A few years ago, we were driving to Corbett and kept stopping to ask for directions. To our horror, nobody appeared to know where Corbett Park was. When we finally reached—thanks to our map—our hotel manager was amazed that we could be stupid enough to ask for Corbett Park. “Garjia is what you should have been asking for. No wonder nobody could help you!” Garjia is the miniscule village outside the park’s first gate.
In a similar vein, if you want gunpowder to blast off your insides, don’t bother to ask for anything other than mullaga podi if you’re in Tamil Nadu and parippu podi in Andhra Pradesh. All four South Indian states have their own repertoire of podis—dry powders which are made with a multitude of ingredients. A podi usually has lentils, red chillies and other spices in its mix. Some varieties have more dal, others have a preponderance of spices. Podis are either eaten with idlis and dosas or with rice and a dollop of ghee.
It’s known as gunpowder in the rest of India, partly as Chef K. Natarajan of the Taj Group speculates, because mullaga podi is difficult to pronounce. “It’s not even that spicy,” he says dismissively. “There are other dishes that are far spicier.” Doubtless they’re called Kalashnikov fire.