South India is extremely diverse and is well-known for its light, low-calorie appetizing meals. Traditional South Indian cuisine is mainly rice based. There are many dishes like idlis dosas, vadas and uttampams that are made by mixing rice with lentils. Considered as wholesome and healthy, South Indian food is a perfect blend of flavor, color, taste and nutrition. What also distinguishes South Indian cuisine from other is the unique ingredients and condiments used in its food.
Podi, translating to powder is a special spice blend that can be sprinkled over almost any South Indian dish. Podis are dry powders made with spices, dals and other ingredients like coconut, curry leaves, or dried herbs like coriander and mint. There are different variations of it used for different kind of dishes.
Podi Life is a mother-daughter owned and operated business that offers these spice blends bringing heritage, high-quality South Indian pantry staples to the world. It was founded by Alak Nanda and her mother, Vasavi. The company is based in Atlanta but they deliver pan India as well.
The brand describes its Podis as dry-sauces in powder form. Unlike many spice blends, Podis are ready-to-eat. They can be sprinkled to flavor your food, used as dry-rubs on meat, or mixed with rice/cooked grains. Their bestseller is the Spicy Coconut Podi with the texture of desecrated coconuts. Other flavours include Crunchy Peanut Podi made from slow-roasted peanuts, Moong Podi, the herby Mint and Curry Leaf Podis, and the original Gunpowder Podi made with Bengal gram, chillies and garlic.
Apart from the spice blends, Podi LIfe also has multiple recipes for podi and South Indian dishes on their website.
The brand holds a romantic notion that Podi is an equalizer condiment of South India loved by everyone in the economic strata. It's a reflection of all the vegetation and herbs grown in South India and is a result of the indigenous ingenuity of putting ingredients to best use by creating long-lasting, flavourful and easy-to-use pantry staples. And for the South Indian diaspora, it's the taste of home.
Check out all the flavours of Podi Life here.
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