Aunty Thilaga's idli podi - Chutney powder recipe

Idli Podi is one of those things like dal - every family has their own recipe.  When I was newly married and on my way to Australia, we stopped in Chennai for a couple of days.  We stayed with Aunty Thilaga and Uncle Chandra - and aunty made a delicious idli podi.  This is her recipe.  Aunty is no longer with us but every time I make this I remember how she shared her home, her food and her love with us all.  Idli podi is often called fondly as dynamite or gun powder as it can be quite hot.

This is a very forgiving recipe - meaning if you make a mistake with it, you can always correct it  by adding more of the roasted dals.  As you can see, I often add a bit too many chillies, but to correct it I just have to add some more roasted dal and mix it in.

Ingredients:

Channa Dal - 1 cup

Mung Dal - 1/4 cup

Urid dal - 1/4 cup

Black sesame seeds - 1 cup ( If you want your finished product to look lighter and redder, use white sesame seeds.  I like the flavour of black sesame seeds)

Dry Red Chillies - 4 or 5 - or add more if you like it hot

Salt - to taste

Asafoetida - 1 teaspoon

Curry leaf - a handful (optional, I added them in as I like their fragrance)

Method: 

Roast all the dals individually until they turn red and release their aroma.  Roast chillies and curry leaves and when they are roasted add the salt and asafoetida and roast for a few seconds more.  Cool down the mixture.

Mix all the ingredients and grind to a gritty texture.  

Keep in an air tight bottle and use for 4 to 6 weeks.

This quantity gave me about 700 grams of idli podi.

Serve the idli podi with sesame oil and hot fluffy idlis.

Note:  If you have accidentally made your chutney powder too hot, just add a cup of extra roasted dals with the original mix.

In this particular recipe I have mentioned Mung dal, however I didn't have any in my pantry.  I just substituted Urid dal instead.

To make this gluten free, you will have to leave out the asofetida powder.