Sundal podi, a simple to make spice powder for sundal, a stir-fry made of legumes. A resourceful condiment in South-India, particularly during navrathri.
What is Sundal?
Sundal is traditionally a south-indian dish made of boiled legumes. When I say legume, it includes pulses, beans and peas. It is a dish made often during pooja or traditional functions as an offering.
It is pretty simple to make sundal. All you need to do is soak the legume for certain amount of time, cook it soft and add a tempering with chilies and coconut. That’s it, you have a healthy, hearty dish ready in minutes.
Some simple sundal recipes that keeps repeating at home chickpeas sundal, black-eyed peas sundal, Moong dal sundal, black chana sundal.
Why Sundal podi | Spice Powder for Sundal?
Traditionally sundal is made with just a tempering of chilies and curry leaves, topped with coconut.
But this special spice powder adds a lot of oomph factor to the simple sundal. This spice powder, can also be used as a topping to your favorite poha and upma to increase the wow factor of the dish.
When kept handy, your sundal just needs a teaspoon of this magic spice powder and tada you are done with a tasty neivedhiyam and also a delicious snack for your visitors during navarathri.
Try this, your guests will definitely ask the secret of your delicious sundal.
The Ingredients
- Dals, I have used chana dal and little urad dal for my sundal podi.
- Coriander seeds, adds a lot of flavor to the sundal spice powder.
- Spice, I have used red chilies and few black peppercorns as spice for the sundal podi.
- sesame seeds, white sesame adds wonderful aroma and since it has good amount calcium, more than our regular milk, I try to add it to our daily cooking as much as possible.
- Fat, a teaspoon oil is used to roast the ingredients and some amount of desiccated coconut is also added to the sundal podi. Adding coconut is totally optional, you can skip it in the spice powder and fresh coconut to your sundal.
Step by Step Instructions to make Sundal Spice Powder
Please check recipe card below for exact measurements of each ingredient used and also for the detailed instructions
- Measure and keep the ingredients ready. Heat a pan, add ½ teaspoon oil, roast the chana dal, urad dal and black peppercorns. Once golden, remove and keep it a flat plate.
- Next add ½ teaspoon of oil and add coriander seeds and white sesame along with red chilies. Towards the end of their roasting, add desiccated coconut. Remove from heat, let the ingredients cool completely.
- Take the roasted ingredients into a mixer jar, pulse grind it to a powder. Do not grind continuously as we have added sesame seeds, it might release oil. Pulse grind to powder.
- Once ground, let it sit for few minute to cool down, fluff it up with a fork. Store this spice powder in an air-tight container.
- I prefer to store in the fridge, as i have added coconut, if you are skipping coconut, then it can be stored outside.
- To use this sundal podi, add 1.5 teaspoon of it for every 1 cup of legumes you use.
Navarathri Recipes
Recipe
Sundal Podi Recipe| Sundal Spice Powder | Navrathri
Equipment
- Pan for roasting the ingredietns
- Indian style mixie or any heavy blender
- Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- ½ cup chana dal/gram dal/Kadalai paruppu
- ½ cup coriander seeds/dhaniya
- 1 tablespoon urad dal/black gram dal/Uluntham paruppuu
- 2 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns/milagu
- 12-15 nos round red chilies
- ¼ teaspoon hing
- ⅓ cup desiccated coconut optional, read recipe instructions carefully below.
- 1 teaspoon oil
Instructions
Dry Roasting the Ingredients
- Measure the ingredients above and keep it ready. Heat a wide pan, add ½ teaspoon oil, tip in the chana dal, urad dal and black peppercorns into it. Keep the flame low and roast it until golden.
- Take care while roasting the ingredients, keep stirring often to avoid burning , do not be tempted to increase the stove flame. Once the dal is golden, remove it to another plate.
- Again in the same pan, add ½ teaspoon of oil, tip in the coriander seeds, white sesame hing and red chilies. Roast until the coriander seeds is toasty and aromatic.
- Towards the end of roasting the coriander seeds, add desiccated coconut to the pan. Take it off the stove, give it a good stir. The coconut will get nicely toasted in the residue heat of the pan.
- Remove the coriander seeds and toasted coconut to the same plate of dals. Let this all cool completely, before grinding.
Let us grind the spice powder
- Once the ingredients are cooled well, take them into the small mixie jar or your spice grinder and grind.
- Take care not to grind it continuously. Since we have sesame seeds & coconut, there is chance it might ooze out oil and the whole lot becomes a big mass of goo. So pulse grind the spice powder.
- Once ground, remove it from the mixie and let it cool down. Fluff it up with a fork.
Storing the Sundal Podi
- Once the ground spice powder is cooled down well, store it in an air-tight container.
- I prefer to refrigerate the sundal podi, as i have added coconut to it. If you too live in a humid country like mine, i strongly recommend refrigerating the spice.
- You can also skip adding desiccated coconut to the sundal spice powder, that case, you can store in the kitchen pantry shelf.
How to use the Sundal Podi
- To use the sundal podi for sundal, add 1.5 teaspoon of the spice powder to every 1 cup of legumes you make.
- This sundal spice powder can also be used as a garnish to your poha, upma, and even in your dry curries to give it a wonderful flavor and aroma.
Video
Disclaimer
I m not a Doctor or a Nutritionist The Nutrition information provided above comes from the plugin and is only an estimate.
Make this super resourceful sundal podi just before your navrathri festival and have 1 less tension for the festivity.
Apart from using it for making sundals, enjoy it as a garnish on your breakfast and as a curry podi for your dry subzi's.
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Bless my food by Payal
We are heading towards Navratri and glad to find such a recipe which can be made part of this auspicious occasion. Thank you for sharing.
Lata Lala
Otherwise boiled legumes sundal tastes so bland, to jazz this up and add flavour and taste this podi is a star here. Just ahead of Navratri this is such a great addition to the must try recipes.
amrita
I always love different types of sundal distributed in temples. This sundal podi is so handy, that we can easily prepare sundals during festive season without any hassle.
Mayuri Patel
Reading through the list of ingredients, this all purpose sundal podi definitely sounds likes a very delicious condiment to have handy not only for Navratri but to use daily. Love how South India has the tradition of making different types of sundals.
Neha
I must say podi powders are my favorite, They are so handy. I love to add them in rice, idli and dosa. Will surely try this as it can be made during Navratras. Great post.
Seema Sriram
I am sure every South Indian household has a sundal podi ready for the navrathri season. I love the colour of your sundal podi here. Absolutely divine.