Puliyodharai/Puliyogare or Tamarind rice

Puliyodharai/Puliyogare or tamarind rice is a popular recipe from South India.

Tamarind rice preparation doesn’t require much experience in cooking as it can be prepared even by beginners. Freshly made tamarind paste is mixed with boiled rice or steamed rice to get this spicy, sweet and sour recipe. Groundnuts, coriander, red chillies, coconut jaggery and curry leaves are the other ingredients used in this dish. The use turmeric powder gives a yellow colour. The presence of little jaggery gives away a slightly sweet taste which combines well other ingredients like pepper, mustard seeds, fenugreek, turmeric, asafoetida, urad dal, and cumin. Puliyodharai/Puliyogare or tamarind rice goes well with coconut chutney and chickpeas. Have a look at the ingredients used and the method of preparation of tamarind rice.

Ingredients required for Puliyodharai/Puliyogare or tamarind rice

• 1¼ – 1½ cup of raw rice
• 60 – 70 grams of tamarind
• 45 -50 ml of sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds
• 2 tablespoon of coriander seeds
• 5 red chillies
• 1 teaspoon of white sesame seeds

Ingredients for seasoning

• 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
• 4 teaspoon of urad dal
• ½ teaspoon of asafoetida (Kayam)
• 4 teaspoon of Bengal gram or Chenna dal
• 4 red chillies (Sliced to 2 pieces)
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 1-2 sprigs of curry leaves
• 3-4 tablespoon of roasted peanuts

For mixing the rice

• ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoon of sesame seed oil

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Method of preparation of Puliyodharai/Puliyogare or tamarind rice

• In a frying pan, dry fry the ingredients like fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds and red chillies until we get a nice aroma. Keep it aside.
• Now, dry fry sesame seeds and ground everything together in a mixer.
• This is used as the spice powder for the Puliyodharai/Puliyogare, keep it aside for later use.
• Boil and cook the rice with sufficient water. The rice shouldn’t be overcooked.
• Keep the tamarind in 2 cups of hot water. Soak it for some time and extract the thick juice.
• Now, heat some oil in a pan and add the seasoning ingredients.
• Saute it for some time. Once the dal attains a golden brown colour, add the tamarind extract and some salt for the taste. Keep the flame in a low-medium range.
• When it thickens, the tamarind paste is ready. Take it away from the flame and keep it aside.
• Take a clean plate and spread out the rice on it for cooling. Once it is warm, add 2 teaspoons of sesame oil and ½ teaspoon of turmeric powder. Mix it well.
• When it cools add the spice powder and the tamarind paste, gently mix the rice. As per your taste, adjust the spice powder and the tamarind paste.
• Delicious Puliyodharai/Puliyogare or tamarind rice is ready