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Traditional and authentic South Indian Puliyogare (pulihora, puliyodharai, tamarind rice).
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5 from 9 votes

Puliyogare | Pulihora | Tamarind Rice

Puliyogare, also called pulihora or tamarind rice, is a traditional South Indian-style recipe prepared with rice, tamarind, and aromatic spices. One of the popular lunchbox and prasadam recipes prepared at temples and homes during Navratri or any puja.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, South Indian
Diet: Vegan
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 284kcal
Author: Kushi

Equipment

Ingredients

To Make Puliyogare powder

  • 1 tablespoon Oil (Coconut oil / Vegetable oil / Sesame oil)
  • 1 tablespoon Urad Dal
  • 1 tablespoon Chana Dal
  • 1 tablespoon Coriander Seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon Fenugreek seeds or Methi
  • ½ teaspoon Black peppercorns
  • ½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
  • ½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
  • 1 tablespoon Sesame seeds
  • 5 Dry red chilies vary as per taste
  • 5 Cashews
  • 2 tablespoon Grated Coconut (fresh / dry)
  • ⅛ teaspoon Asafoetida or Hing

For the Tamarind Paste

  • ¼ cup Tamarind
  • ½ cup Hot Water
  • 2 tablespoon Jaggery

For Seasoning / Tempering

  • 1 to 2 tablespoon Oil Canola Oil / Coconut Oil / Sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
  • 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds optional
  • 1 teaspoon Urad dal
  • 1 tbsp Chana Dal
  • 2 Dry red chilies
  • 3 tablespoon Peanuts (Groundnuts)
  • 8 Curry leaves
  • 5 to 6 Cashews
  • Asafoetida Hing, a pinch

Other Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup Rice (uncooked)
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

Tamarind paste

  • In a bowl, add tamarind and hot water and soak for 10 to 15 minutes. 
    ¼ cup Tamarind, ½ cup Hot Water
  • Once it becomes soft, extract the juice using your hands and discard any seeds. To this, add brown sugar or jaggery and keep it aside. 
    2 tablespoon Jaggery

How to make Puliyogare powder?

  • Heat oil in a pan. Add urad dal and chana dal, and roast until lightly golden. 
    1 tablespoon Oil, ½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds, ½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds, 1 tablespoon Urad Dal, 1 tablespoon Chana Dal, 1 tablespoon Coriander Seeds, ⅛ teaspoon Asafoetida, ¼ teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
  • To this, add coriander seeds, methi, and black peppercorn and roast until you get a nice aroma on low flame. 
  • Add mustard seeds, cumin, sesame seeds, red chilies, and cashews, and saute for a few seconds on low flame.  
    2 tablespoon Grated Coconut, ½ teaspoon Black peppercorns, 5 Dry red chilies, 5 Cashews
  • Add the coconut and continue to roast. Once you get the nice aroma, add the hing and switch off the flame.
  • Grind this to a powder and keep it aside. This powder can also be stored in the refrigerator for two months. 

Cook rice or use leftover rice.

  • Cook the rice using any method that you are comfortable with. Once the rice has cooked, using a fork, spread it to separate the grains. Keep this aside.

Make the puliyogare tempering.

  • Heat oil in pan on medium flame. Add mustard seeds. When it starts to splutter, add cumin seeds, urad dal, chana dal, and saute.
    1 to 2 tablespoon Oil, 1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds, 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon Urad dal, 1 tablespoon Chana Dal
  • Once it turns light golden in color, add red chilies, peanuts, cashews, and curry leaves, and saute for 30 seconds.
    2 Dry red chilies, 3 tablespoon Peanuts, 5 to 6 Cashews, 8 Curry leaves

Making of puliyogare gojju

  • Add tamarind paste to this tempering. Cook it on a medium flame for about 7 minutes or till the rawness goes off, and it becomes like a thick paste. (jam consistency)
  • To this, add puliyogare powder little by little and saute for a few more seconds till it becomes a thick paste. You can add salt at this stage. If it turns too thick, you can adjust with 1 or 2 tablespoon of water and simmer for a few minutes. This is puliyogare gojju. Taste check and adjust anything if needed at this point. You can also allow the gojju to cool completely and store it in the refrigerator if you do not want to use it immediately. 

Making of puliyogare or pulihora

  • To the cooked rice, add the gojju a little at a time and mix. (Too much gojju will make rice soggy. If you are left with gojju, refrigerate) .
  • Allow the rice to absorb flavors for 15 to 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

  • To get the best result, you will have to be generous when adding all the spices.
  • The ingredient list and steps may look lengthy and repetitive, but they are all basic ingredients that will enhance the dish's taste.
  • Puliyogare is made with short-grain rice. For the grainy texture, the rice must be cooked and cooled completely. Thus, many use leftover rice to make this recipe.
  • If you want to make puliyogare with store-bought powder, then I recommend MTR puliyogare mix.
  • I use coconut or neutral oil while making puliyogare, but if you are looking for traditional Iyengar-style puliyogare, use sesame oil.

Nutrition

Calories: 284kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 12mg | Potassium: 290mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 422IU | Vitamin C: 77mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 2mg