Gunpowder / Milagai Podi

Name: Gunpowder / Milagai Podi
Yield: About 1 cup powder
Ingredients: Urad dal — 1/2 cup; Chana dal — 1/4 cup; Dried red chiles — 8-10; Sesame seed — 1 tbsp; a marble-sized piece of tamarind; salt; tempered with mustard seed and asafoetida

The Quirky Foodster Team

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About 1 cup powder

Servings

Ingredients

Urad dal — 1/2 cup
Chana dal — 1/4 cup
Dried red chiles — 8-10
Sesame seed — 1 tbsp
a marble-sized piece of tamarind
salt
tempered with mustard seed and asafoetida

Method

Dry-roast the dals, chiles, and sesame seed separately until each is appropriately toasted, cool, then grind together with tamarind and salt.
Essential, with each component roasted to its own appropriate degree before combining — a more involved preparation than a single-pass spice toast.

Origin: South India (Tamil Nadu especially), another member of the ‘podi’ dry spice powder family alongside curry leaf podi.

Use: Mixed with sesame oil or ghee to form a coarse paste, eaten as a condiment with idli, dosa, or rice.

Classic Dishes: Idli and dosa (South Indian breakfast staples, where this podi is a defining table condiment).

Storage: Keeps several weeks at room temperature, or a couple of months refrigerated.

Variations: The English nickname ‘gunpowder’ reflects both its coarse, dark appearance and its significant chile heat — a vivid, widely used colloquial name worth retaining alongside the Tamil ‘milagai podi.’

Substitutions: No close substitute given the specific toasted-lentil texture and flavor.