Prep Time : 10 mins
Cook Time : 25 mins
Serves: 3-4
Recipe Category: Variety Rice
Recipe Cuisine: South Indian (Tamil Iyengar)
Ingredients needed
Raw Rice -1 1/4 – 1 1/2 cup
Tamarind – 70 grams
Sesame seed Oil – 50 ml
Salt needed
Spice powder or Podi
Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp
White sesame seeds – 1 tsp
Coriander seeds – 2 tbsp
Red chillies – 5
For the seasoning
Mustard – 1 tsp
Urad dal – 4 tsp
Channa dal /Bengal gram – 4 tsp
Red chillies – 4 (break it into 2)
Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Roasted peanuts- 100 grams
Curry leaves – little
For the rice (for mixing)
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Sesame seed oil-2 tsp
Preparation : Dry roast fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds and red chillies until you get a nice aroma. Dry roast sesame seeds separately and powder everything together. Our spice powder for puliyodharai is ready. Keep it aside. Cook rice in such a way that each grains are separate. Soak tamarind in hot water (around 2 cups) and extract 2 cups of thick juice from it. Discard the pulp.
Method : Heat oil and add the ingredients mentioned under seasoning. You can remove red chilli and then add back to the oil to prevent it from getting burnt. When dal turns golden brown, add the thick tamarind extract, salt and let it boil on medium flame. Switch off when it thickens and oil oozes out. Now the tamarind paste or pulikachal (see Picture below) is ready. Let us see how to mix it with rice.
For mixing the rice : Spread the rice on a plate to cool. When it is warm, add 2 tsp sesame seed oil and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and mix it gently without breaking the rice. Once it cools, add needed spice powder, tamarind paste and mix the rice gently. Adjust spice powder and tamarind paste according to your taste. Delicious Tamarind rice or Puliyodarai is ready to be served. We enjoyed Puliyodarai with vadams and appalam.
Note – You can add less or more spice powder according to how hot you want the rice to be. Similarly, you can add less or more tamarind paste according to how sour you want the rice to be. Adjust as per your preferences. You can store the paste in the refrigerator for 7-10 days and use it when required.