Spice Powder (Molaga Podi)

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Molaga podi or Spice powder is an absolute essential which is always kept in stock in almost all south Indian homes.This is one of those simple powders that require few ingredients but is extremely tasty and can be stored for upwards of six months easily.This is generally used as an equivalent of chutney by adding a few drops of sesame oil to the required quantity of powder and by dipping a bite of dosa (indian savory pancake) or idli (rice and lentil steamed dumpling) or pretty much any other dish that you wish to spice up a little.

The first time I attempted making this powder I was clueless on how to proceed as I had neither observed my mother or any one else while they made this. My father had purchased a cookbook called Cook and See by Meenakshi Ammal which was the English version of the book "Samaithu Paar" by the same author for me, to help me in my amateur attempts in the kitchen. Now this book was a treasure trove of authentic south Indian recipes.Unfortunately though the author used measures like "azhaakku" which to a novice like me did not make any sense.I asked one of my aunts and she told me to substitute one cup for an azhaakku.
Emboldened by her advice I ventured into making this molaga podi for the first time. In retrospect I realize my interpretation of the quantity of red chillies required was not even in the ball park of the actual requirement since the resultant powder looked a deep and angry red and just by looking at it,I knew I had messed up big time...sigh....well anyway never one to give up easily I called up my aunt to find out if there was anything I could do to salvage this powder.

Seeing as this happened before the digital camera revolution,I could only describe the condition of my powder to my aunt.I am sure if my aunt had seen the powder she would have told me to give up on it entirely and either start all over again or run to the nearest store. But since she did not see this she gave me a couple of tips which included adding a little salt and a little powdered jaggery to reduce the fiery spiciness of this powder.None of those tricks helped and it was worse since the powder tasted both spicy and salty...anyway this disaster remained on my shelf in a glass jar for some length of time before I gave up and dumped the entire thing.

Just goes to show you, I guess, that getting proportions wrong can sometimes create disastrous results. This recipe is my mother in law's and my only variation is to use slightly more sesame seeds since I love the taste of sesame and it gives this powder a wonderful fragrance.



Click here for a printable view of this recipe
Ingredients and Method to make the Spice Powder ( Molaga Podi )
1/2 cup Yellow split chick pea lentil (chana Dhal)
1/2 cup Split black gram lentil (udad dhal )
1 cup Brown sesame seeds
Approximately about 35 Dry red chillies (or according to taste)
salt to taste (about 3/4 tsp for this quantity of ingredients)

Soak the sesame seeds in just enough water to cover it for at least 15 minutes. (Some people skip this step but do this since the sesame when dry roasted after this puff a little which in turn improves the texture of the powder)

Dry roast the two lentils separately until each of them is reddish brown. Take care not to burn or char these lentils

This is how it looks when dry roasted



Drain the sesame seeds using a fine sieve (like a soup strainer) and dry roast the sesame seeds on low to medium heat until the seeds turn a little browner and the seeds kind of seem puffed.(Do not keep this on heat high since the seeds will pop out, also keep a lid or splatter screen handy just in case ..:)

Dry roast the red chillies until they turn color and become slightly whiter ( this happens very fast so take care)

This is how the dry roasted chillies and sesame seeds look..


First grind the lentils separately until the are kind of quartered and are small bits and keep aside.
This is how the lentils will look coarsely ground




Then in the blender jar, place the roasted dry chillies,then sesame seeds and grind a bit until the red chillies are powdered coarsely.Now add the coarsely ground lentils and grind everything together until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add salt to this and mix well.

Store in an airtight container after it is thoroughly cooled. This does not require refrigeration and stores well for a long time.

Serve this with a few drops of sesame oil to make it a chutney or spice up plain yogurt with this powder and use it as a spicy dip.

This is my entry to the Long Live the Shelf event being hosted by Roma

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