Kongunadu molagu podi or Kongu special masala powder:

Suvai, I got the masala chilly pwd from mom. We call it molagu podi. The measurement is for 1 kg chillies. She's not able to tell the measurement for smaller qty as we always make it in bulk.

Kongunadu molagu podi or Kongu special masala powder:

Gundu milagai- 1 kg
cori seeds- 1/2 kg
jeera- 1/4 kg
peppercorns- 1/4 kg
fenugreek- 100g
Asafoetida block cut into small pieces- 50 g
gundu manjal(crushed) or turmeric powder-50 g
curry leaves - a handful.

Dry roast all these ingredients one by one until they become nice & brown and flavourful.let cool & powder. they usually machine grind it to get a fine powder. Let cool.
if using turmeric pwd, no need to roast it.
make sure asafoetida is well roasted(becomes whitish)
Pepeprcorns must splutter.

Dry roast 50 g mustard seeds and powder it well in the mixie. Add it to the above powder.

Heat 50 ml castor oil & wait till it cools down. Mix with the above powder & once cool put it in a clean bottle. The powder will last for more than a year without getting spoilt if all the masalas are roasted right, ie until they r brown.

Note: castor oil is used as a preservative here & she says it also gives a nice flavour to the podi. Mom has never used any other oil & so she's not sure abt using nallennai. sorry. Maybe I'll chk with someone else & let you know.

My guess is, since it's mainly used as a preservative, u can omit it if u making the pwd in small qty. Just put the pwd in a ziplock & keep it in the freezer.

K says:
This is  kongunadu molagu podi with
small measurement.


250 grms gundu milagai
125 grms coriander seeds
60 grms jeera
60 grms pepper corns
25 grms fenugreek seeds
10 grms asafoetida
10 grms gundu manjal
1/4 hand ful curry leaves
10 grms of mustard seeds
10 ml castor oil

The method the same.

Note:

The KMP can be used along with rasam pwd(50-50).

For everyday sambar for lunch, we don't use sambar powder but instead we add KMP. I find the taste doesnt appeal to some. But we like our rice sambar to be lil less spicier than tiffin sambar. maybe its an acquired taste.

KMP can be used for all poriyal varieties , dhal varieties for rice & puli kachal, puli kulambu etc.

we also use KMP+salt sprinkled on raw mango, raw cucumber. Also raw mango can be chopped into small pieces & mixed with KMP, salt & coconut oil. A tangy,hot snack I guess ppl from cbe have a lil kerala influence in their cooking. We like coconut oil in many dishes.

For masala pori, we make a simpler version by mixing pori, kmp , coconut oil,groundnuts & pottu kadalai.