Tamarind Rice (Puliyodharai Recipe)

tamarind rice recipe, puliyodharai recipe

5 from 23 votes

This Tamarind Rice recipe follows the traditional Tamil Nadu style of making Puliyodharai with tamarind pulp and a spiced tempering. The rice is mixed with a flavorful tamarind reduction for a balanced tangy taste. It is a vegan dish that stores well and can be served warm or at room temperature. Serve it as part of a South Indian meal or pack it for travel.

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Total Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: South Indian, Tamil Nadu

Diet: Vegan

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 555kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

For cooking rice

1 cup heaped sona masuri rice or 230 grams rice or 4 cups cooked rice
¼ to ⅓ teaspoon salt or add as required
2 to 2.5 cups water for cooking rice
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Spice powder for tamarind rice

4 dry red chillies
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon chana dal (split and husked bengal gram)
1 teaspoon urad dal (split and husked black gram)
¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi seeds)
¼ teaspoon whole black pepper
½ teaspoon sesame seeds
¼ teaspoon asafoetida (hing)

Tamarind pulp

50 grams tamarind or ⅓ cup tamarind - not tightly packed
2 cups hot water for tamarind pulp

Tempering & more ingredients

3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon urad dal (split and husked black gram)
1 teaspoon chana dal (split and husked bengal gram)
¼ cup peanuts
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
a pinch of asafoedita (hing)
1 sprig curry leaves or 10 to 12 curry leaves
2 to 3 dry red chillies
2 teaspoons jaggery powder
salt as required

Instructions

Cooking rice

Rinse 1 heaped cup sona masuri (230 grams) very well in water. Then add the rice in a pressure cooker. Also add ¼ to ⅓ teaspoon salt or add as required.
Add 2.5 cups water. You can add water depending on the quality of rice. Since I have not soaked the rice, I have added 2.5 cups water and also this rice takes a long time to cook as its hand pounded sona masuri rice.
For a regular variety of rice, you can add 2 cups water.
Pressure cook for 10 to 12 minutes or 3 to 4 whistles or till the rice is cooked well. Do ensure that the rice does not get overcooked.
For the hand pounded sona masuri rice, I pressure cooked for 14 minutes. When the pressure settles down on its own, remove the lid. Fluff the rice.
Remove the cooked rice in a large plate or tray or a large bowl and allow it cool.
When the rice becomes warm, add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 tablespoon sesame oil to it.
Mix well and keep aside. Mix gently so that the rice grains do not break. If there are lumps, then break the lumps.

preparing tamarind pulp

Take 50 grams tamarind or ⅓ cup tamarind (not tightly packed) in a bowl.
Add 2 cups hot water and soak the tamarind for 30 to 40 minutes.
Then squeeze the soaked tamarind and extract the pulp. Keep the bowl aside.

Making puliyodharai masala or spice mix

Heat a pan and then reduce the flame to a low.
Add all the whole spices mentioned under the list title 'spice powder' except asafoetida.
Stirring often roast them on a low flame or sim.
Roast till the urad dal and chana dal become light golden or golden. The entire mixture will become aromatic.
Once the lentils have browned well, then switch off the flame and add 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida/hing.
Mix very well and let the roasted spices cool.
Then in a dry grinder or a spice grinder, add all the spices. Break the red chilies and then add.
Grind to a fine powder. Keep aside.

Making pulikachal or tamarind reduction

Heat 3 tablespoon sesame oil in a pan.
Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon urad dal
Also add 1 teaspoon chana dal and ¼ cup peanuts. If you want you can roast or fry the peanuts separately also and add in the rice towards the end.
Saute on a low flame till the lentils turn golden. The peanuts will also get done by this time.
Once the peanuts as well as the lentils turn golden, then add 2 to 3 dry red chillies, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder/haldi and 10 to 12 curry leaves. You can even switch off the flame if you want.
Also add a pinch of asafoetida. Mix well.
Now strain the tamarind pulp and directly add in the tempering mixture. Strain very well. You can even strain tamarind pulp before and keep aside. Stir and mix everything.
Add salt and 1 to 2 teaspoons of jaggery powder. You can add less or more of jaggery or skip it.
Mix well and simmer the mixture on a low to medium flame.
Bring this tamarind mixture to a boil and continue to cook.
Cook till mixture has thickened a bit and you see oil floating on top.
Then add the ground spice powder.
Mix very well.
Continue to simmer the pulikachal for some more minutes. Do stir often.
Cook till the mixture becomes thick like a thick tamarind reduction.
Once this consistency is achieved, then switch off the flame. Keep the pan down.

Making tamarind rice

Add the pulikachal to the rice.
Gently mix very well.
After the mixing is done, you can serve right away or wait for some minutes for the flavors to infuse and then serve.
Serve tamarind rice with fried vadams or papads.

Notes

I have used a hand pounded variety of sona masuri rice in this Puliyodharai recipe, that takes longer to cook and wasn't even soaked. So, I added 2.5 cups water to cook it. If you are using a regular variety, add 2 cups. Additionally, it is the quality of rice which will decide on how much water to use.
While cooking the rice, make sure to not overcook it.
For best results, cook the Tamarind Rice in sesame oil. This is the way traditional tamarind rice is made.
The quantity of jaggery powder to be added depends on you. Add more or less or even skip it completely.
Make the pulikachal beforehand and keep in the refrigerator. This will save on time. Also, pulikachal stays well for about a month if refrigerated.
You can use store-bought tamarind pulp as well. But make sure to dissolve it well in water and then use.

Nutrition