Dosai/Idli Milagaai Podi
Dosai/Idli Milagaai podi is one of the important dry spicy powders, that almost all south indian families relish on a day to day basis. Dosai and Idli are two different tiffin items made from a similar kind of fermented rice and lentil batter and this milagaai podi – literally meaning ‘chilly powder’ is an amazing accompaniment for both. Even though this spicy powder is made with a lot of dry red chillies, the combination of lentils and sesame seeds along with the chillies makes it a truly mouth watering accompaniment for any type of idli or dosai.
Though you get milagaai podi in many Indian shops nowadays, nothing beats the home made, fresh, hand roasted, perfectly ground milagaai podi both in terms of quality and quantity. For the same cost, you get a lot more quantity when you make at home. Also, you can be sure of the quality of ingredients you use and customise it to suit your taste.
Dosai/Idli milagaai podi can be used in many ways – to toss it with stir fried vegetables, as a topping for uthappam (a special spongy variety of dosai), to make podi idlis (mini idlis tempered in ghee and tossed with onion and milagaai podi), to make onion rice and in many other ways.
There is no water content in milagaai podi, so the shelf life is very good. Even without refrigeration, it stays fresh for a couple of months and hence ideally suited for longer storage. Generally it is mixed with sesame oil and ghee to a flowing consistency and smeared on top of soft dosais or fluffy idlis and packed for lunch boxes, picnics, travel etc. Like puliyodharai, milagaai podi smeared dosai or idli tastes great after a few hours of making it. The resting time actually increases the taste.
So, here’s my mother’s recipe for this all time favourite dosai/idli milagaai podi.
Ingredients
Chana dhal – 1 cup
Urad dhal – 1 cup
Dry red chillies – 1 cup (or to taste)
(more spice, less colour)
Kashmiri dry red chilly – 1/2 cup
(less spice, more colour)
Sesame seeds – 1/2 cup
Asafoetida (hing) – 1 tsp
Salt – 1 1/2 tsp (or to taste)
Sugar – 1 1/2 tbsp (optional)
Sesame oil (for cooking) – 2 tbsp
Yield
~3 1/2 to 4 cups
Prep time
5 mins
Cook time
30 mins
Method
1) Heat a heavy bottomed pan until medium hot. Now add the sesame seeds and immediately reduce the heat to minimum. Dry roast them until they start to splutter and turn golden. Set aside.
2) In the same pan, on low heat, dry roast the chana dhal and urad dhal separately, one after the other, until they turn golden. Set aside. Add asafoetida to the roasted dhals.
3) In the same pan, take 2 tbsp cooking sesame oil. Add the chillies and fry for 3 to 4 mins (again on low heat). Switch off the heat and leave the chillies in the hot pan itself. The residual heat in the pan is enough for the chillies to become crisp. The chillies should become crisp without much change in colour. Let it cool down and come to room temperature in the same pan. Keep stirring the chillies every 2 mins once, for it to crisp evenly. After the chillies cool down, remove from the pan using a slotted spoon.
4) Let all the roasted ingredients cool down and come to room temperature. In a mixer jar, take the sesame seeds, chillies, salt and sugar. Pulse it a few times, without running the mixer continuously (continuous grinding will release oils from the seeds and make it stick to the sides). Do this until it becomes a fine powder.
5) Now add the roasted dhals along with asafoetida and grind everything together into a coarse powder. Transfer it to a wide bowl and mix thoroughly with a dry spoon. Your dosai/idli milagaai podi is ready! Store it in a dry, airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- Use a heavy bottomed pan to roast all the ingredients. It helps in even distribution of heat and reduces the chances of charring.
- Keeping the heat at the lowest is very important while roasting. This will ensure even roasting of the ingredients.
- Each ingredient takes its own time to roast to a nice golden colour. That’s the reason for roasting them separately on low heat. So roasting all of them together is not an option.
- Always dry roast sesame seeds. For longer shelf life, I prefer to dry roast the dhals. But if you like the aroma of sesame oil, add a few drops to roast the dhals.
- If you prefer less spice, you can just use the Kashmiri chillies and omit the normal dry red chillies.
- If you are using asafoetida in crystal or lump forms instead of powder, then take a tsp of crystals or 1 inch piece of lump and fry it in the oil before frying the chillies. Wait until it puffs/swells up and doubles in size. Remove with a slotted spoon and continue to fry the chillies in the same oil. Add the fried asafoetida to the other ingredients while grinding. Crystal or lump form of asafoetida gives more flavour and aroma to the dosai/idli milagaai podi.
- Adding sugar is completely optional. It definitely helps to balance out the spiciness and make milagaai podi tastier.
- Refrigeration in an airtight container will increase the shelf life of dosai/idli milagaai podi to about a year and also help retain its aroma for a long time.
