Dry Powder ingredients
Dried Red Chillies --- 15
Coriander seeds---- 2 tbsp
Methi (fenugreek) seeds----1 tsp
Wet ingredients
Tamarind - One large lemon size (pulp extracted as per directions)
Dried Red Chillies --- 5 cut into half
Asafoetida – A pinch or two
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
Chana Dal (bengal gram) - 2 tbsp
Peanuts - 1/4 cup
Cashew nuts - 10 or so(optional)
Jaggery - 1 tbsp
curry leaves - 2 sprigs
1/4 cup gingelly oil (sesame oil).
Salt to taste
- This dish is most flavorful if enough time is given. It is not as tasty if prepared in a rush. Give the ingredients enough time to come together and develop flavor.
- Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of warm water; leave it for 15 mins and then use your hands to mash the tamarind into pulp. It doesnt take much effort. Leave for another 30 mins or so and then use your hands to squeeze the fruit matter to extract out the pulp and throw the fiber and seeds away.
- Heat 1/4 cup of Sesame oil aka Gingelly Oil aka Nallennai in a heavy pan. Add mustard Chana Dal, Urad Dall and after a few mins Peanuts and mustard and Asafoetida. After muster seeds start popping add cashew nuts and then curry leaves; Finally add jaggery and the chilies
- Finally add the tamarind pulp and turmeric; Cover and leave for 10-15 mins on low flame to reduce and to lose the raw tamarind flavor after cooking
- Dry roast the dry powder ingredients and then powder them in a coffee grinder/ Mixie
- After the tamarind pulp mixture reduces after the water evaporates, add the powder and then take off the heat. Add salt to taste. This is Pulikaichal, which will make the Tamarind Rice or Puliyodarai
- To prepare rice: Cook 2 cups of rice in a rice cooker with about 5 cups of water.
- Once the rice is done open the lid, add 2 tbsp of sesame oil and spread the rice on a mixing bowl or plate
- After the rice cools add Pulikaichal to the rice and mix using your hands. Add salt as needed. Thee ingredients should be cool at that point. Leave the mixed rice for about 2-3 hours to develop the flavor.
- This tastes much like the Perumal Kovil Puliyodarai.
