Tamarind Rice

Mohan Kumar, April 2, 2015

Serving Size: 2-4

Ingredients for Tamarind Rice 

Chintapandu Gojju/Pulikachal

1. 3-4 Tbsp – Sesame (Gingely) Oil
2. ¼ cup – Peanuts, raw
3. ½ tsp – Mustard Seeds
4. 1 Tbsp – Channa Dal
5. 1 tsp – Urad Dal
6. 1-3 nos – dried Red chillies (adjust to taste, more chillies are added in the roasted powder)
7. 6-8 nos – Curry Leaves, washed & patted dry and roughly torn into pieces
8. ½ tsp – Turmeric Powder
9. A pinch of Asafoetida/hing/inguva
10. A golf ball sized chunk of raw Tamarind pulp – soaked in ½ cup warm water for 10mins
11. Salt to taste

Roasted powder:

1. 1 ½ Tbsp – Sesame oil
2. 1 ½ Tbsp – Channa Dal
3. 1 Tbsp – Urad dal
4. ½ Tbsp – Coriander Seeds/Dhania
5. 3-4 nos – dried Red Chillies
6. ½ tsp – Fenugreek Seeds/Menthulu
7. 1 Tbsp – Sesame seeds

Directions for Tamarind Rice

1. Cook 2 cups of rice using a 1:2 ratio of rice-to-water.
2. Using your hands squeeze out the thick tamarind pulp and discard the seeds and fiber.
3. Heat oil in a sauce pan on medium-low heat and add the peanuts. Roast until they start to turn a slight reddish orange color. Add the mustard seeds and dals next and continue to roast them until they get an even brown color.
4. Add the curry leaves, red chillies, turmeric powder and asafoetida and stir for 30 secs more. Carefully pour in the tamarind extract, a little salt and cook for 10-15mins until the gojju comes together as a thick mass and the oil begins to separate and collect around the edges.
5. In the meantime, in a shallow pan, heat a tablespoon of sesame oil and roast the dals to give them a head start. As they begin to turn color add the coriander seeds and red chillies. When all the ingredients have changed color to a deep reddish orange, bring down the heat a little and add the fenugreek and sesame seeds. These two ingredients tend to burn quickly so it is better to heat them on a low heat. Roast until the sesame seeds begin to splutter, take off the heat and cool for a few minutes before grinding them to a fine powder.
6. Once the rice is cooked, spread it in a wide dish to cool a bit, holding back about a cup of rice. Drizzle a little sesame oil on top and add a few tablespoons of the gojju. Mix lightly without bruising the rice grains. Add salt and more gojju or rice according to taste.
7. As a final garnish sprinkle the roasted powder on top and mix it in. Cover the pulihora and let it rest for atleast 30mins before serving. You could take photos in the mean time 😉

Tips:

1. Don’t add all the salt to the tamarind extract in the beginning of the cooking process. Since the gojju reduces and thickens towards the end, if you salt to taste in the beginning it will be over salted by the time it’s done cooking.
2. Even if it takes you longer, use a medium to medium-low heat and brown the peanuts evenly, they contribute a lot to the final taste of the pulihora.
3. If you like your tamarind rice to be a nice glowing yellow, slightly warm up a spoon of sesame oil with a pinch of turmeric and drizzle it on the warm rice before adding the gojju. If the rice is warm enough, you can skip heating the oil.
4. Double the quantity of gojju and store the leftovers in the fridge, it’ll keep well for weeks in an airtight container.
5. If you like the taste of Groundnut, Add ground nut after adding channa daal

Tamarind Rice