Idli & PoonduMilagaiPodi

One of the most delicious but simple breakfast of Thanjavur.

Idlies are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented uriddal and parboiled rice. The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that the body digests easily.Poondu milagai podi is the mixtures of crushed chillies and garlic flakes which are the preferred side dish for idlis eaten on the go.
It will definitely make you cry the first time you eat it!


The ingredients ....

Idly

1.Par boiled rice - 4 cups
2. Urid dal - 1 cup (2 cups if you use a Blender)
3. Fenugreek seeds - 1 Tspoon
4. Salt


Preparation

Soak each seperately for about 2-3 hrs.
Grind Fenugreek seeds and Urid Dal in a wetgrinder until fine , add water as required. (Traditionaly this is ground using Ural - a stone mortar and pestle , this is believed to have given the unforgettable 'My mother's ' recipies of most of the old folks . It consists of a small stone bowl called "Attukhal" in Tamil , on which the ingredients are crushed together with a rounded piece of stone . )
Grind the soaked rice until little grainy.
Don't forget to wash them before grinding though.
Mix the two batters with some salt This batter is allowed to ferment overnight, until it expands to about two times of its original volume. Idly's are made in special idli-cookers (steamers),put the idly batter in to the ghee greased idly tray for steaming and steam cooked until soft and spongy.

- while the idlies are cooking, lets make the PoonduMilagaiPodi - aka - GarlicChilliSauce !

Ingredients

1. Red dried chillies 20 -30 (depends on how much you can withstand :))
2. Garlic cloves- 7-8
3. Gingelly oil
4. Tamarind
5.salt

Preparation

we have 3 types of preparations ...choose whatever you want..

Dry Coarse Flaky PoonduMilagaiPodi

Fry red chillies in a Pan with some oil. Grind fried red chillies with some salt to a coarse powder.
Add the garlic cloves and grind slightly(Flaky result).

Fine ground PoonduMilagaiPodi

Fry the chillies in little oil. Grind with some tamarind, salt and water to make a fine paste. Finally add garlic cloves and grind slightly.

ThengaiPoondumilagaiPodi

For this one you need scrapped coconut 1 cup,3 to 4 chillies,3-4 peeled garlic flakes and salt.Grind everything except garlic in blender to make fine paste and add garlic and grind slightly.

Serve the hot idlies and PoonduMilagaiPodi - with some gingelly oil.