Isn’t it amazing how many different ways you can eat dal and rice? Parippu means dal and podi means powder. Parippu Podi is a fantastic dried dal powder that you can mix directly into hot rice with some ghee for the quickest and I would argue, tastiest version of dal rice you’ll ever have. I was an extremely picky eater as a child and my exhausted grandma would often turn to this combination which I loved. Rice, ghee, parippu podi, a vegetable and some papad. It was a great way to sneak in some protein into my diet, something i definitely needed since the ‘vegetable’ I mostly ate was potatoes!
Types of Parippu Podi
There’s two versions of parippu podi that I’ve grown up eating. The Andhra style has garlic in it whereas the Tamil style doesn’t. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana parippu pod is served with sesame oil, while in Tamil Nadu you’ll find it served alongside ghee. While researching this recipe I also noticed that most versions, be it Tamil or Andhra used pottukadalai or roasted chana dal. My Grandmother was adamant that the ‘true’ Tamil parippu podi was made with just toor dal so that’s what I’ve followed as well! She also grew up in a Tamil Brahmin household so she would never add garlic to any of her dishes. Don’t let let her catch me saying this but I would 100% recommend the version with garlic! Just roast a few garlic pods in oil until they become fragrant and add this along with the ingredients while blending. Garlic-ky goodness!
You’ll often see parippu podi and ghee as a part of Tamil sadhyas. Apart from the rice and ghee combination, this powder also tastes great with dosas. You can sprinkle it on your dosa while cooking or mix it into the potato masala for extra flavour. It’s also really great sprinkled on sabzis while cooking, particularly with aubergines and potatoes. It adds flavour along with texture. The extra protein kick is also great! You can also grind some roasted curry leaves along with the dal to give it more flavour.
However you decide to use it, there’s one thing I can guarantee, you’ll definitely enjoy it!
Check out my other traditional recipes below!
Parippu Podi/Dal Powder
Equipment
- Mixer Grinder
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Toor Dal
- 1 tsp (heaped) Black Peppercorns
- 2-4 Dried Red Chillies
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Asafoetida
Instructions
- Begin by measuring all your ingredients.
- Place a cast iron skillet on medium heat.
- Once the pan is hot, add the toor dal.
- Stir continuously for about 8-10 minutes.
- Once the dal is fragrant and the colour is almost rosy brown, you can take it off the heat and let it cool completely.
- Transfer to a mixer jar with the coarse grinding blade and blitz till you get a fine powder.
- Serve with rice and ghee.
- Store the remaining powder in an airtight container.
