Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Podis (lentil powders) from Andhra!

Would like to eat something different, instantly? Spicy podi’s of Andhra Pradesh like Kandi podi, Nuvvulu podi, Karivepaaku podi come to your rescue!

Podis form an essential part of the vast Andhra cuisine.

Try having mixing any one of these ready to eat podis or gunda’s (powders in Telugu) with hot rice and a little oil (preferably groundnut oil) or ghee and savor the unique taste!

Kandi podi as a dry chutney with pesarattu (unsplit green gram dosa)

Also, any of these trio podi’s can be sprinkled on idlis, dosas or pancakes, in dry form or converted into chutney, especially kandi podi, by adding a little water or oil to it.

These ready to eat, podis, are made essentially with roasted lentils, along with red chillies and other ingredients. Here are their respective components, and the exact recipe for making each of these podis will be shared in my next blog post.
Andhra spice podis (powders): Kandi podi, Kariveepakku podi and Nuvvulu podi (from left to right)

Kandi podi: Split red gram (Kandi pappu in Telugu, Tuvar dal in Hindi), split black gram (urad dal in Hindi), split green gram (moong dal in Hindi), split Bengal gram (chana dal in Hindi), dried red chillies, salt

Nuvvulu podi: Sesame seeds (Nuvullu in Telugu), dried red chillies, salt

Karivepaaku podi: Curry leaves (Karivepaaku in Telugu), chana dal, urad dal, dried red chillies, coriander seeds, tamarind, salt
Since my childhood days, I remember, my mother making these spicy podis, diligently every month, which used to come in handy, especially during the rainy season!

Food is our common ground, a universal experience.- James Beard