Tamarind rice (Chinthapandu Pulihora/Chitrannam )

Today being Sankranti, I wanted to post something traditional that we often make during festivals at home. When I was browsing through my recipes, I realised that I haven’t shared the recipe for pulihora yet. So, I immediately decided to make this for lunch today along with Aloo-Jeera and curd/dahi 🙂

‘Pulihora’ or chitrannam is a very easy dish to prepare and also makes for a quick lunch-box option. You do not need any vegetables for this and all you need is some tamarind pulp. This is best served with avial – another classic south Indian stew. But, I like having it with any aloo curry, especially aloo-jeera 😀

Another quick version of tangy rice recipe is Raw mango rice – recipe here.

Ingredients:

Rice – 1 cup (cooked)

Tamarind pulp – 1 cup

Chana dal – 1 tbsp

Urad dal – 2 tbsp

Whole dry red chili – 10

Green chili – 2 (slit lengthwise)

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 2 tbsp

Hing/asafoetida – 1 tsp

Peanuts/groundnuts – ¼ cup (optional)

Cashew nuts – 1 tbsp (optional)

Curry leaves – 10 leaves

Salt – to taste

Oil – 2 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wide pan/skillet and add the peanuts, cashew, chana dal, urad dal and mustard seeds. Let the peanuts turn golden brown in color.
2. Then add the hing, curry leaves and green chili. Fry for a minute.
3. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
4. Into the same pan, add remaining oil, turmeric powder and whole dry red chili. Fry till the chili turns darker in color.
5. Add the tamarind pulp and salt. Simmer till the pulp reduces in volume and becomes a thick paste.
6. Then switch off the heat and add the cooked rice, fried dal-peanuts prepared earlier and give a gentle but good mix.
7. Cover with lid and let rest for atleast 15 minutes before serving!!
8. This goes well with avial or dahi/curd. But, I typically enjoy it with dry aloo curry like aloo jeera (recipe here).

Note:

1. You may add some red chili powder to the tamarind pulp while it is simmering if you think that the heat from the dry red chili isn’t enough.
2. Some people also add grated ginger and sesame seeds/powder to the rice, it gives a slightly different taste too.
3. Once prepared, the rice will taste more yummy if you let it rest for atleast 15-30 minutes.

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