Puliyotharai-Tamarind rice

Launch a keyword search "pulihora or tamarind rice", sure your search engine will not deceive with variety of versions!
Puliyodarai is purely associated as a travel food by a Southie, temple prasadam (offering), etc... South Indian consumes primarily rice everyday, usually the leftover rice is turned out into any variety rice. In olden days, there was no refrigerator to store any leftover. This tamarind rice is boomed in that era. The tamarind and gingerly oil keep the rice intact for 2 to 3 days without refrigeration.
My mom was not fond of any mixed rice and prepares only when we travel. But, I lived near "Venkateswara temple", we can view one corner of the temple from my home. Getting up in middle of the sleep hearing "Suprabatham" loud in speakers. Me and my brothers will try to cover the head with blanket and continue to sleep until we hear my mom voice yelling is "late for school". Now, everything changed , no more loud devotional songs, people considered as a "disturbance / nuisance". The temple needs a special notice to use speakers!
Everyday, we use to run for the prasadam mostly is: puliyotharai! We get the offering/prasadam in hands, finish eating in seconds and wipe the oily hands in dress. Go back stand in line for second offering! That was so much fun! Now they serve in thonnai (small dry leaf cup) and wash basin is available to wash your hands. You have to sit and no more second offering :( Whenever we go back India, I visit often the temple with my son, he is so fond of Tamarind rice and call it Temple rice!
I recreated with the base of my mom recipe, the spice powder really gives a spicy twist! This version tastes similar to the temple puliyotharai that I use to have in my town.





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Tamarind rice gravy/ pulli Kuzhambu

Tamarind (mix of Aged* and fresh* one): A big lemon size
Water: enough water to soak

Tamarind we have two varieties: Aged and New tamarind
*New tamarind-pudu pulli : is fresh crop is lighter in color and have very tangy taste
*Aged tamarind/pazham pulli: probably a year old or more, visually is darker and the taste is slightly sweeter.
Best for tamarind base gravy.

Keep a lemon size ball of Tamarind + water in microwave for a minute. Extract the juice and remove the pulp. Do not add more water - If it is liquidy it takes a long time to reduce in stove!


Seasonning:
Gingelly oil/sesame oil: 1/4 cup (the more u add, the rice is tasty and will not be spoiled)
Hing/asafoetida: two pinch
Roasted Peanuts: 3 tbsp
Dry red chilli: 4  broken into small pieces
Mustard seeds: 1 ttsp
Channa dhal: 1 tbsp
Curry leaves : few leaves
Turmeric: 1/2 tsp

Method

Heat the oil , start with hing and add ingredients mentioned in list above. Once you hear the cracking sound, pour the tamarind juice.
Reduce the heat in medium, it may splatter when it starts to boil. Add a little salt (about 1/2 tsp) you can always adjust later will mixing the rice.
Stop the stove when the oil starts to float in top and the mixture is thicken!
Once cooled, store always in glass container.
The gravy stays fresh for months in fridge if used properly!


Spice powder
Dry roast & grind

Sesame seeds: 1 tbsp
Coriander seeds: 2 tsp
Dry Chilli : 2 to 3
Fennugreek: 1/8 tsp

Method:

Dry roast all the ingredients, cool it and grind into fine powder. Store in seperate container.


How to make Puliyodarai?

Ingredients:
steamed rice
Tamarind gravy: Look above for recipe
Powder: Look above for recipe

Cool completely the rice in plate. The grain should be separate.
Now add little amount of tamarind gravy (about 1 or 2t sp), best if mixed with your clean hands! Sprinkle the spice powder mix, taste the salt and tamarind level. Mix according ur taste.




Be patient, give an hour or two before serving, it is best only after few hours!

Sending to CWS-Fennugreek created by Priya and hosted By Denufood!

Comments

Unknown said…
Perumal Kovil Puliyamsadam is the ultimate one Cham..Yours makes my mouth water..What a taste, what flavor...mmmm..

very useful for packing and traveling too..Long time since I made pulikaichal..thanks for sharing..


http://ruchikacooks.com
gtyuk said…
puliyodharai and the temple anecdotes make me nostalgic Cham, I miss that fragrance around the temples and that "India sound" that auto / cows/children playing cricket on roads, people talking loud, all this I miss so much :)

your puli kaachal looks absolutely delicious, thick and perfect!!! I noted that you add the spice mixture separately unlike me, that's a nice idea to enhance the flavour of the sauce!!! delicious post!!!! have a nice day !!!
Unknown said…
Puliyodharai looks tangy n yummy Cham!
Sonia said…
Ah! your bowl of rice is making me hungry yaar. Tamarind rice look so beautiful. :)
Anonymous said…
I like tamarind rice but my husband doesn't like it.... and am lazy to prepare it just for myself... :) Temple rice has a different flavor and is very yummy... :) Nice click!!
Soma said…
I always make my tamarind rice from store bought paste. never made at home. This looks absolutely gorgeous.
Soma(www.ecurry.com)
Lakshmi said…
LOved the pic Cham..I felt a sudden urge to make it... Karnataka version has jaggery, sambar powder in it :D
Gita Jaishankar said…
We too have a temple nearby, so I think I know what you are saying...but these days I do miss those sounds :)...puliodarai looks fantastic Cham...I too make this very often, this is my hubby's favorite :)
suvi said…
Cham, enjoyed reading your write-up! I can pictures you wiping your palms on your dress - LOL!
Tamarind rice looks yum, the last picture is awesome.
Laavanya said…
Perfect looking pulitodharai Cham - makes me want to have some right away and it was so much fun to read ur memories...
Nandinis food said…
I also have a fondness for tamarind rice. When I don't feel like preparing a meal, I always make this rice. Yours is lovely and scrumptious and I want to "labak" the gravy!
Unknown said…
Hi Cham, that bowl of rice looks yummy :) for me tamarind rice never been a success, its always either too wet or too dry..cham the samosa was a bit too crunchy when baked in oven, i used just one layer of wrapper per samosa, sprayed pam, and waited, i guess deep frying gives it better texture.
Unknown said…
Puliyotharai looks absolutely yum....the puli kaichal is tempting!!
Sharmila said…
I have some old tamarind and some left over rice ... this sounds perfect for lunch! Loved the chilhood story Cham. :-)
Fathima said…
wow... what a click! Makes me want to have it now!
Deepthi Shankar said…
wow, talk about prasadams, I love it so much .. this looks very yummy
PJ said…
The tamarind rice looks so yummy and delicious! Loved reading about how things have changed since your childhood to now with the temple and its surroundings, made me very nostalgic :)
Bong Mom said…
I love tamarind rice, never knew the reason behind it, amazing that keeps well for 2-3 days without refrigeration

Loved your temple tale :)
sra said…
Till I was in college and saw others travelling with pulihora, i never knew it was a travel food, Cham! For us, it was always festive food, or made just like that. I even saw a roommate bringing eggs with pulihora on a journey, and I know it's a favourite for picnics, along with curd rice!
Divya Kudua said…
I stayed next door to a temple too:):).

I started acquiring a taste for Puliyogarai after coming to Chennai.I've had it in so many temples and loved it.Never tried making it at home..have tried with MTR puliyogarai mix but it wasn't up to the mark.Shall def try your version..looks so so good!!
Radhika said…
kovil puliodarai or pattai sadam is the ultimate.
vandana rajesh said…
The puliyodharai looks yumm cham. I just love it. A friend had got a readymade paste and made puliyodharai and it was just too good have since been looking for the tamarind paste recipe. Thks for sharing the recipe looks mouthwatering.
Finla said…
First time I ate this was in my last trip to India, I was staying with my sis in B'lore and her daughter came home aftr school and told us she ate delicous piliyothari from her friends lunch box and I was like, what is that? and my niece was so shocked that I have never had this, she made my sis make it next day so i could eat them :-)
Yeah my mom also didn't make anything like this.
Looks so so good.
Unknown said…
love this anytime and any place..looks deliicous..
Rachana said…
Wow!!! beautiful clicks...can almost feel the tangy taste of this yummy rice:)
Srikitchen said…
that's my favorite pongal!
Priya Suresh said…
I miss those temple puliyotharais, appo neegha perumal kovil streetaa??...Bowl of tempting tamarind rice, yumm!!
FH said…
I love this rice, so good to eat at room temperature and can keep for a long time too. Looks mouthwatering.
It's even spelled in so many different ways! We call it Puliyogare in Kannada!!:)
Suparna said…
cham,
it was beautiful read about ur memories of childhood...
I always buy the MTR powder, Thanks for the recipe from the scratch
Happy cooking
TC
Parita said…
I was introduced to Puliyotharai a year back and i truly loved it, though i have never made it from scratch, always used to get the readymade masala of puliyotharai, bookmarking your post, def will be trying it sometime!
SE said…
perfect entry for the event..hey thanks for sharing the recipe..our neighbour used to give this rice to us, since we never made it..love it !!
Panchpakwan said…
Puliyothari looks so good..my fav..Feel like have it right now....Thanks for sharing..
Shama Nagarajan said…
delicious rice..i too make the same powder..have posted it for CWS-Fenugreek event
Deepa G Joshi said…
tamarind rice..tsssssssssss..my favorite and I love the first click so much..slurp slurp..the rice click is totally mouth watering..

www.foodlyrics.com
Trendsetters said…
great picnic and train travel food...love this
have heard of puliogare a lot but never made at home. looks so tempting.
Namitha said…
How I miss the suprabhatham and the sound of bells in the temple here...I just wonder how much it will brighten up a lazy morning :-)

As you said the best way to preserve rice, I used to make this for all our train journeys.Should try your version next time...
shahana said…
Was searching for a puliyotharai recipe.Thanks for sharing this!!
I love pulihora very much.... They are a few versions followed at home... A quick version for the leftover by my grandma is my fav... Your looks so much like the ones served at Temple!!! Yum yum!!!
Usha said…
Looks fabulous, I have been wanting to make this for a while now ! Looking forward to trying this soon!
Cynthia said…
That's a stunning display of tamarind gravy and rice.

This was so vivid and wonderfully written: We get the offering/prasadam in hands, finish eating in seconds and wipe the oily hands in dress. Go back stand in line for second offering! That was so much fun! Now they serve in thonnai (small dry leaf cup) and wash basin is available to wash your hands. You have to sit and no more second offering :(
Vrinda said…
Yummy tamarind rice...once i tried with instant mix,was not even close to the real one..will try this soon...Thanx for letting me know abt loading time.i always check with my sister in India ,today she said the pages r loading faster than usual except on IE..But i think there was some pblm,i too faced the same with other blogs,was struggling to post comments..2 days back suddenly all my comments gone by its own,i thought the pblm is with my blog,then i checked some other blogs,saw the same pblm there,it got foxed later..so pls check it tomorrow again and let me know,thanx again Cham...
Miri said…
I have been looking for some good puliyodaarai recipes - thanks a lot!
Meena said…
Hi dear, so true about tamarind rice being travel food...my mom always packed it for train journeys...loved it though! this brings back memories...love your picture too...
Raks said…
I too make similar way,I cant just stop eating puli sadam,so for that reason itself i dont make often :)
Padhu Sankar said…
Wow! Puliyotharai is my favorite and I prepare it at least once in a month.Your picture is so inviting!
Keep rocking!
puliyodharai looks mouthwatering. too good.
Unknown said…
that bowl looks yum cham...gr8 presentation!
Hayley said…
Tamarind rice looks perfect!! never tried..tempting!!thanx 4 sharing...
nandini said…
oh cham i will give my left arm to have that puliyodharai right now... Nothing like home made pulikaichal!!. Most often i visit perumal koil just to sneak the puliyodharai. Thanks for the lovely recipe..
fimere said…
ton bol de riz a l'air excellent bien épicé et bien parfumé ta sauce me plait beaucoup je la note
bonne journée et à bientôt
Athane paathen..Kovamonnu nenaichen..I didnt check mail all day yest too..

http://ruchikacooks.com
Malar Gandhi said…
Oh boy, those days were gone, right...loved ur fond stories about temple-devotional songs. Me too did the same thing, go and stand back in the line once again for sundal, he he.

Perumal kovil puliyodarai is ultimate one':) I keep repeating it quite often.
Yasmeen said…
One of my all time favorite tangy rice :D
Pravs said…
That's some nice memories of your childhood :) Tamarind rice looks lip-smacking good. I have a tamarind rice in my blog too.
CurryLeaf said…
Love the excellent clicks.I love Tamarind thgh I cannot say the same for pulihora.Yours is making me drool though.Actually like to eat the gravy more than when it is mixed with rice.
Nostalgic post.Some foods take us back in the lost and precious times.
CurryLeaf said…
Thanks for the comment Cham.What you said is true,we have to be happy whereever we are.Bangalore is much much better compared to other Indian cities thats for sure,but whe compared to itself I feel it was better off 10 years back than now.I have seen it evolving to a technologically developed city,but somehow,the attitude of people,the loss of values,the traffic voes,the unplanned administration etc are leading to its downfall.But the city accepts everything and everyone no racial or financial prejudice compared to few other cities,the people are more tolerant as well.Hope I did not bore you
Anonymous said…
mouthwatering!!!!!!
Gomathy S said…
Very nice click...the puzhikachal makes me drool... I have my own version too.. same with the spice powder
chamka, dont forget to send an entry for my home remedies event..