Pulusu Pulihora (Tamarind Rice)

Prep and Cooking Time: 35-40mins
Serves: 4-5 persons

Happy and Prosperous Ugadi to one and all. Thank You for your responses and encouragement. Sorry for the delay in posting this Ugadi Special Recipe. This is a steal from my mother’s recipes, especially the addition of chick peas to the tamarind juice which makes it tastier as the chick peas inherits the tanginess from tamarind and adds that extra taste to the pulihora.

Ingredients

White Rice (Preferably Sona Masoori) - 2 cups
Tamarind - 100gms

Jaggery-1 tsp
Groundnuts - 2tbsp
Chick Peas (Bengal Gram/ Chana) - ½ cup (Optional)
Mustard Seeds (Aavalu) - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds (Jeera) - 1 tsp
Chana Dal – 1 tsp (Optional)
Split Gram Dal (urad dal / minapappu) – 1tsp
Green Chillies- 4-5 split and cut
Dry Red Chillies- 2
Curry Leaves- 2 stalks
Coriander pwd (Dhaniya pwd) - 1 tsp
Turmeric Pwd - ½ tsp
Cooking Oil - 3 tbsp
Salt to taste


Method

• Soak the tamarind in water for about 15mins and then extract the juice from the pulp.

Tip: Soaking ia not required, if you can Microwave the tamarind immersed in water for about 1 min, this speeds up the extraction of juice from the pulp.

• Take a cooking vessel and add tamarind water, jaggery, add chick peas as well and allow it to boil for nearly 20mins until it forms into a thick consistent paste, keep stirring at regular intervals.
• In the mean while, cook the rice separately make sure the rice doesn’t get sticky and add salt, turmeric and 1tsp oil to it and mix thoroughly. Take care not to mash the rice grains.

(This tamarind mixture (without the chick peas) can be stored in a refrigerator if you keep it in a moist-free and tightly closed container for weeks together and you can use it later for making your very own instant pulihora)

Tempering/ Tadka/ Talimpu:

• Heat the remaining oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chana dal, urad dal, groundnuts and red chillies in that order and allow it to splutter.


• Then add green chillies and curry leaves, right before removing it off the flame add coriander pwd and sauté the contents.

Add the Tamarind concentrate to the rice and mix it well, now add the tadka and mix thoroughly.
Serve it with any spicy tangy pickle/pachadi/chutney.