1. Podi recipies

 1. Paruppu podi

It is good to be stored when we don't have any gravy at home or could not cook etc...

Ingredients:

Toor dal - 1 cup

Red chilli - 10

Black pepper- 1tbs

Dry ginger - 1 piece (thumb size)

Hinge - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves -few

Salt - 1tbs

Method:

1. Dry roast red chili. You can use a little coconut oil to avoid irritation to the nose. Or you can dry roast.
2. Dry roast Toor dal and black pepper till Toor dal turns golden brown with a good aroma.
3. Add dry ginger, hinge and salt to the Toor dal a few seconds before too dal turns brown and roast for few seconds.
4. You can either dry roast the curry leaves after washing or add a little coconut oil and fry the leaves,
5. Leave the curry leaves in the pan for a while.
6. Grind all the ingredients together to a fine powder.
7. Add the curry leaves and just press the whip button for a  second so that the leaves are neither whole not crushed completely. Or you can crush them by hand and mix.
8. Store it in a dry container.
   
   
   

Serve with hot rice and ghee. 

Chips, pappad, vadam or raitha can be used as a side dish.

 2. Milagu podi or Milagu jeeraga podi

This can be kept in store and can be used for dishes like pongal, rasam, rawa dosa or any instant dosas and kootu varieties which are done without tamarind.

Ingredients:

Milagu or black pepper - 1/2 a cup

Jeera - 1/2 cup

Salt - 1tsp (optional)

Method:

Grind all the ingredients into a coarse powder.

You can use it for other purposes if you have not added the salt.

You can have it with hot ghee rice and the side dish can be verum kuzhambu or vatha kuzhambu.

3. Karivepalai podi

This can be kept in store like parupu podi.

Ingredients 

A bunch of curry leaves 

Toor dal - 1 cup

Pepper - 2 tbs

Hinge - 1/4 tsp

Red chilli - 3

Salt -1tbs

Method

1. Wash the bunch of curry leaves with the stem and dry it under fan or inside the house leaving it for a day till it gets completely dry.
2. Dry roast Toor dal, red chili, pepper and hinge.
3. Add the curry leaves to the roasted ingredients and stir for a few seconds so that water content if present may get evaporated.
4. Dry grind into a fine powder adding salt.
5. Store in a dry container and serve with hot rice and ghee.

4. Thengai podi 

This can be had with rice and also can be used as a side dish for curd rice.

Ingredients:

Coconut - 1 

Urid dal - 1/2 cup

Red chili - 15 

Tamarind - lemon size

Hinge - 1/4 tsp.

Coconut oil - 1tsp

Salt - as required

Method:

1. Roast urid dal in coconut oil and add red chili after a while and roast till the urid dal turns golden brown.
2. Add hinge and roast for a second and keep aside.
3. Grate the coconut and dry roast till it turns light brown.
4. Add salt and keep for a second to remove any moisture.
5. Dry grind all the ingredients into a coarse powder.

Serve with hot rice and ghee. Any raitha/chips/ vatha kuzhambu can be used as side dish.

5. Kothamalli podi

This also can be had with rice and also can be used as a side dish for curd rice.

Ingredients:

Coriander/ kothamalli leaves - a bunch

Urid dal - 1/2 cup

Tamarind - a lemon size

Red chilli - 10

Cooking oil - 1 tsp

Hinge -1/4 tsp

Salt - 1tbs or as required

Method:

Preparation: 

Remove the root and yellow leaves from the bunch of coriander. Wash thoroughly and drain the water. Spread well on a cloth and dry under the fan or inside the house till the leaves are crunchy. It might take 24 hours during the sunny day. There should be no water content in the leaves because it will not give longer shelf life.

1.  Roast red chili, urid dal and hinge till urid dal turns golden brown.
2. Add them to the grinder/mixie jar and keep the coriander leaves on the pan to remove the water if any (no need to roast the leaves).
3. Add salt and the coriander leaves to roasted urid dal and red chili.
4. Dry grind to a coarse powder.
5. Store in a dry container.

Serve as you will serve other podis with rice and ghee.

6. Pudina podi.

This also can be had with rice and also can be used as a side dish for curd rice.

Ingredients:

Mint/ pudina leaves - a bunch

Urid dal - 1/2 cup

Tamarind - a small lemon size

Red chilli - 10

Cooking oil - 1 tsp

Hinge -1/4 tsp

Salt - 1tbs or as required

Method:

Preparation: 

Remove the  leaves from the bunch of pudina/mint. Wash thoroughly and drain the water. Spread well on a cloth and dry under the fan or inside the house till the leaves are crunchy. It might take 24 hours during the sunny day. There should be no water content in the leaves because it will not give longer shelf life.

1.  Roast red chili, urid dal and hinge till urid dal turns golden brown.
2. Add them to the grinder/mixie jar and keep the coriander leaves on the pan to remove the water if any (no need to roast the leaves).
3. Add salt and the coriander leaves to roasted urid dal and red chili.
4. Dry grind to a coarse powder.
5. Store in a dry container.

Serve as you will serve other podis with rice and ghee.

You can make this podi with both mint and coriander.

7. Angaya podi

This also can be had with rice and also can be used as a side dish for curd rice. This is very nutritious and good for stomach disorders.

Ingredeint:

Sundaikai vathal - 1/4 cup

Manathakkali vathal - 1/4cup

Dry Neem flowers - 1/4 cup

Daniya/corriander seeds - 1tsp

Black pepper-1tsp

Jeera - 1tsp

Hinge - a pinch

Dry ginger powder - 1/2tsp

Salt -1tsp

Gingely oil - 1tbs

Method:

1. Add the oil to the pan and roast sundaikai vathal till it turns dark brown, filter out from the oil andkeep aside.
2. Add manathakkali vathal and roast till it turns dark brown and fluffy. Filter out from the oil and keep aside with sundaikai vathal.
3. Add neem flower and roast till it turns dark brown. It gets roasted quickly. So care must be taken not to char it. Keep aside with sundaikai vathal.
4. Roast the rest of the ingredients adding dry ginger powder and hinge lastly.
5. Dry grind in the mixie jar.
6. Check the taste before adding the salt because the sundaikai and manathakkali bought from the store may contain lot of salt.
7. Sore in a dry container after cooling.
8. Serve with hot rice and ghee/gingely oil.

8. Ellu podi

Ellupodi can be used to make ellorai. This also can be had with hot rice. This can not be stored for long. However, you can refrigerate and have for 15days. You get a good aroma only when prepared freshly.

Ingredients:

Ellu/ sesame seeds - 2tbs

Red chilli - 4

Methi seeds - 1/2tsp

Daniya - 1/2tsp

Hinge 1/4tsp

Seasoning

sesame oil- 2tbs

mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

urid dal -1/2tsp

Hing - a pinch

Curry leaves- few

Method:

1. Dry roast sesame seeds.
2. Add 1/4tsp sesame oil and roast red chili and Methi seeds,
3. Dry grind the sesame seeds first and then add red chili and Methi seeds and grind it a fine powder.
4. Season the mentioned ingredients in the 1tsp of sesame oil and mix with cooked rice adding the rest of the sesame oil.
5. Mix thoroughly.

Alternative Method 

1. Just dry roast 1tbs of black sesame seeds. 
2. Grind to fine powder.
3. Heat 1tbs of sesame oil, add Hing and few curry leaves.
4. Add to pre pressure cooked, cooled raw rice and mix thoroughly.

9.Vepambu podi

Vepmbu podi is very healthy and kills the germs and worms in the stomach. It is very good for children and can be given daily a ball of vepambu rice. Vepambu or neem leaves can be collected during the season (March/April) , sun dried, cleaned and stored. It has good shelf life of more than a year. But it is better to have it done once a year. We can use neem flower while seasoning keerai masiyal and making vepambu rasam.

Method: 

• Roast neem flowers in 1 tbsp. of cooking oil or ground nut oil. 
• Smash with your fingers and make it into powder.
• Add ghee to the hot rice and add roasted neem flower powder and salt as required.
• Mix well and serve hot.
• No side dish is necessary. Anyway you can have with raitha or curd or papad.

10. Manathakali vathal podi.

Manathakali raw or vathal heals sores in stomach and mouth. It is easily digestible and can be given to newly delivered moms. Manathakali vathal also can be made at home. Buy raw manakali from market and clean and soak in butter milk adding salt. Soak it for a day and sun dry. Add slat a little extra to have long shelf life.

Method:

1. Roast handful of manathakali vathal in cooking oil/coconut oil.
2. Powder it with your fingers or you can whip in mixie.
3. Add ghee to the rice and mix thoroughly. Do not add salt as it will be already there in the vathal.
4. Serve hot. No side dish needed. You can have with curd or papad.