Aug 5, 2023 Sep 5, 2023 by [Archana Potdar] · This post may contain affiliate links · 27 Comments

Gun Powder Chutney Recipe

Gun Powder Chutney is one of the famous South Indian chutney powders use it to spice up your meal.

Milagai Podi a delicious spicy dry chutney . — Flaxseed Milagai Podi

When do you eat this Spicy Gunpowder chutney? Every day use it as a condiment or a spice mix. In this chutney powder, I have added some flax seeds to make it more healthy.

Condiments make a meal interesting, versatile and delicious! This famous very pungent spice powder is made with lots of red chillies and hence it is also called gunpowder chutney or Idly Milagai podi.

Molgai podi or Gunpowder Chutney is a spicy chutney and pairs with of course idli and dosa but try it with uttapams, hot steamed rice homemade ghee and Khara podi as it is also called. How about some sprinkled-on sandwiches?

This amazing recipe is similar to Agshi chutney, chutney pudi, garlic chutney, karli chutney powders.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
How do you eat these podis or pudis?
Storage
Pro Tips
Related
Pairing
Gun Powder Chutney Recipe

Ingredients

These are your ingredients for quantities please check the recipe card.

Chana Dal: also split Bengal gram
Urid dal: also split black gram lentils
Flax seeds: Agshi these teardrop-shaped seeds are also called Jawas. Now, these seeds are the talk of the town for their health benefits.
Chillies: now the number of chillies you add is as per your taste. If you want an orangeish use then use Badgi or Guntur. Remember to reduce the numbers these two are pungent.
Sesame seeds: you need a little til to make this podi. Please do not skip it.
Oil: use any oil that does not have a strong smell. I have used rice barn oil today.
Salt: use as needed table salt is fine.

Instructions

Take a thick-bottomed wok and add the sesame seeds. Roast them on low flame till you get a popping sound. pop. Transfer to a big plate to cool.
In the same kadhai/wok on low flame add ½ teaspoon oil and the red chillies. Stir-fry them for 2-3 minutes on low flame till it begins to get a darker colour.Take care not to burn them. transfer to another plate and let them cool.
Again add ½ teaspoon of oil and stir fry the chana dal on low flame till it turns golden brown. Transfer to the same plate to which you have added the sesame seeds and let it cool.
Similarly, add ½ teaspoon oil and fry the urid dal until golden. Let it cool on the same plate as the sesame seeds and chana dal.
Add oil and roast the flax speed till you get a popping sound. Let them cool too.
Meanwhile, your chillies will have cooled. Transfer the chillies to a mixer and blend to a very coarse powder.
Add the sesame seeds, dals, salt and flaxseeds and blend to a coarse powder.
Transfer to an air-tight container.

If you store your sesame seeds after roasting them then you can avoid roasting the sesame seeds or til.

Substitutions

I have used flax seeds here you can avoid them. The traditional recipe does not use them.
You can use red chilli powder in place of red chillies. Add the chilli powder to the warm roasted chana dal mixture.
I have used 30 red chillies Kashmiri chillies so I got a reddish hue. I was quite disappointed. The podi was nothing like the orangeish colour I had pictured in my mind. So will keep that in mind and use Badgi about 20 chillies should be enough.

Variations

Difference between Khara Podi and Chatni Pudi

Ingredients make a difference between this famous Khara Podi from Andra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and the Karnataka Style Chutney pudi. Mind you both are tasty and both can be carried when travelling.

In the Karnataka Style Chutney pudi we use urad dal, chana dal, grated coconut, groundnuts, til, dried red chillies (Byadgi), curry leaves, tamarind, jaggery, and salt. Some recipes also call for a tempering mustard seed, turmeric, and asafoetida (hing) in oil. The dals are roasted without oil and the rest to fry you use oil but the quantity is very little.

To make this batch of Khara Podi I have used chana dal, urid dal, flax seeds, chillies and til. There are variations where you can leave out the flax seeds and also there are some recipes that use peanuts, some Chopra (dried coconut), curry leaves, tamarind and a pinch of asafoetida. The dry-roasted ingredients are powdered together.

Equipment

Kadhai wok
Spoon
Plate
Mixer blender
Air-tight container

How do you eat these podis or pudis?

Most of these pudi or podis are what I grew up with. I did not like them then but now I love them. In fact, I make it a point to make them.

My earliest memory is eating these pudis as we call them on a piece of bread liberally smeared with ghee.
Then with dosa or idli where we added oil/ghee in the podi and made a paste.
Else add it to your everyday flatbread like chapati, jowar rotti or sajji rotti, with groundnut oil these taste amazing.
Then add to rice it was again something very common. Have you tried mixing chutney pudi with curds or making thin poha with it? We call it hachid avalakki.
Well, eating with dosa, idli or rice is too tame? Try sprinkling on Upma or even the bread upit. Try tossing idlis in the podi makes a great snack too.
Travelling? Make some Podi! This was the scene when we were kids. Store in an airtight container that is not plastic. Use a dry spoon and you need not refrigerate it.

Storage

This dry powder remains good for 15-20 days.

Pro Tips

To make this delicious Milgai Pudi remember to keep the gas on low flame throughout the roasting. Do not lose patience and increase the flame.
Serve with a dry spoon.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

These are my favourite dishes to serve with Gun Powder Chutney: