Puliogare [Tamarind Rice]

Here is a favorite recipe of so many Indians I know. Mention this rice dish and everyone goes wow!!...This recipe is typical Iyengari signature, which all most all south Indians have adapted to their taste. I love it when this is offered as prasadam [offering to god which is distributed later] at temples. I may not go to a temple to see god, if they are giving puliogare, you can bet I will be in line, LOL!! A sweet, sour and hot treat, which will surely make you go uuummm!!

Prep time: 45 mins

Cook time: 30 mis

Servings: upto 4

Ingredients:

1. Raw rice - 2 cups, cooked with 1/2 tsp salt. (use the variety with as less starch as possible, sona masoori)

For dry roasting: [Makes for more than 2 uses]

1. Cumin seeds - 1/2 cup

2. Fenugreek Seeds - 3 tsp

3. Sesame Seeds - 1/2 cup

4. Coriander seeds - 3/4 cup

5. Urad dal [split black gram]- 2 tsp

6. Chana dal [split chickpeas] - 2 tsp

7. Whole black pepper - 3 tsp

8. Dry red chillies -10 to 12 [alter according to taste]

9. Dry coconut - 1/2 cup, grated\powder\flakes\slices

For tempering and making a paste:

1. Oil - 1/2 cup

2. Chana dal [split chickpeas] - 2 tsp

3. Urad dal [split black gram] - 2 tsp

4. Peanut - a handful

5. Mustard seeds - 2 tsp

6. Cumin seeds - 2 tsp

7. Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

8. Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

9. Curry leaves - 1 string

10. sesame seeds - 1 tsp [optional]

11. Tamarind - 1/2 cup pulp or paste

12. Jaggery - 3/4  cups grated or powder

13. salt - to taste

14. Dry red Chilly - 2 to 3 broken into half

Method:

1. Cook plain white rice with salt and set aside.

2. Dry roast all the ingredients given in the list for dry roasting one after the other, roasting coconut in the end. You will know you have roasted each ingredient well, when the start to give out fragrance and turn slightly brown. Let it cool to touch, make a powder of it. If you do not have an Indian mixi, you can make powders in a blender jar, provided your mixi speed is 12 and above. you the crush ice option, you can make a coarse workable powder, that is what I do.

3. In a big wok. Heat oil on medium heat, add mustard seeds, let them splutter. Add cumin, chana dal, urad dal and fry them till they get red. Do not forget to keep stirring constantly, this helps in getting an even colour all over the dals.

4. Add peanuts and fry till slightly brown.

5. Add asfoetida, turmeric and curry leaves. 

6. Add tamarind pulp and jaggery and a 1/2 a cup of water and let it cook till jaggery dissolves. 

7. Add the dry roasted masala about 2 to 3 tbsp and stir in to mix well. Add salt to your taste. I would add 2 to 3 tsp

8. Cook till it gets slightly thick consistency. Something like ketchup. Not too thick and not too runny. 

9. On rice, drizzle some oil, 1 tsp of masala powder and 1/2 tsp salt and about 3 tbsp of prepared paste and mix them well together. Puliogare is ready to serve. Give it a taste, if you think you need more paste, add it till it tastes right for you, the key is to use less and add more if needed.

Serving suggestions:

This goes famously with yogurt rice or mosaranna. Their combination is like made for each other. :D

Tip:

1. You can make a puliogare powder and store it in freezer. Only one addition to dry roasting is of tamarind. Dry roast about 1/2 cup of tamarind along with masala and make a powder of it. While mixing with rice, you can grate jaggery on hot rice with tempering.

2. Use black sesame seeds if possible, it has the best taste for this dish. Nothing can make it more tasty than black sesame seeds.
3. Make the dry roast masala, store it in freezer. You can fix puliogare in 10 minutes for guests or a quick lunch by just adding tempering, jaggery and tamarind to cooked rice. it is that simple.