Puliyodharai | Tamarind Rice | Puli Kaichal for Puli Sadam

Puliyodharai | Tamarind Rice | Puli Kaichal for Puli Sadam, the name itself makes everyone drool over. I rarely find people hate this tangy, tasty rice. Puliyodharai is a traditional rice dish prepared on some special occasions like Aadi 18| Pathinettam Perukku, Kaanum Pongal, Valai Kaappu|Seemandham and as Prasad| Prasadham for Poojas. Whatever we get from temples as Prasad taste divine but nothing can match with the “Temple Puliyotharai|Kovil Puliyodharai given in Perumal temples.  There are many recipes for preparing puliyodharai but Iyengar Puliyotharai recipe is the best one. This is also ideal for lunch box & travel. 

I prepare this pulikaichal when we get bored of our plain rice with some kuzhambu variety.  The recipe for puli kaichal I’ve given here, will stay good in the fridge for about a month. If you are the one who finds no time to cook in the morning, keeping this pulikaichal in stock will help you make a variety rice in a jiffy. You can pair this rice with some chips or vadams. You can also use leftover rice for making puliyodharai. Here I’ve given the recipe for making pulikaichal as well as for preparing puliyodharai with this pulikaichal...

Recipe for Puliyodharai | Tamarind Rice | Puli Kaichal for Puli Sadam:

Cuisine : Indian| South Indian | Iyengar

Preparation Time: 30 Minutes

Cooking time : 15 Minutes

Serves – 6 

Ingredients:

• Tamarind – a big lemon size
• Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
• Salt to taste

Dry Roast & Grind:

• Fenugreek seeds| vendhayam – 1 tsp
• Coriander seeds| Malli vidhai – 1 tsp
• Sesame seeds| Ellu -1 tsp

Roast & Grind:

• Gingelly oil |Nallennei – 1 tsp
• Asafoetida | Perungayam – 1 tsp or a tiny pebble size
• Red chillies | kaaintha milakaai – 5
• Pepper corns | Milaku – 1 tsp

For seasoning:

• Gingelly oil |Nallennei – 5 tbsp
• Mustard – 1 tbsp
• Channa dhal – 2 tbsp
• Grount nuts – as required
• Red chillies – 5
• Curry leaves - few

Method:

How to prepare Pulikaichal for Puliyodharai?

1. Soak tamarind in a cup of water for ½ an hour, extract thick tamarind juice & keep aside.
2. In the mean time, dry roast fenugreek seeds in simmer till you get nice aroma and transfer to a plate.
3. In the same kadai, add coriander seeds| dhaniya, dry roast and transfer to the same plate.
4. Crackle sesame seeds in the same kadai and transfer these seeds to the plate.
5. In the same kadai, add oil & Asafoetida | Perungayam (if using Katti perungayam), and fry for a minute. To this add, pepper, sauté for a while, then add red chillies & asafoetida (if using hing powder)  and fry till chillies become crisp. Transfer these to the same plate and allow the contents to cool.
6. Grind it in a mixer and make a dry powder. Keep aside.
7. In the same kadai, add oil , when hot add mustard. Once they splutter, add channa dhal and sauté till they become golden brown in colour.
8. Add ground nuts, broken red chillies and curry leaves, one by one. When curry leaves get fried, add tamarind juice, turmeric powder and required salt. Mix well.
9. Allow it to boil for 5 minutes.
10. When the raw smell of the tamarind goes, add the prepared puli kaichal powder and allow to boil for 5 minutes.
11. By this time, tamarind paste will become a thick paste and oil will ooze out form the gravy.
12. Switch off & allow to cool.

Transfer the pulikaichal into a clean, dry container, refrigerate  and use whenever you want.

Recipe for preparing puliyodharai:

Ingredients:

Cooked rice – 2 cups

Pulikaichal – 3 tbsp

Gingelly oil – 1 tsp

Method:

1. Cook rice until soft but not mushy. Transfer the cooked rice to a broad plate, add gingelly oil, fluff with rice gently & allow to cool.
2. When completely cooled, add the required puli kaichal and mix without breaking the rice.

Yummy, tasty Puli sadham is ready  to be relished with any fry, vadam or chips.

Note:

• This recipe strictly needs gingelly oil as it will impart an unique flavour & taste to the rice.
• While mixing rice add enough  pulikaichal so that the rice looks drenched in the gravy. After some time, rice will absorb the paste and the taste will get balanced.
• While mixing rice, check for salt & add if necessary.
• Eat rice after an hour of mixing the rice with pulikaichal.
• Use ponni raw rice for preparing tamarind rice. You can also use any good quality boiled rice.

Tags: Puliyotharai recipe, How to prepare pulikaichal for preparing puliyodharai?, Pulikaichal recipe,  tamarind rice, Puli sadam recipe, Lunch box recipes, Travel Recipes, How to mix puliyotharai?, Tips for preparing tasty puliyotharai at home, Kovil puliyotharai recipe, Koil puliyodharai recipe, Temple Puliyotharai recipe, Iyengar style puliyotharai recipe

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Spicy Idli | Masala Idli

Spicy Idli | Masala Idli is a spicy version of idli seasoned with onion, tomatoes and spice powder. It is an easy way to make our regular idlies interesting. Even people, who don’t like idlies, can hardly say “No” to this dish! It is easy to pack for lunch or even for a day out since there is no chance of getting messed up  with oily stuffs like chutney | idli podi. We can even make use of left over idlies from the morning to prepare this dish and serve it hot when the kids come back from school. My son is  a big fan of this dish and hence I prepare this with the fresh idlies whenever he likes to have.

Ingredients:

• Idli – 5 Nos
• Onion (finely chopped) –1 No.
• Tomatoes (finely chopped) -  1 No.
• Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste

For seasoning:

• Sesame oil | Gingelly oil – 1 tbsp
• Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
• Urad dhal – 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Cut idlies into bite size cubes and keep aside.
2. In a kadai, pour oil, season with the items given “For seasoning”.
3. Add finely chopped onion till the onion becomes glossy in texture.
4. Then add tomato and sauté till it gets mashed well.
5. Add red chilli powder and salt required for the masala. Then add ¼ cup of water, mix everything and cook in medium flame till the masala consistency becomes thick.
6. Add cubed idlies and mix well till the masala gets coated well with idli cubes. Cook in simmer for about 2 minutes & switch off.

Tasty, spicy  Masala Idli is ready to serve!

Note:

• Carefully add salt i.e. only for masala because idli has salt in it.
• If you use left over idlies, wet them before cutting into cubes.

Tags: Masala Idli recipe, Left-over recipe, left-over idli recipe, Idli fry recipe, seasoned idli recipe, Lunch box recipes, Kids recipes, Easy breakfast recipes

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Gongura Rice | Gongura Pulihora | Red Sorrel Leaves Rice | Pulicha Keerai Sadam

Gongura Rice | Gongura Pulihora | Red Sorrel Leaves Rice | Pulicha Keerai Sadam is a specialty from Andhra Cuisine. Pulicha keerai in Tamil is  known as Red sorrel leaves in English & Gongura in Telugu. Yesterday when I went to Pazhamudircholai, the greens were not fresh except this gongura. I heard that these leaves are rich in iron. It is not commonly available in Southern Tamil Nadu, but in Chennai, these greens are available in plenty and fresh. We can make gongura thokku, gongura pickle, etc. Today I made gongura  rice using these leaves.

Ingredients:

• Cooked rice – 2 cups
• Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
• Salt to taste

To roast & Grind:

• Gingelly oil -1 tbsp
• Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp
• Red chillies – 6  Nos.
• Shallots – 5 Nos.
• Gongura | Red sorrel leaves – 2 cups

For seasoning:

• Gingelly oil – 2 tbsp
• Mustard – 1 tsp
• Bengal gram | Kadalai Paruppu – 1 tbsp
• Red chillies – 2 Nos.
• Curry leaves – few
• Asafoetida | Hing – ¼ tsp
• Roasted ground nut – 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Cook rice until soft and spread in a wide bowl  and allow to cool with little oil sprinkled over.
2. Pluck the gongura leaves alone, wash them thoroughly  in water, drain  and keep aside.
3. In a kadai, add a tbsp of oil and roast fenugreek seeds & red chillies. Drain from oil and transfer into a plate.
4. In the same kadai,, add shallots and fry till they become brownish in colour. To this add gongura leaves and sauté till the leaves get wilted and the raw smell leaves out. The leaves colour gets changed from green  to brown. Allow it to cool.
5. Grind  roasted fenugreek seeds and red chillies along with salt to a coarse powder. To this add the shallots and gongura and grind to a fine paste by adding little water, if needed.
6. In a non stick pan, heat oil and season with the items given for seasoning. Then add turmeric powder and gogura paste. Sauté  till oil oozes out from the paste & switch off.  It will take hardly 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Add  the required quantity of gongura paste to the cooked, cooled rice and gently mix the rice using a  spatula without breaking/mashing the rice.  Check for the salt, if required, add straight to the rice and mix well.

Yummy Gongura Pulihora is ready to serve. This rice can be prepared with leftover rice also. This can be enjoyed with any thogayal, pappad/vadam or raita or fry.

Note:

• The tanginess  of these leaves would be mild, so if you want more tangy, you can add either lemon juice or tamarind.
• The paste can be refrigerated and used for 15 days.

Tags: Gongura rice recipe, Gongura recipes, Andhra Special rice recipe, Gongura Pulihora recipe, How to make gongura pulihore, Left over recipes, Left over rice recipes, variety rice, Easy lunch box recipes, Recipes with gongura, Keerai recipes, Greens  recipes, South Indian Rice Variety, Andhra Recipes, Red Sorrel leaves rice recipe, Pulichakeerai Sadam, Pulicha keerai Saadham

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Mangai Sadam | Raw Mango Rice | Mamidikaya Annam

Mangai Sadam | Raw Mango Rice | Mamidikaya Annam is one of the variety rice which can be prepared in few seconds provided that raw mango is available at home. This is the dish which should be enjoyed during mango season. My mom & grandma didn’t have the practice of making rice using raw mango.  I had this mango rice for the first time at my SIL place when I was pregnant and I could remember that taste even now.  From then, I used to make this rice during mango season. It has been a practice in Tamil Nadu to prepare this rice as one of the variety rice made during Bangle Ceremony (Valai Kaappu) conducted for pregnant ladies if it falls during mango season since the tangy taste of raw mango tastes good to them.

I didn’t make this rice since the start of mango season this year. I thought of making this rice today since  Ugadhi  (Telugu New Year) is nearing. On Ugadi, it has been a practice followed by people of Andhra Pradesh to prepare dishes with the fresh produce of mango like raw mango rice (Mamidikaya Annam), mangai pachadi, etc.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

• Raw Mango (grated) – 1 cup
• Cooked rice – 2 cups
• Green chillies (slitted) – 2 to 3 Nos.
• Ginger (finely chopped) – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Salt to taste

For seasoning:

• Gingelly oil – 2tbsp
• Mustard – 1 tsp
• Channa dhal (Kadalai Paruppu) – 3 tbsp
• Asafoetida –  a pinch
• Curry leaves – few

Method:

1. Wash, peel the skin of raw mango and grate. Keep it aside.
2. Heat oil in a kadai and season with the items given “For seasoning”.
3. Add ginger and green chillies, sauté till you get nice aroma of ginger.
4. Add turmeric powder and mango gratings. Sauté well till the raw smell of mango goes off and gets shrunk  to  half the quantity.  Switch off.
5. Add required salt and cooked rice to the mango seasoning. Mix everything well.

Your tangy Raw Mango Rice is ready to serve. You can serve this rice with any gravy or fry,  chips or pappads. Today we had this rice with Baby Potato Fry and it tasted yumm…

Note:

• I have used Ponni boiled rice but you can use raw rice or even left over rice too. Only thing is rice should not be sticky.
• I didn’t add ground nuts since my son doesn’t like. You can add any nuts of your choice.

Tags: Raw mango rice recipe, Mangai saadham, Left over recipes, Variety rice, Lunch Box recipes, Ugadhi Recipes, Festival recipes, Telugu New Year recipe, variety rice with raw mango, Variety rice with mangai, Quick lunch box recipes, Valai kaappu recipes,  green mango rice recipe, Mamidikaya Annam

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Cauliflower Rice/ Cauliflower Sadam

Cauliflower rice/ Cauliflower sadam  is very simple to make and best suited for our lunch boxes. Cauliflower season has started now and our refrigerators will  definitely have a place for it. Nowadays, cauliflowers are available in big sizes. In that case, we have to think about two different menus with the same vegetable. If I happen to buy such a big cauliflower, I usually make some side dish or curry with a portion of cauliflower and most often, the rest will go for making Cauliflower rice. This rice can be made with leftover rice also. If you are left with a bowl of cooked rice and want to make it interesting, you can go for this rice recipe.

Now we will move on to cauliflower rice recipe.

Ingredients:

• Cooked rice -1 ½ cup
• Cauliflower florets – 1cup
• Onion (finely chopped) – 1 No. (Medium)
• Garlic (crushed) – 2 pods (optional)
• Tomato (finely chopped) – 2 Nos
• Red chilli powder – 2tsp
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
• Cilantro/ coriander leaves (finely chopped) – 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste

For seasoning:

• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Fennel seeds – 1 tsp

Method:

1. As usual, clean the cauliflower and cut it into small florets. Soak these florets in hot water with salt and turmeric for about 5 minutes.
2. Take out the florets and wash in regular water and allow the water from the florets to drain completely.
3. Cook the rice as we do for making variety rice and allow it to cool.
4. In a non-stick pan, pour oil and temper with the ingredients given under ‘For seasoning’.
5. Add finely chopped onion and garlic and sauté till the onion becomes translucent.
6. Add finely chopped tomatoes and sauté till tomatoes get mashed well.
7. Add the masala powders and cook till the oil leaves out from the masala.
8. Now, add cauliflower and mix everything well and sauté for 2 minutes. Then sprinkle a handful of water over cauliflower and cook it covered for 5 minutes. Open the lid now & then, and stir so that the masala doesn’t get burnt at the bottom.
9. Finally add coriander leaves and give a stir.
10. After the cauliflower becomes soft and  gets mixed with the masala,  add the cooked rice and gently mix the cauliflower masala. Keep it covered with a lid for a minute.

Your Cauliflower Rice is ready to serve with any raita, tomato sauce or potato chips! As I said earlier, this is an ideal dish for your children’s lunch box.

Note:

• I have prepared this rice with regular Ponni rice, you can  use Basmati rice or even leftover rice!
• You need to cook the cauliflower according to your taste, ie. Either crunchy or soft, cook it accordingly in step (8). My personal opinion is crunchy cauliflower will taste better than the soft one.

Tags: Cauliflower rice recipe, cauliflower sadam recipe, rice using cauliflower masala, variety rice using cauliflower, lunch box recipe with cauliflower, cauliflower masala sadam, left over rice recipe with cauliflower, cauliflower masala with rice, mixed rice using cauliflower, cauliflower masala and left over rice.

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