Variety Rice - Puliyodarai
Ingredients
1 big lemon size tamarind
A pinch of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon of jaggery powder
Salt as required
To grind:
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons urad dal
6-10 red chilli based on your spice tolerance and the chilli spice levels.
A handful of curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds/vendayam
To season:
2 tablespoons of gingelly oil
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of split chana dal/kadalaparuppu
1 teaspoon urad dal
1 tablespoon of roasted peanuts
A handful of curry leaves
1 red chilli
A pinch of Asafoetida/Perungayam
To make puliyodarai rice - 1 cup of cooked rice
Instructions
Soak the tamarind in hot water for 15 minutes. Extract the juice, remove any fiber, and keep it aside.
Preparation of the grind mix: Place a pan on medium flame, and dry roast the urad dal, vendhayam, coriander seeds, and curry leaves. Keep this aside.
On the pan, now add 1 teaspoon of oil, and fry the red chillies, ensuring they do not get burnt/turn black.
Allow the ingredients to cool down. Add the dry roasted ingredients and red chilies to a mixie jar and grind to a fine powder.
Preparation of the seasoning: Place a pan on low flame, and add gingelly oil, curry leaves, and mustard seeds. When the mustard starts to sputter add the chana dhal, peanut, urad dal, and fry till they turn golden brown.
Add 1 red chili and Asafoetida and mix well.
Preparation of Pulikachal: Place a pan on medium flame, add the tamarind extract turmeric powder, and salt. Allow this mix to boil till the raw smell of tamarind settles, this should take about 8-12 minutes.
Then, add the ground mix to the pan, and cook on low flame till the mix thickens.
Add the jaggery powder and stir well. Switch off the flame in 2 to 3 minutes.
With this the Pulikachal is ready. You can add 1 to 2 spoons of gingelly oil and store it for a month.
Preparation of Puliyodharai: In a mixing bowl, add the cooked rice and allow to cool down. Add proportionate spoons of Pulikachal to the boiled rice and mix gently (do not press hard, you can use two spatulas and move the heap of rice up and down to ensure the mix spreads evenly)
With this puliyodharai is ready to be served. As the rice absorbs the mix, the rice tastes good even after 8 hours.
Note: Lemon Rice, Coconut Rice and Curd Rice with Appalam and Mor Molaga can be cooked and packed for a wholesome picnic experience!