Veppampoo Podi, or Neem Flower Powder, is a wonderful way to incorporate neem flowers into our diet. Commonly used in Indian cooking, it offers numerous medicinal benefits despite its bitter taste. Using fresh neem flowers in cooking is ideal, though collecting them can be quite a task due to their small size. At our home, we have a Neem tree, and my mom uses a clever method to gather the flowers. She spreads a clean cloth under the tree and waits for the flowers to naturally fall onto it. She then carefully sifts through them, removing any dust or debris.
If you’re planning to use the neem flowers immediately, you can do so without any additional steps. However, if you wish to store them for future use, it’s important to sun-dry the flowers. My mom sun-dries the neem flowers and stores them in a bottle, where they can be kept for a long time. These dried flowers can be used in various recipes, such as Veppampoo Rasam, Veppampoo Thogayal, and Veppampoo Podi. They are also an essential ingredient in the traditional Pachadi made for Tamil New Year.
Health Benefits of Veppampoo
Veppampoo Podi, or Neem Flower Powder, is not only a flavourful addition to meals but also comes with several health benefits. Neem flowers are known for their medicinal properties and are widely used in traditional Indian medicine. Here are some of the health benefits of eating Veppampoo Podi.
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Digestive Aid: Neem flowers help in improving digestion and relieving digestive issues like bloating, gas, and constipation. Their natural bitterness stimulates the production of digestive enzymes, promoting better digestion.
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Detoxification: The detoxifying properties of neem flowers help cleanse the body by flushing out toxins, which can improve overall health and prevent various ailments.
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Blood Sugar Control: Regular consumption of neem flowers is believed to help regulate blood sugar levels, making it beneficial for people with diabetes or those looking to manage their blood sugar levels.
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Antimicrobial Properties: Neem flowers have strong antimicrobial properties, which can help protect the body against infections, particularly in the digestive system.
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Anti-inflammatory Effects: The anti-inflammatory properties of neem flowers can help reduce inflammation in the body, which is beneficial for conditions like arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.
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Skin Health: Consuming neem flowers is also thought to contribute to better skin health. The detoxifying and antimicrobial effects can help in reducing skin problems like acne and rashes.
Incorporating Veppampoo Podi into your diet is a simple and effective way to reap these health benefits. Whether sprinkled over rice, mixed into dishes, or used in traditional recipes like Veppampoo Rasam and Thogayal, it adds a unique flavor while supporting your health.
This recipe is part of the A to Z Recipe Challenge, where bloggers select an ingredient based on a specific alphabet and create a dish around it. For this month, the letter is ‘N,’ and I’ve chosen neem flowers as my ingredient.
Please Check my other podi recipes
Dosai milagai podi / idli podi
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Veppampoo Podi / Neem flower powder
Equipment
- Mixie
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Channa dal - 2 tbsp
- 4 tbsp Toor dal - 4 tbsp
- 2 tbsp Urad dal - 2 tbsp
- 8 nos Bedigi chilli - 8 nos
- 1/3rd cup Neem flower / Veppampoo - 1/3 rd cup
- 1/4th cup Dried curry leaves - 1/4 th cup
- As req Salt - As req
Instructions
- Take a pan and add channa dal. Keep it in medium flame and roast it until they are golden brown. Once they turn golden brown, transfer it to a plate.
- In the same pan, add toor dal and roast it until golden brown and transfer to a plate.
- Then add urad dal and roast it in the same like we roasted the other two dal.
- Add red chilli (bedigi) and slightly roast it in low flame.
- Then add the dried neem flower and slightly heat it. There is no need to roast well.
- Now all the ingredients to be roasted are done.
- Along with this take dried curry leaves and the required amount of salt for this powder.
- Allow al the ingredients to cool and grind them to a fine powder.
- Veppampoo podi / Neem flower powder is ready.
- We can serve this with idli, dosai or with hot rice and a dollop of ghee.
Video
Notes
- If you are using fresh curry leaves, you have to sun dry or roast it to get rid of the moisture.
- I have used Bedigi chilli that gives beautiful colour to the powder but less spicy. So if using guntur chilli or any other spicy chilli, use less numbers.
Dried Neem flower
INSTRUCTIONS
- Take a pan and add channa dal. Keep it in medium flame and roast it until they are golden brown. Once they turn golden brown, transfer it to a plate.
- In the same pan, add toor dal and roast it until golden brown and transfer to a plate.
- Then add urad dal and roast it in the same way like we roasted the other two dal.
- Add red chilli (bedigi) and slightly roast it in low flame.
- Then add the dried neem flower and slightly heat it. There is no need to roast well.
- Now all the ingredients to be roasted are done.
- Along with this take dried curry leaves and the required amount of salt for this powder.
- Allow all the ingredients to cool and grind them to a fine powder.
- Veppampoo podi / Neem flower powder is ready.
- We can serve this with idli, dosai or with hot rice and a dollop of ghee.
Note
If you are using fresh curry leaves, you have to sun dry or roast it inorder to get rid of the moisture.
I have used Bedigi chilli that gives beautiful colour to the powder but less spicy. So if using guntur chilli or any other spicy chilli, use less numbers.
This recipe is a part of A to Z challenge, a challenge initiated by bloggers Jolly Makkar and Vidya Narayan on Facebook Group, wherein a group of bloggers come together and we choose key ingredients alphabetically to cook and post a dish every month. This month alphabet is ‘N’, so my contribution for this month is Neem flower Powder.
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Thank you !!
OMG .. this is very healthy. How I wish I could get the Neem flowers to make this podi. It will taste so good with plain rice and ghee,
This is such a simple yet healthy recipe, Niranjana. Vepam Poo has so many health benefits that we tend to overlook in avoiding its bitter taste. A podi like this helps us include this bitter herb in our food easily.
Neem flower podi sounds so simple to make yet healthy and tasty. I can imagine the heavenly taste when served with rice and a dollop of ghee.
Thank you so much
That is surely an interesting ingredient to choose, and how healthy! Neem is always known for its goodness and contribution to health, and the podi looks so good…
Thank you Rafeeda 🙂
Such a classic recipe, delicious and healthy. I’d love to have this podi with rice and ghee.
Thank you Priya.. Same here, love with hot rice & ghee or gingelley oil.
Wow much needed recipe for this pandemic time. Loved your click and presentation. I would love to have it with hot steamed rice and ghee.
Thank you so much Sujatha di
Vepampoo podi looks very inviting and aromatic, niranjana ! we are huge fans of any podi , so am sure to make this soon -bookmarked !
This is such a healthy podi with neem flowers. Idli podi is always staple in our home. I would like to try this version sometime.
Do try it out sometime, you will like it
Podi is a great way to mask the taste of vepampoo especially for kids. A spoonfull of this podi with any breakfast dish or rice is absolutely delicious. Loved the recipe Niranjana.
Thanks a ton Vidya. Btw, nowadays whenever I make any type of podi or thogayal, I think about you. I know you are a grt fan of these. Interesting is you have made thogayal for the theme
An interesting recipe Niranjana, I’ve never used neem flowers in any of my cooking. Making a podi with the leaves and flowers seems a good place for a novice like me to start using the flowers. What a brilliant way to collect the flowers by putting a clean cloth to collect them when they fall.
Neem flowers has many health benefits but never used it in my cooking cozy its bitter taste, but simple pods recipe like this is a great option to include these flowers .
Do try it out Paarul. This is not so bitter when eaten as podi.
Wow, never knew that podi can be made out of neem flowers. Such an innovative idea to include neem in our diet. So rich in flavor and nutrition. Awesome post for the challenge
Thank you so much Anshu
Wow that’s such an interesting recipe Niranjana, I’ve never used neem flowers in any of my cooking. Making a podi with the leaves and flowers seems like a good idea. This looks an absolute yum, lovely recipe.
Thank you Jolly .
I see so many recipes with neem flowers but sadly don’t get here so that I can try.. this podi looks super inviting and can be used in so many versatile ways. loved your choice of neem flowers to make this podi.
Never tried neem flower in cooking but your post is tempting me to try out this healthy podi . I am definitely going to sundry the neem flowers next spring anduse it in my daily diet.
Thank you so much Poonam.
For years I have been using need oil for various home remedies, have eaten a lot of neem fruit. But never had the chance to try vepampoo. this podi sure is tempting. I will watchout for vepampoo when I see some this will be the first one to try.
Thank you Seema… Do try
Neem flower podi here sounds so simple to make. I can imagine
the flavor of this podi. Such a healthy and tasty share.
Thank you Sasmita
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