Podi Idli

by Deerga // April 27, 2016 // No Comments

Here is yet another variant of one of the most popular south indian dish, Idli. However, the recipe I have posted here is simple yet tasty. It is made from Milagai Podi or Idli Podi or just Podi, a popular condiment usually had with idli and dosa, called Podi Idli. Podi literally means coarse powder in Tamil. In India, it is popular in Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh where it is also called as gun powder because of the spiciness 🙂 Idli podi is somewhat similar to mustard back here, I mean not the texture but the selectiveness in their usage. When you have Podi, you don’t have to worry about any other chutney or side dish for Idli and Dosa; having just them tastes awesome.

I love my grandma’s idli podi recipe the most and then my Mom’s. The Podi I have used in the Podi Idli recipe here is my Mom’s. There are so many varieties of Podi like Milagai Podi, Ellu Podi (made from sesame seeds), Paruppu podi etc and the interesting part is each of these serve as an accompaniment to a particular main dish 🙂 I have used both black and white sesame seeds to prepare the Idli Podi. Make sure to grind it to a coarse texture since the coarse particles brings out the flavor and adds crunchiness much more than the fine grained powder.

I always prefer having Idli Podi with whatever chutney I make 🙂 This has been my preference since childhood and I used to get an earful from my Mom for that (and still do sometimes) :). Podi Idli is a filling dish and is very easy to make. All you need is an awesome Idli podi and soft idlis. My MIB is a big fan of this recipe 🙂 I have not added onions and green chillis to the recipe since it might then taste similar to another variety of Idli called the Idli Upma (I will post the recipe soon). Podi Idli can be had for breakfast, dinner or just as an appetizer. Try this easy dish in your home and let me know when you would prefer to have it? 🙂

Podi Idli

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 20 mini idlis

Ingredients

To make idli podi

Whole urad dal - 1 cup
Red chilli - 10 to 12 nos
Sesame seed - ½ cup
Garlic cloves, big - 2 nos + 1 medium
Curry leaves - half a sprig
Salt - 1 tsp

To make podi idli

Idli batter -
Oil - ½ to 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Urad dal - ½ tsp
Curry leaves - ½ a sprig
Idli podi - 2 tbsp

Instructions

Heat a pan in a medium flame and dry roast urad dal until aroma spreads for couple of minutes. Transfer to a plate and let it cool.
Next dry roast red chilli and garlic seperately until they turn crisp and transfer to the plate.
In the same pan dry roast sesame seeds until it splutters for about a minute. Transfer to a separate plate and let it cool.
Turn off the heat and dry roast curry leaves until they turn crispy.
Pulse urad dal, curry leaves and red chilli twice. Add sesame seed, garlic and salt and blend for few seconds to a coarse powder.
Now pour idli batter in mini idli plates and steam cook for 15 minutes.
scoop out all the idlis and immediately (when the idlis are still hot) add a tbsp of idli podi and roughly toss them.
Heat oil in a pan and season with mustard, urad dal and curry leaves.
Add the tossed idlis to the seasoning along with a tbsp of idli podi. Covet the lid, hold two sides of the pan and carefully toss them for few seconds.
Turn off the heat and serve tasty and spicy podi idli with sambar and chutney or serve as is. Enjoy! 🙂

Coriander chutney

by Deerga // June 25, 2014 // No Comments

Coriander chutney or Kothamalli chutney (in my native language) is a simple and healthy recipe. It is mainly had with idli or dosa -popular south Indian breakfast items. Coriander chutney can also be had with puliyogare, whose recipe can be found here. Coriander has many health benefits like reducing skin inflammation, subside nausea etc.

Coriander chutney is the go-to recipe while traveling or when out for a picnic. In olden days, puliogare was always the food that was taken with while traveling because it can be retained for like 2 days or so. And coriander chutney was the common accompaniment, hence the apt recipe while traveling. I feel nostalgic while writing this because when I was a kid, whenever we visit our grandma, my mom used to prepare puliyogare and coriander chutney to eat while traveling.

There are two different recipes for making coriander chutney. I have posted one below and will publish the other soon. The recipe that I have given here is my mom’s and it tastes yummy. There is another variation of coriander chutney that is used in bread sandwich. That one just has coriander and green chilli.

Try this healthy and easy to make recipe along with puliyogare and let me know your comments.

Coriander chutney

Recipe type: Breakfast / Dinner

Cuisine: Indian

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Urad dal – 1 tbsp
Coriander seeds – ½ tbsp
Green chilli – 1
Tamarind – small gooseberry size
Grated coconut – 1 tbsp
Cilantro – a bunch (1 cup)
Salt as required

For the seasoning:

Oil – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Urad dal – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – 5 nos

Instructions

Dry roast urad dal and coriander seeds until they change color. Allow them to cool.
Grind them with all the above ingredients together adding little water.
Season with mustard, urad dal and curry leaves.

ADAI

by Deerga // April 13, 2014 // No Comments

Adai is a dosa like dish synonymous to Tamilnadu (specifically from Chettinad cuisine, I believe) and is made using different varieties of Dal (Moong, Urad and Channa). It is a very healthy dish and usually eaten for breakfast and sometimes for dinner. I started making Adai mainly as an alternative to dosa. For dosa, as you know, the main ingredient to make the batter is rice and rice is rich in carbohydrates which in turn is one of the contributing factors in weight gain (if the intake is often, of course).
My HB is very health conscious (and that has rubbed off on me as well, sometimes ;)) and so I started my search for a healthy and easy alternative for the usual fares that we have at our home. Then I came across this Adai from the web and found it to be the perfect alternative. Making the Adai batter does not involve fermentation. So the entire process of preparing the batter to cooking Adai is very quick. Also, you don’t need a grinder to prepare the batter. A blender will suffice.
In our home, we normally have Adai with coconut chutney but by making the batter a little bit spicy (described in the cooking instructions below), you can have Adai without a side dish (how awesome is that!). In restaurants, Adai is often served with butter and Avial (another south Indian dish for which I will post the recipe sometime soon).
So try this very healthy and easy to make Adai in your home and let me know your comments.

ADAI

Recipe type: Breakfast/Dinner

Cuisine: Indian

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 2 mins

Total time: 7 mins

Serves: 8

Ingredients

Toor dal - ¼cup
Moong dal -1/4 cup
Urad dal - ½ cup
Idli Rice or Raw Rice - ½ cup
Whole Red chillies - 6
Salt-as per taste
Shallots(small onions) – 2 (chopped)
Hing - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tbs
Chopped Coriander leaves – ¼ cup
Water as required
Oil required to smear around adais

Instructions

Wash and soak urad dal, moong dal, toor dal and rice together in water for 4 hours.
Grind the soaked dals and rice, along with half a tsp cumin seeds, whole red chilli, salt and hing together until smooth. - like dosa batter.
To the ground adai batter add chopped shallots, coriander leaves and little water.
Mix well the batter, the consistency should be similar to dosa batter. Set aside the adai batter to rest for atleast 30 mins.
Heat a dosa tawa, add a ladle full of adai batter to the center of tawa and start spreading the batter from center in circular motion like making dosa or pancakes.
Smear 1 tsp oil around adai and cook on medium heat until both sides of adai are golden brown and crisp.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 2 to 3