Other recipes

It is usually offered to the Gods and distributed to devotees in temples as ‘prasadam’ or blessed food.

• 2 cups                    Rice
• ½ cup                     Thick Tamarind Pulp
• ¼ teaspoon          Turmeric Powder/Manjal Podi/Haldi
• ½ teaspoon           Asafoetida Powder/Perungaayam/Hing
• ½ cup                     Roasted Peanuts, skinned (optional)
• ½ cup                     Sesame Oil
• 2 teaspoons         Salt

For seasoning

• ¼ teaspoon           Mustard Seeds/Kadugu/Rai
• ½ teaspoon           Bengal Gram/Kadalai Paruppu/Chana Dhal
• 4                               Dried Red Chillies, halved
• A few                       Curry leaves/Karuveppalai/Kari Patha, torn coarsely

• Cook the rice in 5 cups of water. Each grain of the cooked rice should be separate. Set aside to cool.
• Heat a tablespoon of oil, add the mustard to pop. Add the dhal, stir for 10 seconds until it turns golden. Add the chillies and fry till it becomes red. Put in half of the curry leaves.
• Add the peanuts and sauté for 20 seconds.
• Add tamarind pulp, a cup of water, turmeric powder, asafoetida powder and salt. Cover and simmer over a medium flame for 5-7 minutes. Open the lid and cook until it becomes a thick sauce.
• Add the remaining oil and curry leaves; take it off the stove.
• Mix the sauce and rice well without mashing it.
• Keep the puliyodharai rice for a couple of hours before serving.