RAG Demo

Tag: Rice

  • Puliyodarai

    Puliyodarai, also called puli sadam or tamarind rice, is the most famous prasadam of Vaishnava temples in Tamil Nadu, and Iyengar families have kept the recipe as a point of pride. The heart of it is pulikachal, a tamarind paste cooked slowly in gingelly oil until thick and dark. Made in bulk, the paste keeps for weeks and turns leftover rice into a meal in minutes.

    The flavour is sour, spicy and slightly sweet, with a nutty depth from roasted sesame and fenugreek. Good puliyodarai is glossy and well coated, each grain brown and separate. It tastes better a few hours after mixing, which is why it is the standard food for train journeys and pilgrimages.

    At a glance

    RegionTamil Nadu
    CuisineIyengar
    DietVegan
    CourseRice
    Prep time15 minutes
    Cook time35 minutes
    Total time50 minutes
    Serves4
    Spice levelMedium
    DifficultyMedium
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientsrice / tamarind / sesame seeds / peanuts / gingelly oil

    Ingredients

    For the spice powder

    • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
    • 1 tsp chana dal
    • 1 tsp urad dal
    • 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
    • 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
    • 4 dry red chillies
    • 1 tbsp white sesame seeds

    For the pulikachal

    • large lemon-sized ball of tamarind (about 60 g), soaked in 1.5 cups hot water
    • 1/3 cup gingelly oil
    • 1 tsp mustard seeds
    • 1 tbsp chana dal
    • 1 tsp urad dal
    • 3 tbsp raw peanuts
    • 3 dry red chillies, broken
    • 2 sprigs curry leaves
    • 1/2 tsp asafoetida
    • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
    • 1.5 tsp salt
    • 1 tbsp grated jaggery

    For the rice

    • 4 cups cooked rice (from 1.25 cups raw), cooled
    • 1 tbsp gingelly oil

    Method

    1. Dry roast the coriander, chana dal, urad dal, fenugreek, pepper and red chillies on low heat for 4-5 minutes until golden and fragrant. Add sesame in the last minute and roast until it pops. Cool and grind to a fine powder.
    2. Extract about 1.5 cups of thick tamarind extract and strain.
    3. Heat the gingelly oil in a heavy kadai on medium heat. Fry the peanuts for 2 minutes until crunchy, then add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
    4. Add chana dal, urad dal and red chillies and fry until the dals are golden. Add curry leaves and asafoetida.
    5. Pour in the tamarind extract with turmeric and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low-medium heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring now and then, until it reduces to a thick paste and oil separates at the edges.
    6. Stir in jaggery and 3 tbsp of the spice powder and cook for 2 more minutes. This is the pulikachal.
    7. Spread the cooled rice in a wide bowl, drizzle with 1 tbsp gingelly oil and add about 4-5 tbsp of pulikachal and 1 tbsp more spice powder.
    8. Mix gently with your fingers or a flat spoon until every grain is coated. Taste and adjust. Rest for at least an hour before serving.

    Tips

    • Leftover pulikachal keeps in a clean dry jar in the fridge for a month, provided it is covered with oil.
    • Cooking the rice slightly firm with a few drops of oil keeps the grains separate.
    • Do not hurry the reduction; undercooked pulikachal tastes raw and sharp.

    Serve with

    Appalam, vadam and a cup of curd or curd rice.

  • Lemon Rice

    Elumichai sadam is one of the variety rices of Tamil Nadu, packed in tiffin boxes, carried on train journeys and offered at temples. It was designed to travel: the lemon and turmeric keep it fresh for hours at room temperature, and it tastes best when it has rested a while and the rice has soaked up the tempering.

    Each grain should be separate, bright yellow and glossy, with crunch from roasted peanuts and dals and a clean sourness from the lemon. It is never mushy. Families make it on busy mornings with leftover rice, and it is standard fare for festival days like Aadi Perukku, when several flavoured rices are cooked together.

    At a glance

    RegionTamil Nadu
    CuisineTamil
    DietVegan
    CourseRice
    Prep time10 minutes
    Cook time10 minutes
    Total time20 minutes
    Serves3
    Spice levelMild
    DifficultyEasy
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientsrice / lemon / peanuts / green chillies / curry leaves

    Ingredients

    • 3 cups cooked rice (from 1 cup raw sona masoori or ponni), cooled
    • 3 tbsp gingelly or groundnut oil
    • 1 tsp mustard seeds
    • 1 tsp chana dal
    • 1 tsp urad dal
    • 3 tbsp raw peanuts
    • 2 green chillies, slit
    • 1 dry red chilli, broken
    • 1 inch ginger, finely chopped
    • 1 sprig curry leaves
    • 1/4 tsp asafoetida
    • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
    • 1 tsp salt, or to taste
    • juice of 2 lemons (about 4 tbsp)
    • 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

    Method

    1. Spread the cooked rice on a plate so it cools completely and the grains separate. Freshly cooked hot rice breaks and turns pasty.
    2. Heat oil in a wide kadai on medium heat. Fry the peanuts for 2-3 minutes until they crackle and the skins darken in spots; lift them out and keep aside.
    3. In the same oil add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add chana dal and urad dal and fry for about 1 minute until golden.
    4. Add green chillies, red chilli, ginger and curry leaves and fry for 30 seconds until the leaves are crisp.
    5. Lower the heat, add asafoetida and turmeric, stir for 5 seconds and immediately switch off the heat so the turmeric does not burn.
    6. Add the salt and lemon juice to the tempering off the heat and stir. Cooking lemon juice makes it bitter.
    7. Add the rice and peanuts and gently fold with a flat spatula until every grain is evenly yellow. Taste and adjust salt and lemon.
    8. Mix in coriander and let the rice rest for 15-20 minutes before serving for the flavours to settle.

    Tips

    • Always add lemon juice off the heat.
    • Day-old refrigerated rice works very well; bring it to room temperature first.
    • For temple style, skip ginger and add a pinch of fenugreek powder to the tempering.

    Serve with

    Potato fry, appalam and a cup of curd, or coconut chutney for a lunchbox.

  • Curd Rice

    No Tamil meal is complete without thayir sadam at the end. After the heat of sambar and rasam, curd rice settles the stomach and cools the body, which matters in a state where summer temperatures stay high for months. It is also served at temples, packed for journeys, and given to children and anyone with an upset stomach.

    Good curd rice is creamy and loose, never stiff. The rice is cooked soft and mashed while warm, then mixed with fresh curd and a little milk so that it does not turn too sour as it sits. The tempering adds crunch and a gentle heat, and grated carrot, cucumber, grapes or pomegranate are common additions in homes and restaurants.

    At a glance

    RegionTamil Nadu
    CuisineTamil
    DietVegetarian
    CourseRice
    Prep time10 minutes
    Cook time20 minutes
    Total time30 minutes
    Serves4
    Spice levelMild
    DifficultyEasy
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientsrice / curd / milk / ginger / curry leaves

    Ingredients

    For the rice

    • 1 cup raw ponni or sona masoori rice
    • 3.5 cups water
    • 1.5 cups fresh thick curd
    • 1/2 cup boiled and cooled milk
    • 1 tsp salt, or to taste
    • 1 small carrot, grated
    • 2 tbsp pomegranate arils (optional)

    For the tempering

    • 1 tbsp oil
    • 1 tsp mustard seeds
    • 1 tsp urad dal
    • 1 inch ginger, finely chopped
    • 1-2 green chillies, finely chopped
    • 1 sprig curry leaves
    • pinch of asafoetida
    • 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

    Method

    1. Wash the rice and pressure cook with 3.5 cups water for 4-5 whistles on medium heat so it is very soft. Let the pressure drop naturally.
    2. While still warm, mash the rice well with a ladle until it is creamy, with only a few whole grains left. Spread it out to cool until just lukewarm.
    3. Add the milk first and mix; this stops the curd from turning sour quickly. Then add the curd and salt and stir until smooth and loose. Add a few spoons of water if it feels thick.
    4. Heat oil in a small pan on medium heat, add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add urad dal and fry until light golden.
    5. Add ginger, green chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida and fry for 20-30 seconds.
    6. Pour the tempering over the rice, add the grated carrot and coriander and mix well.
    7. Top with pomegranate if using. Serve at room temperature or chill for 30 minutes on a hot day.

    Tips

    • Never mix curd into hot rice; it splits and turns grainy.
    • Curd rice thickens as it rests, so keep it looser than you want to eat it, especially for lunchboxes.
    • For temple style, add a few chopped cashews to the tempering and a little cream instead of milk.

    Serve with

    Mango or lime pickle, mor milagai (sun-dried curd chillies) or a spoon of vatha kuzhambu.