Paruppu Podi Recipe | Lentil powder Recipe | Traditional South Indian Condiment | Gluten Free and Vegan

Hi Supermoms,

Hope you all had a refreshing weekend . Mine was spent in visiting one of my most favourite places in the world - Surajkund Arts and Crafts Mela. India is a Great Country with Legendary Art , Crafts, Food and Culture . One or two days is not enough to go around this Crafts Fare/Bazaar that happens once a year in February in Surajkund ( Haryana, India). It is massive  with around 3000 plus stalls.  Most of these stalls are manned by the creators themselves and you get the unique opportunity of directly interacting and transacting  with them. 

This year, I spent just half a day there , but the experience was simply amazing. 

So many talented people under one roof and entire place was brimming with loads of colours, energy and enthusiasm .  Folk music and dance, food stalls selling speciality dishes from various States of India and pouring in of cheerful and enthusiastic crowd  makes the place even more attractive. I shopped for a few paintings from Orissa and Bihar, Cane work from Jharkhand, Leather handwork from Karnataka, Carved cutlery from Nellore , Handloom Sarees from West Bengal and also picked up different weaves .  I also  enjoyed the food of Uttar Pradesh ( The theme State for this year) , Bihar and Rajasthan. 

Hats off to all the amazing Artisans who keep our Arts and Culture alive . Do plan a visit if you have an eye for textile, arts and crafts.

 

Let me now share about today's recipe. 'Paruppu' in Tamil language means 'Lentil' and 'Podi' means 'powder'. This Paruppu podi is a 'must have' condiment in my kitchen. It is served as the first course along with rice . Ghee is melted and poured over the podi and mixed well with rice. 

The taste has to be experienced to understand it completely. It hardly takes 15 minutes to prepare this podi and you can make fresh batch every month . The podi comes handy even for those days you do not feel like cooking elaborate meals. This podi is mildly spiced . 

Recipe courtesy : Mrs. Prema ( my Mother- In- Law)

Paruppu Podi Recipe | Lentil powder Recipe:

Preparation time : 5 minutes

Cooking time : 10 minutes

Makes : Approximately 160 gm 

Storage: Keeps good upto 2 months when stored in a clean, dry, odour free air tight container

1 cup = 250 ml cup 

Ingredients :

1 cup pigeon peas ( split)/ tuvar dal/arhar dal

1 teaspoon peppercorns ( whole)

4-5 dry red chillies ( I used Salem gundu chillies, adjust if using other varieties)

salt to taste 

Method :

1. In a kadai/wok or a wide pan, dry roast the tuvar dal till they turn light brown.

Chef tip : Keep stirring so that they brown uniformly. Always roast on low flame.

2. Transfer the roasted dal into the jar of a mixer or a plate and place the pan back on low flame.

3. Add the peppercorns and dry red chillies.

4. Fry till they turn fragrant and switch off.

5. Transfer them immediately into the jar of a mixer/food processor.

6. Add salt and grind them into a coarse powder.

Chef tip : Some grind it very fine and some like it coarse. The Andhra Gun powder is more smooth. This paruppu podi tastes best when ground a little coarse.

7. Once the podi cools completely, transfer it to a clean container. 

Your fresh and most delicious homemade Paruppu Podi is now ready. It is so true that simplest recipes are the best !

Happy Cooking !

With love,

Masterchefmom