Pulikachal - an instant spiced tamarind mix to make Puliyodharai/Tamarind rice in a jiffy

Most South Indians that travel are familiar with this staple that is usually made in large quantities at home before the travel date. When I was a child, the smell of pulikachal being made signified that the summer vacations were about to start. We would board the train, with a small koodai(basket) which held our dinner. Tamarind rice and curd rice, both wrapped in banana leaves from our backyard and then wrapped in a layer of newspaper and tied up with vazha naru( twine from the banana plant) would be placed in the koodai along with a bottle of water. The train had to move barely a few inches before we would start feeling hungry and start opening our packets of food. The smell of rice wrapped in heated banana leaves is truly something that you have to have experienced to understand. Mere words are not enough to describe how incredibly satisfying it is.

Pulikachal, the key ingredient in making puliyodharai/tamarind rice is sold as puliyodharai/puliyogare/tamarind rice mix in stores, but if you have a little bit of time, then it is easy to make at home.

What you need:
Tamarind - 1 lemon sized ball soaked in 2 cups of hot water
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste

For the spice powder:
Urad dal - 3 tsp
Red chilli - 7 or 8 (adjust based on your spice tolerance and the spiciness of the chillies used)
Coriander seeds - 3 tsp
Sesame seeds - 2 tsp

For tempering:
Sesame oil - 1/4 cup
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Chana dal - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli - 2, broken
Curry leaves - a sprig
Peanuts - 1/4 cup

Extract thick juice from the soaked tamarind and keep aside.

In a heavy bottomed pan, dry saute the urad dal, coriander seeds and red chilli until the dal turns reddish brown. Add sesame seeds and toast quickly till it starts to pop. Cool, powder and keep aside.

In the same pan, heat oil and add all the tempering ingredients except peanuts. When the mustard seeds pop and the dals turn reddish, add the peanuts and toast for a minute. Add tamarind extract, turmeric powder and salt. Let this boil over a medium flame until it starts to thicken and oil starts separating out from the sides. Switch off heat and add the spice powder. Mix well.
Once it cools completely, store in an air tight container. This can be stored at room temperature for a week and in the refrigerator for up to two months.

To make puliyodharai, add required quantity of pulikachal to cooked, cooled rice and mix well.Adding a spoon or two of sesame oil while mixing it with rice adds to the taste. I also feel that the rice absorbs the flavor of the mix better if it is allowed to sit for at least a few hours after mixing.

This is my entry to Blogging Marathon under the theme Kids' delight - Travel food.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#86.

This also goes to  Srivalli's Kids' Delight event guest hosted this month, by me, on the theme Travel Food.

Gongura puliyodharai

After a long time, I am joining the Blogging Marathon again, this time with Festival Special dishes as my theme for the week. Though the festival that has been chosen is Diwali, I am going to be starting with something new that I tried out during Navaratri and felt that it is good enough to be offered as prasadam. 

I have often seen gongura (sorrel leaves) in markets in India and now here in the US. However, the only form in which I have tasted it is the bottled Priya Gongura pickle and to me, all Priya pickles taste and smell the same.

 Recently, spurred on by my friend, I bought a bunch of these leaves with absolutely no idea as to what to do with it. I plucked one and ate it and realized that it was tart enough to be used as a substitute for tamarind.  That's how the idea to use it to make puliyodharai was born. In fact, in this particular dish, the term puliyodharai is a misnomer, as no puli (tamarind) has been used.

A little bit of google-ing told me that not many people had tried out this idea. However, Sailu had a recipe here, which I modified to my taste.

What you need:

Rice - 1 cup, cooked and cooled
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp (I used gingely oil, but any oil you regularly use/like will work)
Salt
Peanuts - a fistful

To fry :
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Dhania seeds - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Red chilli - 2
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Gongura leaves(washed) - 2 cups packed tight

Spread the cooked rice to cool. Add turmeric powder and 2 tsp of oil to it and set aside.
Heat a tsp of oil. In it, fry on low heat, the urad dal, chana dal, dhania, curry leaves, red chillies, and mustard. Set aside. Fry the washed gongura leaves in the same pan on a low flame till wilted. Let it cool.
Powder the fried spices to a coarse powder. Add the gongura and grind again to a paste without adding any water. Add this to the rice in small quantities and mix well. Add required amount of salt and mix. Top with some more curry leaves. Fry a fistful of peanuts in a teaspoon of oil and mix it into the rice.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#45

Semiya Puliyodharai

Sometimes, when I am in no mood to make anything elaborate or to eat out, this tiffin comes to the rescue. The ingredients are almost always available in any South Indian home and the time taken to make this is minimal.

What you need:
Vermicelli/semiya - 1 cup
Tamarind - a lemon sized ball, soaked in hot water for 15-20 minutes
Red chillies - 2 or 3
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Salt
Peanuts - a few
Gingely oil - 5 tsp

Heat oil in a pan. Add the broken red chillies, urad dal, chana dal, curry leaves and peanuts. When the dals turns red, add the mustard seeds. Extract thick juice from the tamarind. Add enough water to this extract to make 3 cups of thin tamarind juice. Add this to the pan once the mustard seeds pop. Once it starts boiling, add salt and the vermicelli. Stir well and let it boil until the vermicelli is cooked and all the moisture evaporates.

Puliyodharai - tamarind rice

I have always loved the puliyodharai that is handed out as prasadam in the temples of Tamilnadu. In fact, when we moved to Chennai, one of the things I really looked forward to is good puliyodharai. Unfortunately, most of the restaurants in Chennai don't serve this rice. They have it in their lunch menu, but if you ask for it, you'll find a sheepishly grinning waiter informing you that they only have sambar rice or some other variety rice. MTR ready mix puliyodharai powder does satisfy the craving every once in a while, but I find that I have to add more tamarind and more salt to the mix to suit our palate. This recipe is a simple one that I have come up with and fall back on whenever I need to make something in a hurry and don't want to spend a lot of time chopping vegetables.

What you need:
Rice - 1 cup
Tamarind - a lemon sized ball soaked in hot water
Red chillies - 3 or 4, broken into pieces
Urad dal - 3/4 tsp
Chana dal - 3/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida - a small piece
Curry leaves - a few sprigs
Groundnuts
Gingely oil - 3-4 tsps
Salt - to taste

Cook rice. Spread it on a plate and keep it aside to cool.
Heat oil in a pan. Add red chillies,urad dal, chana dal, methi seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves and mustard seeds. When the seeds pop, add the ground nuts and fry well. Extract thick juice from the soaked tamarind and pour this into the pan. Add turmeric powder, salt and stir well. Lower the heat and let it cook until most of the moisture has evaporated. Switch off the heat. Add the cooked rice and stir gently making sure that the tamarind paste coats all the rice.
Enjoy with fried appalam or vadam.
Check out what my fellow marathoners Srivalli, Priya Suresh, Monika, PJ, Azeema and Reva are cooking.