Kovil Puliyodharai – Temple Style Tamarind Rice Recipe

Description:

Puliyodharai is a South Indian rice preparation, a mainstay in most Indian festival luncheons and dinners. It is also offered as prasadams in temples.  Prasadam (a Sanskrit word) is food that has first been offered to God prepared by the temple priests in the temple Madapalli (Temple kitchen). Thiru madapalli is traditionally the kitchen in Vaishnavite temples, apart from catering to the divine Lord, these kitchens often serve Prasadams to the devotees.  Madapalli’s are famous for Ven pongal , Puliyodharai,  Sarkarai Pongal, Vadai, Laddu, Thayir sadam & Sambar sadam. These are distributed to devotees in either fresh banana leaves or dry  banana leaf cups (Thonnai).  My favorite is Perumal Kovil madapalli prasadams, especially their Puliyodharai are very famous for tongue tickling taste! No matter how hard we try, we can never replicate that divine taste in our home kitchens but always wanted to try something which is atleast close to that taste. There are a million versions online but I personally liked the one shared by Mrs. Jayashree Govindarajan in her lovely blog My kithcenpitch. She has shared an interesting Temple Style Puliyodharai, it looked very authentic and I got instantly hooked!  I tried her version as it is but added puliyodharai powder to the pulikachal mix, it turned out great and matched the temple style puliyodharai. Here goes the recipe….

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Method:

This recipe basically revolves around 3 important items.  Tamarind extract, Puliyodharai powder and Freshly ground black pepper powder.

Lets proceed…

1. Tamarind Extract:

Soak tamarind in 1 cup water for 30 minutes. Mash the soften tamarind in water until the fiber separates. Squeeze and extract the pulp and throw the waste. Keep this thick pulp aside.

2. Puliyodharai Powder:

This powder is not always required but adding this really makes a difference in taste.  Heat oil in a pan and start roasting the dry red chili, channa dal, urad dal, black pepper, cumin  and fenugreek on low flame.

Roast until the aroma comes or till they turn golden which usually takes 10-12 minutes. Take care not to burn the spices, roast over very low flame. Once done, let cool completely and grind to a fine powder.

3. Freshly ground Black pepper powder:

Grind 4 teaspoons of black peppercorns to fine powder consistency and keep aside. (Original recipe by Mrs Jayanthi Govindarajan does not include any  dry red chilis, coriander seeds nor sesame seeds and is made with plain freshly ground black pepper powder alone)  Adding this fresh pepper powder is the highlight, do not skip. It gives a unique taste to this puliyodharai.

How to make the Pulikachal: (Use ingredients from Table-2)

Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds, the add channa dal and split black gram dal and roast them till red or golden followed by cumin seeds, dry red chili , roasted peanuts and curry leaves. Let them roast for few seconds then add turmeric, asafoetida and salt.

Now add the  tamarind extract and cook over low flame until the raw tamarind smell disappears. This usually take about 15 minutes over low flame.

When the extract condenses to a thick runny consistency, the oil will separate.

Add a teaspoon of the puliyodharai powder at this stage, it will instantly thicken the gravy.

Switch off and remove from heat.

Pulikachal  is ready for use.

Take cooked rice rice in wide bowl, drizzle sesame oil on it, add about 3/4 of the pulikachal, one teaspoon of the black pepper powder, one teaspoon of the Puliyodharai powder and one teaspoon of salt. Gently mix to combine, take care not to make the rice too mushy.

Check salt and spice level, the pulikachal already has salt plus we are adding some now which should be sufficient for the amount of rice given but adjust according to your taste. For a spicer version add more black pepper powder.  Once done with mixing, cover and let it sit for atleast an hour, this way the rice will absorb all the flavor from the mix and makes your Puliyodharai  taste even better.

Serve plain or with pappad.