Name: Tamarind Rice (Puliyodarai)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Indian (South Indian)
Ingredients: 3 cups cooked, cooled rice; 2 tbsp sesame oil; Lime-sized ball of tamarind, soaked in 250 ml warm water; 3 tbsp sesame oil; 1 tsp mustard seeds; 1 tbsp chana dal, 1 tbsp urad dal; 3 tbsp peanuts; 3–4 dried red chillies; 12 curry leaves; ½ tsp turmeric; 1 tsp jaggery (optional); Salt to taste; 1 tbsp coriander seeds; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 1 tsp black peppercorns; 1 tsp chana dal; 2 dried red chillies

Tamarind rice coated in roasted spice and tamarind paste — Photo: Sapanabehl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Puliyodarai, or tamarind rice, is a South Indian temple classic prized for its complex sweet-sour-spicy flavour. A special paste (pulikachal) of roasted spices, lentils and tamarind is cooked down, then folded through rice. It keeps well and travels beautifully, which is why it's a favourite prasadam and journey food.

Servings: 4
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Difficulty: Intermediate
Rice: Cooked, cooled short-grain or sona masoori rice

Method

Tick a step to mark it done.

Step 1: Dry-roast the spice-powder ingredients until fragrant, cool, and grind to a coarse powder.
Step 2: Extract thick tamarind juice from the soaked pulp; discard the fibres.
Step 3: Heat sesame oil, pop the mustard seeds, then fry the dals, peanuts, red chillies and curry leaves until golden.
Step 4: Add the tamarind juice, turmeric, jaggery and salt. Simmer until thick and the oil separates, 10–12 minutes.
Step 5: Stir in the ground spice powder and cook for another minute; this is your pulikachal.
Step 6: Fold the paste through the cooked rice with the extra sesame oil until evenly coated. Rest 15 minutes for the flavours to meld.