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For this weeks cooking from cookbooks challenge, I have an easy breezy flavorful podi/powder from Chandra Padmanabhan's Dakshin, Vegetarian Cuisine from South India. With all the cooking I am doing for the upcoming mega blogging marathon next month, I did not want to cook anything elaborate for this event. I chose a quick and easy recipe.

Dry roasted peanuts and sesame seeds, along with oil roasted red chilies are ground to a powder to make this flavorful condiment that goes well with rice and, also with dosas and idlies. I made half the recipe as Mr.U is not a big fan of podies and I have to finish it all by myself.

Source: Chandra Padmanabhan's Dakshin
Preparation Time: 10 - 15 minutes (excludes cooling time)
Yields: about 2 cups of powder

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup Sesame Seeds
• 1 cup Peanuts
• 1 tsp. Oil
• 9 - 12 Dry Red Chilies (I used 9 and felt I could have added more. Adjust to taste)
• ½ tsp. Asafoetida ~ Hing
• 1 - ¼ tsp. Salt (adjust to taste)

Preparation:

• Dry roast sesame seeds in a heavy bottom pan for about 5 minutes and keep aside. I have roasted sesame seeds so did not have to do this step. I usually roast the sesame seeds and store them, which is quite handy. Whenever I need to cook with the seeds, all I need to do is grind them to a powder.
• Dry roast the peanuts for about 5 minutes are until the peanuts are roasted and keep aside. Once the peanuts are slightly cool, rub and partially remove the skin of the peanuts. I usually roast and then store the peanuts. But roasted peanuts always vanish in matter of days, as we end up eating it as a snack and had to roast the peanuts when making this podi.
• In the same pan take oil, roast the chilies and asafoetida for 2-3 minutes until chilies change color. Cool the chilies.
• In a spice grinder or in a food processor grind chilies, sesame seeds and salt. Then add peanuts and coarsely grind. I used a spice grinder and had to grind all the ingredients in 3 batches. I first ground sesame seeds, chilies and salt. Add some peanuts and coarsely ground the peanuts. Transferred it to a bowl and coarsely ground rest of the peanuts. After grinding all the peanuts, I mixed all the powders together.
• Store in an airtight container and serve with steaming rice and dollop of ghee or with dosa & idli.
• This powder is meant to be nutty & crunchy, hence peanuts need to be coarsely ground. However, I ended up grinding not as coarse I wanted it to be.