Gunpowder

I have searched many Indian cookbooks for this hot relish, but have not found anything that quite matches it. It is evidently a nickname for a hot kind of sambhar masala, or a variation of what some books call mulagapodi. My recipe is from a South Indian chef at the Maurya Sheraton Hotel in New Delhi.

I always dry-fry my Gunpowder, but if you prefer you can fry each ingredient separately in hot oil and drain them on absorbent paper before grinding them. The quantities