Idli Milagai Podi /Malga Podi

Flavorful and delicious spice powder made with roasted lentil and spices
Milagai podi or malgapodi is a popular powder/chutney/podi of every south Indian kitchen.It is a nice accompaniment to serve with dosa ,idli,adai and vada. When ever I go to any south Indian restaurant the I loved the malgapodi better then the chutnies served with idli and dosas.
When I meet the south Indian friend of my daughter then her mom shared her family recipe with me.Though their are many recipes to make malgapodi and every family have their own traditional family recipe but the main ingredients remain the same, just some different of ratios or few more or less ingredient to add.Addition of tamarind and jaagary is optional ,you can add or skip them.
Traditionally Malgapodi is served with sesame oil  to mix in it but can use ghee or have plain like I do. Idlis smeared with malgapodi and ghee taste wonderful.Its also very good to pack in kids lunchbox or to take along as dry chutney for a journey.I loved it with plain steamed rice or even with roti and parathas.This spicy and flavourful podi goes with almost every thing.

Prep time -20 min
Difficulty level - easy
Spice level - medium
Cuisine - South Indian
Type - powder,side
yield - 1.5 cup
INGREDIENTS-

• Bengal gram /chana dal -1/2 cup
• White lentil /urad daal -1/2 cup
• Kashmiri red chilis  -10
• Sesame seeds / till - 1 tbsp
• Whole coriander seeds/sabut dhaniya -1 tbsp
• Salt /namak - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida- /hing -1/2 tsp
• Dry tamarind /Imli -1 tbsp
• Jaggary /gur -1 tbsp
• Cooking oil- 1 tsp
• Whole pepper corn /sabut kali mirch - 10
• Dried curry leaves-10

PROCEDURE-

1. In a pan add oil and both lentils/daal.
2. Roast till they become red in color.
3. Now remove the roasted daal from the pan and keep aside.
4. Add sesame seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns in the pan and dry roast till they give a nice aroma.
5. Remove from the pan and keep aside
6. Add 1 tsp of oil in the pan and add red chilies and roast for a minute on low heat.
7. Add curry leaves and asafoetida and stir for few seconds.
8. Remove from the pan.
9. Let  the ingredients cool down completely.
10. Grind the roasted ingredients, jaggary,salt and tamarind  in the mixer to make a coarse powder.
11. Store in an air tight jar.

Serving suggestions-mix with ghee or sesame oil and serve with idli,dosa or vada.
NOTE-Addition of jaggary and tamarind is optional,depends on individual taste and preference, taste great both ways.