I got this recipe from my mom. When she came to US for the first time, I got the recipes for chutneys but missed the podis. But she wrote this down for me. Last week I was digging through the paper clipping and got it. I usually use frozen coconut for kootu and chutneys. I usually thaw the required amount before cooking. But for this Podi I went with the fresh one to get the authentic taste. Nothing can beat the taste of fresh grated coconut.
If you notice, this recipe doesn’t use any oil. The coconut gives the moisture to bind and that makes it zero oil recipe too. Yesterday I posted about coconut and its benefits. So today let me talk about the top countries that produce coconut. Of course India is among the top 5. As per this website, Indian now ranks the third largest coconut producing countries. Indonesia and Philippines are top 2.
Ingredients:
Channa Dal / Kadalai Paruppu – ¼ cup Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu – ¼ cup Grated Coconut – 1 cup Red Chillies – 5 to 6 Hing – 2 tsps Salt – 1.5 tsps (adjust according to your taste)
Steps:
Heat the kadai and dry roast the channa dal, urad dal, red chillies along with hing till they turn golden brown. Once they turn golden brown, remove it in a plate and let them cool.
In the same kadai, add the grated coconut and fry till they turn golden brown.
Let it cool too.
First dry grind the roasted dals along with salt in the coffee grinder or mixie. Make sure they mix well and ground them nicely.
Finally add coconut and now put it in the pulse mode so that the coconut mixes well with the powder.
That’s it. Let it cool before you store it an air tight container. I usually refrigerate these podis.
Notes:
Cool the roasted dals and coconut before grinding. Also after you add coconut put them in pulse mode. This ensures that lumps are not formed. Before storing it in an air tight containers spread it in a plate and leave it for 5 minutes. Then store them in a container.