Pulihora/Tamarind Rice

Pulihora/Tamarind Rice

Pulihora, Puliyodhara, or Chitrannam is a very common preparation in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka. Puli means sour in taste.

It is made with tamarind as an ingredient and is very popular in southern India.

In the districts of Andhra Pradesh, it is considered as a festival food. It is given as prasad in temples.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups cooked rice or leftover rice(rice with each grain separate)
• 4-5 slit green chillies
• 2 dry red chillies
• 10-15 curry leaves
• 1 tea spoon finely chopped ginger
• big lemon sized tamarind
• 1 table spoon sesame seeds powder
• 1 table spoon roasted peanuts powder
• 1 tea spoon ready made rasam powder
• salt to taste
• 1-2 tea spoon sugar
• 3 table spoon raw peanuts
• 1 tea spoon urad Dal
• 1 table spoon chana Dal
• 1 tea spoon mustard seeds
• pinch of hing/asafoetida
• pinch of cumin seeds/jeera
• 1 tea spoon turmeric powder/haldi
• 3 table spoon oil

Method:

Soak tamarind in hot water and remove juice.

Heat oil in a vessel, add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start popping add dry red chillies, cumin seeds, urad dal, channa dal and raw peanuts . Fry for a minute till they turn light brown in colour.

Now add  green chillies, curry leaves, asafoetida and turmeric powder. Stir fry for half a minute.

Add Tamarind juice, salt, sugar and rasam powder. let it boil for few minutes then add sesame seeds powder and roasted peanuts powder. Cook till oil separates and the masala paste becomes a bit thick. The masala should not be very watery nor too thick. Check the seasoning. Then add cooked and cooled rice. Mix well so that all the rice is coated with pulihora masala.

Cover the vessel and let the rice heat through. Then turn off the heat.

Pulihora is now ready.