Tamarind rice/ Puliyogare/ Puliyodharai is a famous and traditional dish in southern part of India. Puli means sour taste and ogara means rice, thus it means sour tasting rice. This dish is made with boiled rice mixed with tamarind juice and spice powder. This rice is served as prasad in many south Indian temples. Also it's a famous picnic lunch.
Ingredients
1 Cup of Boiled Rice
Lemon Size Tamarind
1/2 Tsp of Jaggery
Salt as needed
To Grind - I
2 Tbsp of Red Chillies
1 Tbsp of Coriander Seeds
1 Tbsp of Cumin
1 Tbsp of Fenugreek
Few Curry Leaves
1 Tbsp of Black Pepper
1/2 Tsp of Turmeric Powder
1/2 Tsp of Asafoetida
To Grind - II
2 Tsp of Coriander Seeds
To Temper
2 Tbsp of Sesame Oil or Gingelly Oil
1 Tsp of Mustard
1 Tsp of Urad Dal
1 Tbsp of Channa Dal
Few Curry Leaves
Pinch of Asafoetida
3 Tbsp of Roasted Peanuts
Few Cashews
1/2 Tsp of Turmeric Powder
Method
Soak tamarind in warm water for 15-20 mins and then extract the tamarind juice from it. keep it aside.
Powder -I
Heat a pan and dry roast all the " To Grind - I" ingredients to a golden brown and grind it into a fine powder. Only 2 tbsp is needed for this recipe and the remaining powder can be stored in a airtight container. In future, you can use this powder to make rasam.
Powder -II
Heat a pan and dry roast all the " To Grind - II" ingredients to a golden brown and grind it into a fine powder. Keep it aside.
Making of tamarind Sauce ( Pulikachal)
Heat a pan with tamarind juice, allow it to boil for 10 mins until raw smell vanishes or the volume reduced by half. Add 2 tbsp of powder I, stir well until the mixture gets thick. Once it done, switch off the stove.
- Heat a wide pan with oil, add the " To Temper " ingredients in the same order and fry until it turns light brown color. Add powder II and fry for a min. Add tamarind mixture, salt and jaggery. Stir well until the mixture gets thick like in the below photo. Switch off the stove. Let it cool down for 15-20 mins.
- Finally add the required boiled rice to the pan, drizzle little oil on top and give a quick stir. Let it rest for 30 mins before you serve.
Tips
- Water ratio for basmati rice is 1 :1.5 Cups of water.
- You can use powder I as rasam powder.
- Adding jaggery is optional. Adding jaggery is to balance the sourness of the tamarind juice.
- You can store the remaining tamarind sauce in the refrigerator, it will stay for 3-5 days.
- Tamarind has more health benefits it contains essential volatile chemical compounds, vitamins, fibers and minerals.
- Rich in tartaric acid, a powerful antioxidant.
- Acts as a blood purifier.