• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
    • My Story
    • Portfolio
    • Subscribe!
    • Privacy policy
  • Recipes
    • By Diet
      • Vegetarian
      • Vegan
      • Gluten-free
    • By Series
      • 5 Ingredients or less
      • Table for two
      • BAKED not Fried
      • On-screen Food
    • By Meal
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers
      • Lunch/Dinner
      • Desserts
      • Sauces and curry
      • Drinks & Beverages
      • Snacks
      • Dips and Sides
  • Resources
    • For Bloggers
    • Travelogue
    • Kitchen Wisdom
  • Perspective
  • Green Life
  • Shop
  • Contact

Love is in my Tummy

Plant-based flavor

June 16, 2014 By Tina Dawson 2 Comments

Puliyodharai – Tamarind rice – Puliyogare

Puliyodharai-Puliyogare

It’s amazing how a change of place will change the way you look at things. As long as I was in Chennai, I was never a big fan of ‘mixed rice’ or what we call ‘kalandha sadham’. Lemon rice, oh that’s the worst, I hate it. I did like coconut rice, but again, if there was another option, these always got left behind.

But after I moved to this country, I’ve been craving the trivial things. A couple of weeks back, I was craving Tamarind rice.

My mother isn’t the most traditional of women, we never made tamarind rice from scratch. Ours always came out of an MTR ready-mix packet. So this was a first time for me. My first time making Tamarind rice from scratch. And I must say, I am never buying off the shelf again!

There are tons of recipes out there, but I wanted one from a very reliable source, so I chose Sailusfood.  She is amazing. Please check out her space.

I got this new spice/coffee grinder from Amazon. It was an impluse buy, I really didn’t need it. But it was so tiny and the first test run after delivery grinding peppercorns, I was sold! I love it! Will post pictures sometime. I absolutely adore that coffee grinder!

Part of the reason I made this recipe from scratch was because I needed an excuse to use that spice/coffee grinder.  So here you go, a simple and super quick recipe for a very tasty dish.

Puliyodharai serves 4


For the rice:
– 2 cup raw rice
– 4 cups water
For the dry mix:
– 2 1/2 tbsp  Whole coriander seeds (dhaniya)
– 1 tbsp Channa dal
– 1/2 tbsp Urad dal
– 1/2 tsp methi seeds
– 1/2 tsp whole Cumin
– 1 1/2 tbsp white sesame seeds
–  2 sprigs of Curry leaves (roughly 15 leaves)
– 1/2 tbsp black pepper corns
– 4-5 Dry red chillis (mine was a spicier chilly, so it blew my top. Use your usual chilli according to judgement)
For the tadka:
– 3tbsp Gingelly/Sesame oil
– 1/2tsp mustard seeds
– 1 tbsp channa dal
– 1tbsp urad dal
– 1/4tsp Asafoetida/Hing
– 2 dry red chillis, torn in half
– 1/2tsp turmeric powder
– 1 sprig curry leaves, stem removed.
–  Lime sized ball of tamarind flesh (soak in 1/2 cup water and extract pulp – See notes )
– 1/2tbsp Jaggery
– 2 fistfuls peanuts, preferably already roasted.
– Salt to taste


Method:
– Cook rice using your prefered method, such that the grains are whole and non-sticky. Spread in a large bowl or plate to cool completely. If slightly sticky, stir in a tbsp oil and let cool. 
– In the meantime, dry roast all  the ingredients listed under ‘For the dry mix’ in a flat pan under low heat- corriander seeds, channa dal, urad dal, methi, cumin, sesame seeds, curry leaves, black pepper corns and dry red chills. Make sure it doesn’t burn. Set aside to cool completely. Once cooled, grind in a dry spice grinder jar, or a small coffee grinder. Spread in a plate and let cool. If you don’t let it cool, water might condense, and reduce shelf-life of any leftover powder.
– Now, we use all the ingredients listed under ‘For the tadka’. This is the final step, you are almost done. Hang in there tiger!
–  Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Once hot, drop in one or two mustard seeds and wait till it pops. When it does, add the rest of the mustard seeds. Once they begin popping, add the channa dal and urad dal and wait till they turn light brown. 
– Next, add the dry red chillis, turmeric powder, asafoetida , curry leaves and fry for a minute. 
– Add the tamarind extract and jaggery and cook on medium flame till the tamarind thickens and the raw smell disappears. Stir constantly to prevent burning.
– Remove from heat.
– Add 3/4th of the tamarind mixture to the rice, along with 2 heaped tablespoons of the dry spice mix. add salt and adjust. Taste check. If it feels dry or less tangy, add more tamarind paste. If it feels less spicy or less flavoursome, add some more powder. 
– Let sit for the flavours to absorb into the rice.
– Best eaten a few hours later. Tastes even better the next day. 
– Store any remaining dry spice mixture in a clean, dry container. 
– Refrigerate any remaining tamarind paste.
– Enjoy!


Note:
1. Tamarind extract – The quickest way to do this, is to boil the tamarind flesh in water (I microwave for 30 seconds), wait till it cools, then smash it with your hands. sieve using fingers or strainer to remove remaining pulp, and retain the juice. 
2. This is best made with left-over, refrigerated rice. Freshly cooked rice will retain some of its starch, making the final output invariably sticky, unless you really add a lot of oil. But having said that, it will still taste great with freshly cooked rice. 
3. If you think the process is really tedious, plan ahead, and make the paste and powder well in advance. Store the powder in a clean, dry jar, and refrigerate the paste. When you need it, simply cook rice, and mix together. Instant gratification. 
4. The recipe calls for Gingelly/Sesame oil. Because we Tamilians love gingelly oil, and somethings just taste better with it. In our heads, it is second only to Ghee. But that’s just us. Feel free to replace with any oil of your choice. But remember, gingelly/ sesame oil is very good for health. 

You might also like

  • Vegan Coconut CurryVegan Coconut Curry
  • Baked Navratna Mixture – Indian Trail MixBaked Navratna Mixture – Indian Trail Mix
  • Baked Mashed Potato FriesBaked Mashed Potato Fries
  • Oven Roasted Chana DalOven Roasted Chana Dal
  • Microgreen Methi DalMicrogreen Methi Dal
  • Oven Roasted Moong Dal | Mung BeansOven Roasted Moong Dal | Mung Beans

Filed Under: All Recipes, Cuisines, Indian, Lunch/Dinner, Uncategorized, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: Indian, Rice, South Indian, Vegan, Vegetarian

Previous Post: « Banana Walnut Muffins
Next Post: 5 ingredient Beetroot Halwa »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. joy says

    April 23, 2015 at 5:13 am

    Good day! I was so impressed to see a very well-presented dishes that is absolutely tasty and delicious. You've done a great job.Well, thank you for sharing your talent and article it is very well appreciated.

    Reply
    • Tina Dawson says

      May 28, 2015 at 10:42 pm

      Thanks for the compliment Joy. And thanks for stopping by.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Tina Dawson Profile Picture

Hi! I'm Tina - the human behind all the content you see on this blog. Welcome to my little corner of the internet where I create flavorful and unique plant-based recipes.

Read More…

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe to Email Newsletter

5 Ingredients or Less Ebook Cover

The Blank Canvas Store - Food Photography Backgrounds and Props Store

BUY CUSTOM FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY BACKGROUNDS + PROPS

Don’t Miss These!

VEGAN Pumpkin Shaped Rolls

VEGAN Pumpkin Shaped Rolls

Caramelised Onions in a plate

Caramelized Onions

VEGAN Iced Mocha Latte on wooden plate with coffee beans strewn on table

VEGAN Iced Mocha Latte

Raspberry Iced Tea

Raspberry Iced Tea

Dairy-free Mocha Hazelnut Cappuccino

[V] Mocha Hazelnut Cappuccino

Puff Pastry Voodoo dolls on a table with Halloween things

Puff pastry Voodoo Dolls

Copyright © 2023 · LOVEISINMYTUMMY · PRIVACY POLICY · CONTACT · StudioPress Themes

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptReject Learn More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT