Curry In Kadai ~ An Indian Cooking Blog

Have you ever craved for the Spicy Tangy Prasadam( Naivedyam ) which we get at any Indian Temple? Yes i am talking about Pulihora, Rice spiced with tamarind and simple spices. I am sure almost every South Indian temple serves Pulihora along with Daddojanam as naivedyam ( offering / prasadam ). We used to travel a lot during the holidays along with our grand parents and our vacation would cover a large number of temples and in every temple the most common and lip smacking prasad would be Pulihora. Pulihora is something you would definitely see in every South Indian Home during festivals. Grandma makes the best pulihora next to temple pulihora prasadam.


Oh this was the first thing i craved a lot when i was pregnant! My sister was so nice, when i told her that i was craving for pulihora( tamarind rice) , she mailed me a thick spicy Tamarind sauce aka Pulihora pulusu( secured with lots of tape ) along with Ravva Laddo, Kobbari Burfi etc., She asked me to refrigerate it and mix it with rice whenever required. It lasted for a month or so. Thanks sis!! So nice of her and we could never get enough Pulihora( at least for me and my sister ). We use tamarind for the sourness, peanuts , cashews and sesame seeds for nuttiness, jaggery/sugar for sweetness and of course chillies for the heat in this Pulihora. Cant ask for anything more in this pulihora( aka Tiger Rice., hehehe )


Ingredients required:

• 1 cup of tamarind juice ( extract from tamarind pulp )
• 1/3 cup peanuts
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds powder
• 5-10 green chillies according to taste
• sugar or jaggery( gur ) to taste
• curry leaves
• cilantro
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 1 tbsp chana dal
• 3-5 tbsp oil
  
• 16 cashewnuts

Preparing Rice For Pulihora:

• First cook the rice according to rice instructions. I would like to add a little less water than usual, as i nee the rice to be separate and not sticky.
• Once cooked let it cool on a mixing bowl or big plate, add turmeric and leave it to dry in open air.

How to make Pulihora Pulusu( Tamarind Spicy Sauce ):

• In a kadai/ heavy bottomed pan, do the tadka ( popu) with oil. Once the oil is heated add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, chana dal and peanuts and cashewnuts.
• When mustard seeds started to crackle and peanuts roasted add curry leaves, hing, green chillies followed by tamarind pulp and turmeric
• Once the pulusu ( sauce) starts to bubble and sesame seeds powder, salt, sugar/gur to taste.
• The sauce ( pulusu ) is done when oil starts to separate from the sauce. Add cilantro and the switch off the stove.

How to make Pulihora( Tamarind, Peanuts and Sesame seeds Spicy Rice )

• Once the tamarind sauce and rice are cooled, mix both of them together thoroughly. Adjust salt to taste. If you see that oil is not enough, heat oil in a separate pan and mix it with the rice. Please let the pulihora stand for at least one hour before relishing as this makes the rice absorb all the sauce completely.

I cant promise you the exact taste you get at the temples in India, but my pulihora would definitely satisfy your Pulihora cravings for sure!!! I am positive you cant get enough of this pulihora. The pulihora stays good for up to 3 days in the refrigerator and 1-2 days if left outside.
Dad likes to eat the pulihora with cooked chick peas( senagalu ) or boondi karas( chick pea fritters ). Grandma makes these urad dal vadas( lentil fritters ) along with pulihora. Oh an awseome combo!!

My grandmas Pulihora is on its way to:

• Cooking With Sesame Seeds
• APS-Rice
  
• The Combo Event

P.S. Everyone has unique taste palette, so please adjust the ingredients according to your taste.