilis, the chili fumes cause irritation, sneezing and discomfort. Here is a nice tip to get over this problem. Add salt while roasting the chilis. It will control the fumes and you will be able to roast the chilis avoiding the irritation.
Ingredients
📌Ingredients for Idli milagai podi
Black Sesame seed – 1/4 cup
Urad dal – 1/2 cup
or
Black gram – 1/4 cup & Urad dal – 1/4 cup
Chana dal – 1/4 cup
Gingelly oil – 1 tsp
Hing – 6-7 pieces
Red chili – 12-14 nos
Salt
Curry leaves
📌Ingredients for Plain podi idli
Gingelly oil – 1 tbsp
Ghee 1-2 tsp
Mustard – 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Idli milagai powder – 1 tbsp
Button idli – 15 nos(at room temp)
📌Ingredients for garlic flavoured idli
Ghee – 1-2 tsp
Gingelly oil – 1 tbsp
Slightly crushed garlic clove-5 nos
Idli milagai podi – 2 tbsp
📌Ingredients for tangy & spicy podi idli
Ghee – 1-2 tsp
Gingelly oil – 1 tbsp
Amachur powder(Mango powder) – 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder – 1/4 tsp
Jaggery – 1/2 tsp
Idli milagai podi – 2 tbsp
Button idli – 15 nos
Procedure
Video
Text procedure
Procedure
How to make Idli milagai Podi?
Step 1
Rinse black sesame seed and drain.There is no need to drain with a dry cloth. Straightaway transfer it to a pan. Keep stove in low flame. Dampness goes in few seconds. Stir continuously. After few seconds the seeds start popping. Roast until popping reduces. Transfer to a plate. Caution- Do not over roast. Over roasting gives dlight bitterness
Step 2
Dry roast black gram, urad dal and chana dal (bengal gram) separately until color turns black for black gram and golden brown for urad and chana dals. Transfer to the plate with roasted sesame seeds.
Step 3
Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan.Roast hing until it turns crispy. If you use powdered hing, add it finally after turning off stove. In the same pan add red chili and start roasting. It starts fuming which makes you confortable. Add salt to it. Now you can roast without fumes. Add curry leaves and turn off stove. Stir for sometime.Salt absorbs moisture from curry leaves.
Step 4
Transfer the roasted items – Hing,red chili,curry leaves to a mixer grinder jar.Dry grind into a powder. Then add other roasted ingredients suchas sesame seed, black gram, urad dal and chana dal. Add salt as required. Dry grind into a slightly coarse powder. Now idli milgai podi ( also called gun powder) is ready.
Making podi idli with favours
Plain podi idli
In a hot pan, add ghee and gingelly oil. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add curry leaves , idli milagai podi and the button idlis(mini idli). Stir and coat evenly on both sides for all the podi idlis. The procedure is the same if you want to coat a normal size idli. the idli should be at room temperature.
Garlic podi idli
Many people like mild garlic flavour. Heat ghee and gingelly oil in a pan. Add slightly crushed garlic cloves and stir until it turns to golden brown colour.Remove the roasted garlic from oil. Now garlic flavour is transferred to the oil. Now add idli podi and the idlis. Coat it evenly on both sides of the idlis. Now garlic flavoured podi idli is ready.
Tangy and spicy podi idli
Step 1
Mix dried mango powder (amchur powder),red chili powder,jaggery and idli milgai podi in a bowl.
Step 2
Heat ghee and gingelly oil in a pan. Add the mixed powder and the idlis. Coat the powder evenly on both sides by stirring. Tangy and spicy podi idli is ready.