Pulihora ( Tamarind rice)

It’s the recipe for ever-green, ever-favorite…ever relished pulihora. Many versions are available to this. People add Sesame seeds powder or mustard-red chilly paste (ava petti).  This is recipe normal pulihora.  Adding sesame seeds however improves the taste (I mentioned them as optional ingredients)

 INGREDIENTS:-

Rice:  - 2 glasses

Tamarind:  - big lemon sized ball (soak in water for about 30 minutes. We can extract thick pulp)

Dry chilies:  - 2-3

Green chilies:  - 5-6 slit lengthwise

Oil:  - 1½ tablespoon

Peanuts:  - 1 cup

Channa dal/ Bengal gram/pachi senagapappu :- ½ cup

Urad dal/ Black gram/Minapappu:- ¼  cup

Mustard seeds:- 1 tablespoon

Karivepaku/ Curry leaves:  - 6-7 (tender ones)

Hing (asaeftoda) :- 1 pinch

Jaggery :- a small piece

Salt:  - as required

Turmeric:  - ½ tablespoon

Optional ingredients:-

Sesame seeds

Dry chillies :- 2-3

Chana dal:  - ½ tablespoon

Urad dal:  - ½ tablespoon

Dry roast all these and grind them into a powder.

METHOD:

1. Boil the rice in cooker . See that rice is not overcooked.  The grain should be separate.
2. Spread it in large plate and allow it to cool.
3. In a separate pan add oil and add curry leaves, chana dal,urad dal, peanuts and fry them until peanuts roast well ( do not burn them )
4. Add mustard seeds, dry chilies to the oil and allow them to splutter
5. Meanwhile extract tamarind pulp from tamarind.  See that extracted pulp is thick.
6. Add this extracted pulp into pan and add slit green chillies , jaggery piece, salt and turmeric powder.
7. Stir them till ingredients are well mixed and cook them covering with a lid until oil separates from the pulp.
8. Allow this mixture to cool. Add it to the boiled rice and mix it well.
9. You can alternatively add sesame seeds powder while mixing rice with tamarind pulp. Allow this to stay for 1 hr and pulihora tastes just awesome  J