Puliyodharea

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Tbsp – Gingely Oil
• ¼ cup – Peanuts, raw
• ½ tsp – Mustard Seeds
• 1 Tbsp – Channa Dal
• 1 tsp – Urad Dal
• 1-3 nos –  Red chillies (adjust to taste, more chillies are added in the roasted powder)
• 6-8 nos – Curry Leaves, washed & patted dry and roughly torn into pieces
• ½ tsp – Turmeric Powder
• A pinch of Asafoetida
• A cricket ball sized chunk of raw Tamarind pulp – soaked in ½ cup warm water for 10mins
• Salt to taste

Roasted powder:

• 1 ½ Tbsp – Sesame oil
• 1 ½ Tbsp – Channa Dal
• 1 Tbsp – Urad dal
• ½ Tbsp – Coriander Seeds
• 3-4 nos – Red Chillies
• ½ tsp – Fenugreek Seeds
• 1 Tbsp – Sesame seeds

Method:

1. Cook 2 cups of rice using a 1:2 ratio of rice-to-water.
2. Using your hands squeeze out the thick tamarind pulp and discard the seeds and fiber.
3. Heat oil in a sauce pan on medium-low heat and add the peanuts. Roast until they start to turn a slight reddish orange color. Add the mustard seeds and dals next and continue to roast them until they get an even brown color.
4. Add the curry leaves, red chillies, turmeric powder and asafoetida and stir for 30 secs more. Carefully pour in the tamarind extract, a little salt and cook for 10-15mins until the gojju comes together as a thick mass and the oil begins to separate and collect around the edges.
5. In the meantime, in a shallow pan, heat a tablespoon of sesame oil and roast the dals to give them a head start. As they begin to turn color add the coriander seeds and red chillies. When all the ingredients have changed color to a deep reddish orange, bring down the heat a little and add the fenugreek and sesame seeds. These two ingredients tend to burn quickly so it is better to heat them on a low heat. Roast until the sesame seeds begin to splutter, take off the heat and cool for a few minutes before grinding them to a fine powder.
6. Once the rice is cooked, spread it in a wide dish to cool a bit, holding back about a cup of rice. Drizzle a little sesame oil on top and add a few tablespoons of the gojju. Mix lightly without bruising the rice grains. Add salt and more gojju or rice according to taste.
7. As a final garnish sprinkle the roasted powder on top and mix it in. Cover the Puliyodharea  and let it rest for atleast 30mins before serving. You could take photos in the mean time