Pulihora Recipe Andhra Style is a little different to the Tamil style Puliyodharai, where the spices are roasted and ground before adding to the tamarind pulp. You can check out the recipe for Puliyodharai here. In this Andhra Style Pulihora Recipe, the tamarind pulp is cooked and thickened with spices, green chillies and curry leaves. Cooked rice is then seasoned with this tamarind paste and tempered with few spices, lentils and nuts. This mix of ingredients renders a medley of essential tastes like sourness, spiciness and saltiness, thus stimulating the taste buds!!
This is the South Indian Style “Slow Food”, where something indulgent is slowly picking up succulent spicy and tangy flavours a few hours after the dish is cooked. This might be the reason why it is offered as prasadam in most temples and also the most preferred option for picnics, long journeys and lunch boxes way before fancy gadgets like microwave ovens became a part of office kitchens. It’s also a complete meal in itself….The best part about tamarind rice is that it’s so easy to make at a short notice and also in large quantities!!
Of course, if you don’t have the time to prepare the tamarind rice powder/paste from scratch, there are a number of varieties that are available ready made. I haven’t tried all but surprisingly, I don’t mind the MTR one. Any day, my motto is…… Homemade is the best !!
Off to Pulihora Recipe Andhra Style!!
Steps to prepare
Pulihora Recipe Andhra Style:
Prep Work:
- Click HERE to get the recipe for Pulihora Pulusu/Tamarind Rice Paste.
- If you are a beginner or someone who is new to cooking rice, you can click HERE to see How to Cook Perfect Plain Rice.
NOTE: I would recommend Sona Masoori or Ponni Raw Rice for this recipe. Try to avoid Basmati rice, it doesn’t give the same texture or taste as the other two.
Once you have the prep work done, the rest of the process is a breeze.
Let’s start making Pulihora:
- After the rice is cooked, spread it on a plate or in a broad vessel to cool down. While spreading the rice, use a fork to separate so that the rice grains will be intact not mash up.
- Add turmeric powder, oil and a little salt when rice is still warm. Leave it aside!!
- Once the rice cools down, mix gently without breaking the rice.
- Now add 2-3 tablespoons of the prepared Pulihora Pulusu/Tamarind Rice Paste. Mix well (best is to use your hand to mix) so that every grain of rice is coated with the paste. Time to taste and check for salt. Add another spoon of paste if required and mix well.
For the Seasoning:
- Heat oil in a pan and add lentils and peanuts. Fry peanuts till you hear a crackling sound—otherwise they will be raw.
- Now add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.
- Once the mustard seeds splutter, add asafoetida, curry leaves and turn off the heat.
- Transfer the seasoning to the rice.
- Give the rice a nice stir with a ladle.
- Let the tamarind rice sit for a couple of hours before serving so that the rice soaks in all the flavours. It tastes best when made a day before.
- Serve with chips or raita on the side.
- My favourite combination is with a simple Potato Fry on a festive day, otherwise with Chicken Fry….or even Chicken Curry….If you haven’t tried this combo…you definitely got to try it out!!
Pulihora Recipe Andhra Style | Chintapandu Pulihora Recipe | South Indian Tamarind Rice Recipe
Ingredients
For Seasoning:
- 2-3 Tablespoons oil
- 5 dry red chillies
- 2 Tablespoons split Bengal gram Chana Dal
- 1 Tablespoon whole black gram without skin
- ½ cup Raw Peanuts
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- ½ teaspoon asafoetida
- Handful of curry leaves
Instructions
Cooking & Mixing Rice:
- Cook such that each grain is separate, spread to cool.
- Add turmeric powder, oil and salt when rice is still warm.
- Once the rice cools down, mix gently without breaking the rice.
- Now add 2 tablespoons of the prepared Pulihora Pulusu/amarind Rice Paste. Mix well so that every grain of rice is coated with the paste. Check salt. Add another spoon of paste if required.
Seasoning:
- Heat oil in a pan and add lentils and peanuts. Fry peanuts till you hear a crackling sound, otherwise they will be raw.
- Now add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.
- Once the mustard seeds splutter, add asafoetida and curry leaves and turn off the heat.
- Transfer the seasoning to the rice and mix well.
- Let the tamarind rice sit for couple of hours before serving.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Amount of oil used in this Pulihora Recipe Andhra Style can be controlled. But, if you want to store for a day or two, use more oil.
- Please adjust red chillies and salt as per your taste.
- Tanginess can be adjusted with the amount of Pulihora Pulusu/amarind Rice Paste.
- Rice should not be sticky. Adjust the water as per your rice quality. Sometimes, rice may need little less/more water for cooking. To be on the safer side, add a few drops of lemon juice or oil to the rice while cooking. This avoids sticking of the rice.
- Be generous with curry leaves as this gives an incredible flavour to the dish.
- You can decrease/increase the quantity of lentils and nuts. If you wish, include some cashews too.
Check out FESTIVAL RECIPES , RICE RECIPES, ONE POT MEALS and other PULIHORA RECIPES from blog.
- PULIYODHARAI RECIPE (TAMILNADU STYLE)
- LEMON RICE RECIPE (NIMMAKAYA PULIHORA)
- MAMIDIKAYA PULIHORA (RAW MANGO RICE)
Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!
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Happy Cooking 🙂
Cheers!!
Padma.
