Tamarind Rice | Puliyodharai | Puliyogare

Tamarind rice or puliyodharai is one of the popular traditional South Indian recipes.  It is quite delicious and flavorful, easy to prepare and is a complete meal by itself and doesn't require any sides/accompaniments.  Serves as a great travel food too.

Ingredients:

• Cooked Rice - 2 cups
• Tamarind - 1 big lemon sized
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
• Powdered jaggery - 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Groundnuts/peanuts - a fist full 
• Salt - as per taste

To Temper:

• Oil - 3 tbsp (sesame seed oil)
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Dry red chillies - 2-3
• Urad dal - 2 tsp
• Channa dal - 1 tbsp
• Asafoetida/hing - 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few

To Roast and grind:

• Channa dal - 1 tbsp
• Urad dal - 1 tbsp 
• Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
• Dry red chillies - 5
• Fenugreek seeds/vendhayam - 1/2 tsp

How To Prepare Tamarind Rice/Puliyodharai:

• Soak tamarind in warm water for abour half an hour and extract thick tamarind juice and keep aside.
• Dry roast the groundnuts till they turn golden brown, cool them, remove the skin and keep aside.
• Heat a tsp of oil in a kadai and roast all the ingredients under the "To roast and grind" section to golden brown, allow them to cool and then powder them and keep aside.

• Heat oil in a kadai and add the ingredients under "to temper" section in the order mentioned and fry them till the dal turns light brown.
• Then add the tamarind extract, turmeric, salt and mix well.
• Add enough water and let it boil in medium/low flame for about 10-15 minutes.
• Once the volume of water reduces to half, add jaggery and the ground powder and mix well and let it boil again in low flame till the mixture becomes thick.
• Add the groundnuts and mix well and remove from fire.

• Add this mixture to the cooked rice (do not use the entire mixture, add only as much as required) and mix well.  Adjust salt as required.
• Keep covered and allow it to rest for at-least half an hour before you serve.
• The puliyodharai is ready to be served with papads or potato chips. 

Notes:

• The mixture, if any left, can be stored in the refrigerator.  Stays good for at least a week.
• Can use basmati rice too to prepare this puliyodharai.  I have used normal rice here.
• Adjust the red chillies quantity to suit your taste buds.