Dhaniya Podi (Coriander Powder)

When I was growing up, I used to despise these 'podi's and chutneys. Given that my mom was born and brought up in Secundrabad, making podis and chutneys were second nature to her. She can make podi out of dried orange peel or chutney out of ridge gourd skin, as long as its tender !! I used to give her such a hard time saying she is depriving the cows outside of their daily food :-) Little did I know then that those were the exact things that I would crave for a decade later. Oh.....I miss those awesome and exotic podis and chutneys. A few of these do appear in my cooking though not so frequently but I can never find a ridge gourd that is so tender that I can use the peel, nor remember to save those orange peels to make the podi. And of course I don't think I'd ever manage to get the flavor of my mom's cooking in mine. So now when ever I go to India, I give her a long list of podis and chutneys that she has to cram into my three weeks vacation. Its amazing the way our tastes change with time.... things I used to dislike as an adolescent have become exotic now. Go figure :-)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dhaniya seeds (coriander seeds)
2 tbsp split urad dal
2 tbsp chana dal
2 tsp Jeera (cumin)
1/2 tsp methi seeds (Fenugreek)
4 red chillies
Asafoetida 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Roast ingredients (except asafoetida and salt) separately till they turn golden brown in color.
2. Let it cool and grind all of them together with salt and asafoetida to fine powder.
3. Mix with hot cooked rice and a few tsp of seasme oil.

Enjoy !!