Gunpowder

Definitions

1. An explosive mixture of saltpetre (potassium nitrate), charcoal and sulfur; formerly used in gunnery but now mostly used in fireworks.
   countable, uncountable
2. Idli podi/milagai podi; ground-up dry spices mixed with oil and ghee and served alongside idli or dosa.
   India, informal, uncountable
3. Ellipsis of gunpowder tea.
   abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“They have⟳ been a bold, heroic, and purely self dependent nation, never having either courted,—or been subdued by—other Tribes or Europeans. But what early mind⟳—a power—could face⟳ gunpowder and the firelocks? Hence their annihilation!”

“Some restaurants try⟳ and give⟳ their dosas the "ethnic" touch⟳ by slipping along a small dish of mulaga podi-gunpowder mixed with oil as well, but that isn't always enough.”

“It was a hardcore Andhra lunch from a restaurant famous for its lunch meals. And that is where I had my first run-in with 'gunpowder'. And to be honest, I hated it.”

“In fact, I’ve long suspected that the popularity of gunpowder or molagapodi outside South India has little to do with the burst⟳ of flavours it serves.”

CEFR level