South Indian pantry is incomplete without these spiced lentil powders. This Paruppu podi or kandi podi is all we need on top of hot rice with a drizzle of sesame oil to make it the most comforting meal.
Having homemade masala powders and spice powders is a blessing. They are much more flavorful than the store-bought ones and we can always control the ingredients that go into them.
I have always bought these prepared powders back from India in the past but lately have been making my own a lot. Last month I made my very favorite Poondu Paruppu podi (garlic-flavored Lentil powder).
We are taking a big road trip next week and are going to be meeting our cousins and families. We decided to partly cook our meal during our stay outside and we needed some kind of podi that could be mixed with rice and eaten.
Paruppu podi also called the kandi podi was the preferred choice and I volunteered to make it for our trip. I did not make the poondu paruppu podi because I was not sure if everybody liked garlic.
Hence I made the very traditional regular kandi podi yesterday. The best part is my little one loves it and has been eating it since yesterday in all his meals.
Also, my elder one totally enjoyed it. I made a large batch and packed most of it for the trip and I have left a little bit for the boys. I made some Poricha kootu for lunch and we had paruppu podi saadham with the kootu. This is totally the kind of food that I love on a weekend.
Ingredients to make Paruppu Podi – (makes 2 pints)
- Tuvaram paruppu / toor dal– 2 cups
- Pottu Kadalai / roasted gram / dalia – ½ cup
- Milagu / Black pepper – 2 tbsp
- Red chilies – 4
- Salt – to taste
- Oil – few drops
Procedure –
- Heat a kadai/pan and add 3-4 drops of oil to it. When the oil heats up, add the Tuvaram paruppu / toor dal and the red chilies to the pan. Fry them until the dal is golden brown on medium heat. Make sure to stir often as the dal could get burnt easily. Also, the dal could be fried without any oil, but my mother says that adding a few drops of oil allows the paruppu podi not to be too dry.
- Once the dal is golden brown, add the Milagu / peppercorns to the same pan and fry further for 5 more minutes. You will notice that the pepper will start to become very aromatic.
- Remove this on a wide bowl.
- In the same pan, add the roasted gram / pottukadalai and fry until it becomes light brown. Keep stirring as the pottukadalai fries very quickly. Remove it on the same bowl as the rest.
- Now add the needed salt to the hot pan and fry for about 30 seconds. Add it to the bowl and let all the ingredients cool down to room temperature.
- Once they cool down, grind it into powder in batches. In the end, add all the ground mixture and grind it once again to properly incorporate all the ingredients.
- Let it cool down completely and then store the powder in an airtight bottle.
- Add a tablespoon or so of the powder to hot rice with a dollop of ghee / nei or nallennai and enjoy!
More similar spiced podi
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Recipe
Paruppu Podi – Spiced Lentil Powder For Rice
Equipment
- pan
- bowl
- spatula
Ingredients
- 2 cups Tuvaram paruppu / toor dal
- ½ cup Pottu Kadalai / roasted gram / dalia
- 2 tablespoon Milagu / Black pepper
- 4 Red chilies
- to taste Salt
- few drops Oil
Instructions
- Heat a kadai / pan and add 3-4 drops of oil in it. When the oil heats up, add the Tuvaram paruppu / toor dal and the red chilies in the pan. Fry them until the dal is golden brown in medium heat. Make sure to stir often as the dal could get burnt easily. Also the dal could be fried without any oil, but my mother says that adding a few drops of oil allows the paruppu podi not to be too dry.
- Once the dal is golden brown, add the Milagu / peppercorns to the same pan and fry further for 5 more minutes. You will notice that the pepper will start to become very aromatic.
- Remove this on a wide bowl.
- In the same pan, add the roasted gram / pottukadalai and fry until it become light brown. Keep stirring as the pottukadalai fries very quickly. Remove it on the same bowl as the rest.
- Now add the needed salt to the hot pan and fry for about 30 seconds. Add it to the bowl and let all the ingredients cool down to room temperature.
- Once they cool down, grind it into powder in batches. In the end, add all the ground mixture and grind it once again to properly incorporate all the ingredients.
- Let it cool down completely and then store the powder in an airtight bottle.
- Add a tablespoon or so of the powder to hot ricewith a dollop of ghee / nei or nallennai and enjoy!
Padma Veeranki says
Paruppu podi is an absolute must in my pantry...Loved your version! Very handy to go with rice or idli dosa! Yummy share!