Spice news
ChilliChicago-Area Brand The Spice Drops Launches a Concentrated Chili Oil That Makes Food Spicy Without Changing the FlavorHarvestSaffron In The Cold Desert? Ladakh Is Putting 90,000 Iranian Corms To The TestMarketsUttar Pradesh Gears Up To Become Global Hub For Spice Processing & ExportsHarvestWhy 100 UP Farmers Are Growing Turmeric to Reduce Elephant Crop RaidsHarvestKashmir Squanders SaffronChilliChesapeake Chili Crisp? A DC-Area Chef Is Putting Unexpected Spins on the Condiment.HarvestRed Gold In Cold Desert: Iranian Corms Take Root As Ladakh Begins Saffron Farming Under 'Him Sarovar'TradeSpice market update: cumin continues its upward trendHarvestOyster Mushroom Cultivation Using Large Cardamom Residue: A Waste to Wealth Innovation by KVK AnjawFoodde' tandoor: Chinese ex-property agent turned hawker now serves masala rendang mutton & Indian mee siamChilliChicago-Area Brand The Spice Drops Launches a Concentrated Chili Oil That Makes Food Spicy Without Changing the FlavorHarvestSaffron In The Cold Desert? Ladakh Is Putting 90,000 Iranian Corms To The TestMarketsUttar Pradesh Gears Up To Become Global Hub For Spice Processing & ExportsHarvestWhy 100 UP Farmers Are Growing Turmeric to Reduce Elephant Crop RaidsHarvestKashmir Squanders SaffronChilliChesapeake Chili Crisp? A DC-Area Chef Is Putting Unexpected Spins on the Condiment.HarvestRed Gold In Cold Desert: Iranian Corms Take Root As Ladakh Begins Saffron Farming Under 'Him Sarovar'TradeSpice market update: cumin continues its upward trendHarvestOyster Mushroom Cultivation Using Large Cardamom Residue: A Waste to Wealth Innovation by KVK AnjawFoodde' tandoor: Chinese ex-property agent turned hawker now serves masala rendang mutton & Indian mee siam
EveryMasala

Regional blends

Milagai podi (gunpowder)

A dry chutney powder of roasted lentils, sesame and chilli, eaten with oil on idli and dosa.

Milagai podi is a coarse dry powder from South India, nicknamed gunpowder in restaurants. It is stirred with sesame oil or ghee to make a paste to dip idli and dosa into, or mixed into hot rice.

What goes in

Urad dal: 27%27%Chana dal: 20%20%Dried red chilli: 20%20%Sesame: 13%13%Asafoetida: 7%Curry leaf: 7%Salt: 7%15parts

Parts by volume of the whole spice. The ring shows each part's share.

Made step by step

Each drawing shows the operation for that step. Ratios and timings differ from house to house; this is one traditional-style way.

  1. Step 1: Toast Dry roast the urad and chana dal until golden.
  2. Step 2: Toast Roast the chillies and curry leaves until crisp.
  3. Step 3: Toast Roast the sesame until it pops.
  4. Step 4: Rest Cool everything fully.
  5. Step 5: Grind Grind coarsely with salt and asafoetida.
  6. Step 6: Store Store in a dry jar.
  7. Urad dal: 27%27%Chana dal: 20%20%Dried red chilli: 20%20%Sesame: 13%13%Asafoetida: 7%Curry leaf: 7%Salt: 7%
    Finished Milagai podi (gunpowder), by share.

Make-up

Roasted urad dal and chana dal give body, sesame adds oil and nuttiness, and dried red chilli the heat. Garlic, curry leaf or asafoetida are common additions.

Home pantry staple

Households keep a jar and give it as a gift to relatives travelling abroad. The texture is deliberately coarse and recipes vary widely.

Where it is used

IdliDosaCurd ricePlain rice with ghee

The spices in it

SesameNutty.AsafoetidaHing.Chili pepperHeat.

More on EveryMasala

No spices here yet. New pages are added every day.

Sources and further reading

About this page

Original text and drawings by the EveryMasala desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The shares are an illustrative, traditional-style ratio, not a standard: every family and maker blends differently. If we have something wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: seven spices you may not know, what is cooking this week, and one blend explained step by step.