Puliyodharai
புளியோதரைపులిహోరIn Telugu homes the related dish is pulihora.
Temple-style tamarind rice with roasted lentils, peanuts and crisp curry leaves.
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Tamarind rice or Puliyodharai is one of the traditional dishes that always made its venerable and much anticipated appearance at our picnics. It is fondly associated with travel as a comfort food... my children hated me for that and with a big grin always said "Oh Mom!! Not again the same rice"... Obviously it was difficult to adapt to the food here in Germany during our initial days. But not any more... Now tamarind rice is only made either for a festive occasion, potluck, party or just when we feel like having it!! But, nothing can beat the tamarind rice or puliyodharai given in temples as prasadam, which is my all time favourite!! Don't be intimidated with the long list of ingredients... making the tamarind paste is a little time consuming but when made in bulk and stored; it is handy with minimum efforts.
Method
Spice powder
4 stepsHeat oil in a pan over medium heat and roast all the spice-powder ingredients except asafoetida and curry leaves until aromatic and the lentils turn golden brown.
Add asafoetida and curry leaves and sauté until the curry leaves are crisp.
Turn off the heat and let the roasted ingredients cool.
Grind to a coarse powder in a blender. Set aside.
Tamarind paste
7 stepsSoak the chana dal in hot water for about 10 minutes.
Soak the tamarind in 2 cups of hot water and extract thick juice.
Add another cup of water, squeeze well, strain and discard the pulp.
Add the drained dal, green chillies, oil, turmeric, salt and sugar to the tamarind extract.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Let it reduce to two-thirds of the quantity.
Add the spice powder and boil for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
Seasoning
1 stepHeat oil and add the seasoning ingredients one after the other in the order given, except asafoetida and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds splutter and the nuts and lentils turn golden, add asafoetida and curry leaves and turn off the heat. Pour the seasoning into the tamarind paste and mix well.
Tamarind rice
4 stepsSpread the cooked rice on a plate to cool. Add oil and turmeric while it is still warm. Once cool, mix gently without breaking the rice.
Add 2 tablespoons of the tamarind paste and mix by hand so every grain is coated. Add another tablespoon if needed.
Rest for at least 30 minutes so the rice takes on the flavours.
Adjust salt and serve.
Tips
- Adjust the heat with the dry red chillies in the spice powder or the green chillies in the tamarind paste.
- The tamarind paste keeps 3 to 4 weeks in the fridge, longer with a little more oil.
- You can make the seasoning for the whole paste, or in small batches each time you make the rice. The quantities above are for the whole paste.
- Give the rice at least 30 minutes after mixing before serving.