Molagapodi Recipe : A guest post by R’s Mom

I have known R’s mom for a very long time now, been reading her blog for years when she was a mom of one R to now when she is 2R’s mom. Some time ago we also became a part of a whatsapp group of bloggers and I got a chance to know her beyond blogging. Know her as a person, to know her as a warm, caring and adorable human being. Last week when I was in Mumbai for work I met her briefly, though I couldn’t meet the two R’s but it was so much fun meeting her in real life and the warmth comes out amplified when you meet her, so does the cuteness.  

When we met last week, she gifted me something special, Molagapodi made by her because I had mentioned in passing that everyone at home loves it and I am just not finding enough time to make it these days and hence buying the MTR one. My introduction to Molagapodi was in childhood when it was termed as Gunpowder (wondering how it ever got that name, because it was really spicy?), we used to go to Madras Hotel in CP (such a pity it’s closed) and I used to love the gun powder with idly as well as dosas. Later moving down south and being married to a half tamilian it is a constant part of life. I also came to know that podi’s are many kinds and everything has a combination, there are podi’s to be eaten with rice and there are podi’s to be eaten with idly. So much variety and each one tastes difference. This one is easily one of the best Molagapodi’s I have tasted in a while. So I requested her to do a guest post for the blog with the Molagapodi recipe. I took the pictures since I already had the one she gifted me so over to her…. And oh yes it is also her birthday today, so lets all wish her a happy birthday. Tons of happiness and joy always 

R’s Mom says

As a kid, with a mother who was a school teacher, having to leave home by 6.15 in the morning everyday, my anna and I knew what we got in our tiffin boxes every day, every week, every year. Monday and Tuesday – Idli, Wednesday and Thursday – Dosa, We loved Fridays – Amma would give us upma, poha or bread. Even today, I am very reluctant to go to a hotel and order idli or dosa, because somehow, eating it everyday for all my school life made me kind of wary of it.

Now that I am a mother of two, I realise why Amma did it. Rushing in the morning, idlis and dosas are the easiest to make. Grind the maav on Sunday and it goes through till Thursday. I must confess, I am following exactly what my mother used to do now!

The only thing which made those idlis and dosas interesting was the molagapodi which Amma used to give along with them. She used to mix the molagapodi with oil and then spread the idli/dosa over it so that the molagapodi formed a layer over the idli/dosa. This ensured that the idli/dosa remained soft till our tiffin time and also it was a wonderful red hue making it a favorite target for most of our friends.

Today, my older brat loves molagapodi and even eats it with curd. Like they say, History Repeats eh?

Here is the recipe for Molagapodi.

• 1 cup urad dal
• 1 cup channa dal
• 10-15 Akha mirchi (Kashmiri mirchi if you want it mild or Guntur mirchi if you want it spicy)
• Salt to Taste
• Coconut oil – 5 drops
• Hing – 2-3 pinches

Method

• Roast the urad dal till it turn a slight red colour. Roast the channa dal seperately till you can smell the rawness going away.
• In the hot kadai, add the coconut oil, hing and then put in the akha mirchis after switching off the stove. Let the akha mirchis cook in the kadai.
• Now grind the urad dal in the mixer, coarsely. Then grind the channa dal. Ensure that they are ground separately, since both of them have different particle sizes and hence the surface areas are different and will require different grinding times. Now add the akha mirchis and salt and grind thoroughly. Then add the ground channa dal, and ground urad dal and grind one final time for about 10 seconds so as to make the mixture cohesively.
• Transfer to an airtight container and use for whenever needed. As a twist to this, my mami adds half a cup of roasted white til to it. However, the taste differs and it may not remain as fresh as the one without til so I usually don’t add it.