Remove any odd/pale leaves, very thick stems (Pic 1) from the picked leaves then soak them in water for a while say 20 minutes.

Rinse at least 4 times or until the water is clear.

Pat dry the cleaned ponnanganni leaves on a cloth and gently press to remove excess moisture (can use salad spinner).

I stored a batch in freezer for winter use and the remaining I transferred to parchment paper (refer video for these steps) .

I dried it under shade for 3 days and turned like shown in Pic 2 and Video at.

The leaves won't turn so crisp and when you break it won't break as well since it dried under shade for just 3 days.

Measure by pressing tightly the leaves in the measuring cup (Pic 3).

I just warmed the dried leaves a minute in hot pan (Pic 4) before sautéing the other ingredients.

To the same pan add oil, saute chana dal for first 2 minutes.

Then add red chilis to it and continue sautéing till dal turns golden brown (Pic 5).

Remove the dal and chili mixture and place it over kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.

To the same pan add urad dal (I didn't add oil but if you wish add few drops).

Saute the dal and once it changes golden brown, switch off the flame.

Add sesame seed to it (Pic 6) and saute a while, I used roasted sesame so the heat retained in the cast iron pan after it switched off was enough for me to warm it up.

If using unroasted sesame seeds roast them first in the dry pan till it changes color then add oil and roast the dals.

Let all the roasted ingredients cool completely before grind.

First grind the dried leaves to nice powder (Pic 7).

Later grind dal and chilis in batches (Pic 8 & 10).

Also grind dal to coarse texture which tastes good and we love that crunchiness in each bite (Pic 9).

Mix the ground stuff with salt (Pic 11) and hing powder (Pic 12).

I made a small batch that stays good for us for a week minimum.

If making a big batch do add salt whenever necessary.

Also this podi tastes good with rice and ghee combo.