Puliyodharai (Tamarind rice) Adi Perukku special

The eighteenth day of the month of Aadi in the Tamil lunar calender is important for people living along rivers banks, especially, the Kaveri.  The festival is a thanksgiving celebration to the sustaining power of water. Called Aadi pathinettu, or Aadi perukku, the day is also a celebration of the onset of monsoon in this part of the country.  This day also starts the sowing season for the main crop of the season - Rice.

The festival is celebrated, as usual, by cooking different types of rice dishes, such as coconut rice, lemon rice, tamarind rice and so on, and the carbohydrate extravaganza is traditionally partaken along the banks of the nearest river.



Puliyodharai or tamarind rice, a spicy form of "kalandha saadam" ("mixed rice") compensates for the rather bland coconut rice and tangy lemon rice made during the day.  This rice is best eaten with a curd-based side dish such as aviyal or pachadi and a crispy vadaam or vathal.  Potato chips is a non-traditional side dish and goes well with puliyodharai as well.

The following measure gives approximately 500gms of Pulikaichal. I usually prepare in this ratio and store it for 3-4 weeks. If you want to prepare for just 4-5 people, reduce all the measures by half.

Also I have used long red chilly which is less spicier than round red chilly. If you are using the other one reduce 1 or 2 chillies.
Ingredients
Tamarind - gooseberry size balls - 4
Soak this in 4 cups of hot water(apprx. 500ml) for half an hour to an hour.

Make a powder of the following 
Red chillies- 8-10
Channa dhal- Kadalai paruppu- 1 tablespoon
Sesame seeds - 2 tablespoons
Fenugreek - 1/2 teaspoon

For seasoning
Gingelly oil - nalla ennai-1 small cup
Mustard seeds - kadugu - 1 tablespoon
Red chillies- 4-5(break it into two with your hands)
Channa dhal - Kadalai paruppu- 2 tablespoons
Urad dhal - uluthan paruppu - 1 tablespoon
Peanuts - roasted - kadalai -1 small cop
Turmeric - manjal podi-1-2 tablespoons
Asafoetida - perungayam - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves
Salt to taste(approx. 2 - 2 1/2 tablespoons for this recipe)

Procedure
1.Extract tamarind water. It should be thick and filter it using a sieve.Keep it aside.I haven't used extra water apart from the 4 cups of water I used while soaking. If at all if you feel there is still some juice left, refreigerate it and use it for rasam or sambar.

2. In a pan add a teaspoon of gingelly(sesame)oil, fry the red chillies first. Take it out. Fry the channa dhal and fenugreek.

3. Add the sesame seeds. Cover it and allow it to splutter.

4.Make a powder of all the ingredients. Keep it aside.

5. In a thick bottom pan, heat the gingelly oil. Season it with mustard, red chillies, channa dhal and urad dhal one by one. Add peanuts and curry leaves.

6. Add turmeric and asafoetida too. Saute for a minute.

7. Now it's time to fold in the tamarind extract. Add 2 tablespoon of salt. Let it boil for 5-7 minutes. We have to wait until the raw smell of the tamarind goes.

8. Add the powdered ingredients. Mix well. Simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

9. Simmering for 10 minutes will thicken the gravy. Switch off the stove and leave the pulikaichal in the pan until it cools down.

10. Transfer it to a bowl. Allow it to cool and then refrigerate. It can be used for 10-15 days.

11. Now comes the mixing part. Cook rice and spread it on a plate. Add a tablespoon of gingelly oil on top. Let it cool for half an hour. (I have used 2 cups of rice. I pressure cooked it with 5 cups of water.)

12. Transfer this to a vessel (easy to mix). Add 4 tablespoons of pulikachal. If you need you can add more after tasting. Store the rest.

13. Garnish it with fresh curry leaves. I prefer to serve this with avial or more kuzhambu. You can serve this a simple cucumber raitha and papad too.