puliyodharai | Tamarind rice

Puliyodharai (puli sadam) is the authentic south Indian dish. Puliyodharai is served in most of the temples as prasadham. The roasted flavor of masalas and sesame oil is secret ingredients of puliyodharai. It taste divine, when the rice gets all the flavors of tamarind and roasted powder. When puli kaychal is prepared ahead, mixing with rice is easy and suits for traveling and lunch boxes. 

Even though the measurements are given exactly, the taste varies depending upon the spice of chilly level and tanginess of tamarind. So please add or reduce the tamarind and red chilly as per your taste...

Ingredients:

• Boiled rice - 2 cups
• Tamarind - 1 big lemon sized ball
• Salt - to taste
• Sesame oil - 1/4 cup
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp 
• Red chilly - 1
• Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

To roast :

• Red chilly(round shaped) - 6
• Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida(hing) - 1/2 tsp

To temper:

• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Peanuts - 2 tbsp
• Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
• Chana dal - 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida  - a pinch
• Curry leaves - 5

Method:

Boil the rice and allow it to cool in a wide plate by mixing a tsp of oil. Soak the tamarind in warm water for 15 minutes. Extract the tamarind pulp by adding more water and filter it. (say 2 cups of tamarind water)

Heat a pan and dry roast coriander seeds, fenugreek(methi) seeds and fry till golden brown and finally add hing. In the same pan add a tbsp of oil in a pan, add red chilly and fry till it changes to deep red color. Remove and keep aside. Cool completely. In a mixer, grind all the ingredients to a fine powder. Keep aside.

Heat a pan with 3 tbsp of oil, add mustard seeds after it crackles add red chilly, tamarind water, turmeric powder and salt. Let it boil in a low-medium flame.

Boil till it thickens and leaves oil, at this stage add the roasted powder and mix well. Switch off. Cool completely.

Heat the small pan and add a tsp of oil and add all the ingredients given 'to temper' and fry till peanuts and dals are fried till golden brown. Transfer to rice and mix the pulikaychal and mix well.

Serve with chips or any vegetable fry. 

Note:

• Raw rice suits well for puliyodharai. You can use basmati rice too. For former use 1:2 ratio of rice and water; for later use 1:1.5 ratio.
• After rice is mixed in puli kaichal there should be a minimum of 3 to 4 hours standing time for a divine taste. Salt and tanginess should be more while mixing. After standing time the rice will absorb and would be perfect.
• Do not mix the whole pulikaichal in rice, do check the taste and mix. If more store for future use.
• The pulikaichal can be store in refrigerator for upto 6 months.