Pirandai Podi Adamant Creeper Powder Recipe

Pirandai Podi / Adamant Creeper Chutney Powder / Cissus quadrangularis Idli Dosa Podi is a healthy podi/powder with the mix of Pirandai, dals, garlic and Indian spices. I never imagined that I could grow Pirandai in US

till last year. For the first time in US life I grew Adamant Creeper and used it in two dishes this year. One is this Pirandai chutney powder and the other recipe is good old Pirandai Thogayal / Adamant Creeper Chutney. I will post the video for the chutney recipe soon.

When I got a handful of Pirandai (also there were few other produce on that day refer the picture below) , initially I thought of making chutney alone since its family’s personal favorite. But then I realized, we finish it off those precious thing in a day. Also my younger one is a fanatic of podi varieties and he eats any kind of podi with tiffin. So keeping all these in mind, few days back I made this healthy pirandai podi. As guessed he liked this podi, not only him we all in family liked this new addition. I have few Idli Podi / Chutney Powders in blog if interested do check it HERE.

WHAT IS PIRANDAI ?

Cissus quadrangularis (Botanical name) also called as Veldt Grape, Devil’s Backbone, Adamant Creeper, Asthisamharaka , Hadjod and Pirandai (in Tamil) is a perennial plant. Its a climbing plant and grows well in hot temperature. In our location it stays indoor in the pot in winter and in summer (just 3 months) it grows well in good maintenance. Also this year I shared few cuttings with friends. I will make a separate post on how to grow Pirandai from cutting quite sometime later. My mom (amma) and me started growing this plant at the same time and now she has a giant plant compared to mine since hers growing in hot place.

PIRANDAI HEALTH BENEFITS

You may see lot of proved health benefits in google. From them I am giving few important benefits here. Its a great medicinal plant used in both Siddha and Ayurvedha. The main usage of the Pirandai are it heals bone fracture and promotes bone health , good remedy for asthma, chronic disorders, diabetic and stoke. Its a useful natural home remedy for menstural problems, indigestion problem and gastric disorders. Also this plant is considered as a great remedy for weight loss.

HOW TO HANDLE PIRANDAI

Many hesitate to use Pirandai because of it’s itchy nature and smell. But if properly handled we can prevent itchiness in our hands. To prevent itching smear your hands with generous sesame oil before handling pirandai. Few may hesitate the raw smell of Pirandai but once its cleaned and sautéed it tastes yum.

HOW TO CLEAN PIRANDAI

Always try to pick/buy tender or young pirandai (Pic 1) that can be easily broken with hands to remove the unwanted/odd parts. As pirandai ages it thickens then do use knife or veg peeler to clean the sharp edges and other odds. After collecting pirandai (Pic 1), wash it well , pat dry to remove excess water and break it any where (refer video at 1:11 minutes) or at the nodes (2:11 minutes).

While breaking try to peel the hard outer skin (Pic 2) and fiber like we remove in avarakai/chikkudu/beans.

In tender Pirandai its hard to get fiber and sharp edges . Anyways try to remove as much you can. For that break them into tiny pieces where you get some fiber (Pic 4) as shown in the video at 2:43 minutes.

In aged Pirandai you have very sharp edges and more fibers/trelis etc.

Do refer the video at 1:33 minutes and above Pic 3 and clean accordingly.

Pirandai Podi Preparation

• Take the cleaned (Pic 5) pirandai pieces and wash it, pat dry or sauté in hot pan for a minute or two to remove excess moisture (Pic 6).

• Later add oil (Pic 6) and roast the pirandai till it turns golden color or crisp.
• I used sesame oil so it took little more time to roast compared to regular oil and also it won’t turn golden brown (Pic 7) like roasting in other oil.
• Once done transfer the pirandai to paper towel to absorb excess oil.
• In the same pan in same oil do fry cumin, pepper, garlic (can chop garlic for quick roasting), chili for 2-3 minutes in low flame (Pic 8).
• Once done do add urad dal (Pic 9) to the same spices and garlic and roast until dal turns golden brown (Pic 10).

• Once done, remove all to a paper towel to absorb excess oil (Pic 12).
• In the same pan also add the same garlic along with chana dal.
• If needed then add few drops of oil and roast until it turns golden brown (Pic 11), also drain excess oil.
• Let all the ingredients cool completely, Once cooled do grind in batches (Pic 13).
• In the first batch add pirandai (Pic 13) and powder along with half of other ingredients mixture (Pic 14).
• For the last batch add hing and necessary salt (Pic 15), also I powdered first batch coarse and the last little fine powder.
• Mix well (Pic 16) and store in an air tight container.

• If making bigger batch then add salt when required.
• Serve this podi along with oil or ghee , rice or Idli dosa varieties.

Pirandai Podi Recipe Card

From this Pirandai Podi recipe, I am starting my own series called “Recipes From My Garden Fresh Produce”. Do keep watching for more interesting and unique recipes using my garden grown fresh produce.

Pirandai Podi Variations

1. Since I used more chili the color of podi looks vibrant red instead of green.
2. You can use upto 1 cup of cleaned Pirandai for this recipe.
3. Garlic gives good flavor to this podi anyways you can skip this ingredient.
4. Sauté a small gooseberry size tamarind along with dal and grind if you are making this podi particularly for rice.

Video Tutorial