Instant recipes with Idli , dosai milagai podi

  • Servings: 4-5
  • Difficulty: Simple
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Milagai podi is usually made in substantial quantities in every South Indian Tamil families. This is usually a favorite accompaniment for idli, dosa. I even know of people eating it with chapatis. Here are a few handy recipes. They will be especially useful when unexpected guests drop in on a day you were planning to have simple meal.

Guest Chef: Saraswathi Varadarajan

Instant recipes with Idli , dosai milagai podi

Ingredients

  • Urad Dal – 2 cups
  • Channa Dal – 1cup
  • Dried red chilies – 2 cups
  • Asafoetida (hing) – 1 inch cube
  • Sesame seeds ( til )( white) – 1/4 cup
  • Salt – To taste
  • Sesame Oil (Gingelly or til oil) – 3 tbsp

Directions

For basic milagai podi:

Add oil in a cast iron pan ( traditional) or a non stick pan.

Puff roast the hing. Add chana dal and roast the dal, when it turns slightly brown, add urad dal and red chilies. Roast till the dals and chilies turn nicely brown, but not burnt.

Remove from flame and cool in a plate.

Add the til to the pan and roast till it splutters and turns red. It is is essential to roast in this order or else the dals will not get roasted properly due to their difference in sizes.

Using a dry grinder, first powder the hing and chilies fine. Remove, add the dals, powder coarsely, add til and powder it further.

Many people like the milagai podi a little crunchy. You may powder it according to your taste.

Add salt mix together the powdered dals and chili powder. Let it cool before you store it in an airtight jar.

This is usually mixed with oil as an accompaniment for idlis, dosai, and most south Indian tiffin.

Handy tips for other uses of the Milagai podi:

1. Instant Chutney. (The picture is of tomato – thogayal / chutney)
Take. 5-6 ripe tomatoes, cut fine and sauté using 2 tsp oil. Cool. Add 5-6 tbsp of milagai podi, blend, garnish with kothamalli / cilantro.

2. Thengai podi:
Take 2 cups of grated coconut, roast well using 1 tsp oil. Add a 2 inch piece of dried tamarind to the roasted coconut. Switch off the flame. Cool and powder it adding a little salt. Add 1/4 cup milagai podi, to the above and mix well.

3. Thengai thogayal:
To the above podi add a little water blend, to get a thogayal. Garnish with curry leaves.

4. For fried potato, raw banana, brinjal, colacasia / chepan kizhangu subjis:
For any of the above cook the vegetables first, coat with milagai podi and shallow fry,

You get a crunchy vegetable subji.

5. Instant chutney:
Mix 1-2 tbsp yogurt with 4-5 tbsp of podi. temper this with mustard seeds, 2-3 dry red chilies and curry leaves.

6. Kathirikkai sadam / brinjal rice:
Use this podi as the masala for brinjal rice / tomato rice etc.

You can use your own imagination for many more such instant or Thideer recipes

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