Puliyogare (Tamarind Rice)

We had planned a day trip to Schlitterbahn Water Park and since we miss Indian food wherever we go, we usually pack something to keep us satisfied. And nothing tastes great than the tangy puliyogare on the road. There are many ways of making the tangy tamarind rice and I keep changing the method every time I make the rice, but the basic steps remain the same. Puliyogare(Puli=sour, tangy and Ogare=rice) and hence the name. In Karnataka we call it HuLi Anna(Huli=sour and Anna=rice). Whatever you call it the rice tastes great and goes well with yogurt.
For the puliyogare, you first cook plain white rice and then mix it with tamarind sauce(gojju) and masala pudi(spice powder). You can make the gojju and the pudi well in advance and store it in the refrigerator(which I usually do) and then you can just mix the rice whenever you feel like eating puliyogare. The gojju stays for weeks in the refrigerator.















Method:
Ingredients:
Rice - 2 cups, washed and cooked so that rice is not too mushy

Gojju:
Tamarind pulp - 2 cups
Dry red chillies - 4-5 broken into pieces
Chana Dal - 1 tbsp
Peanuts - 2 tbsp
salt - 1 tbsp
turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 10-12
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
oil - 2 tbsp

In a wide pan heat oil, when hot enough add mustard seeds, when the seeds splutter add chana dal and fry for few seconds, add peanuts and fry another few seconds, now add red chillies, curry leaves, turmeric and let the red chillies turn reddish brown. Now add tamarind pulp and salt and cover, as the pulp tends to splutter. Mix carefully, cover and let cook on low-medium heat for about 20 min, stirring in between. When you see oil floating on the sides, turn off the heat, at this point the pulp becomes like a paste, your gojju is ready.

Masala Pudi:
Chanda dal - 2 tbsp
Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
Red Chillies - 10-12 broken into pieces
Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds(jeera) - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 1" stick
Whole Dhaniya - 2 tsp

Dry roast each ingredient and let cool down, then grind everything together, mix well and the pudi is ready.

Assembly:
In a wide mixing bowl, take rice, let cool, add 2 tbsp gojju and 1 tbsp masala pudi and mix well. Adjust salt and enjoy.