Pulihora

The souring paste is made in advance and keeps for months, then stirred through cooked rice.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 400 g rice, cooked and cooled
• 4 tablespoons tamarind paste
• 2 tablespoons jaggery, grated
• 80 g peanuts
• 2 tablespoons chana dal
• 2 tablespoons urad dal
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 6 dried red chillies
• 25 curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
• 6 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Method

1. THE SOURING PASTE IS MADE IN ADVANCE AND KEEPS FOR MONTHS, THEN STIRRED THROUGH COOKED RICE. Its article describes the dish twice over, and the second description is the one worth following: pulihora gojju, a paste, or pulihora podi, a powder, is OFTEN PRE-MADE AT HOMES AND STORED FOR MONTHS, then MIXED WITH COOKED RICE IN A PAN to make pulihora INSTANTLY. So this is not a dish you cook, it is a paste you keep. The souring agent, the spices, the lentils, the peanuts and the jaggery are all cooked down in oil together and the rice meets them at the last minute.
2. FOUR DIFFERENT SOURING AGENTS AND ITS ARTICLE NAMES THEM ALL. Kokum, tamarind, lemon or green mango. The name says why it matters: puli means tangy or sour. This page takes tamarind; kokum is fruitier, lemon sharper and cleaner, green mango the most astringent.
3. THE PASTE IS COOKED UNTIL THE OIL SEPARATES AND COMES BACK OUT. Twenty minutes over a medium heat. That separation is what makes it keep -- the oil seals it, the tamarind and salt do the rest.
4. THERE IS A LOT OF OIL AND THAT IS THE PRESERVATIVE. Six tablespoons. A paste made lean will not last a week.
5. THE LENTILS AND PEANUTS ARE FRIED FIRST AND LEFT CRUNCHY. Chana dal, urad dal and peanuts in the oil until golden. They go soft if they sit in the paste wet, so the paste must be cooked dry.
6. THE JAGGERY IS SMALL AND IT IS NOT FOR SWEETNESS. Two tablespoons against four of tamarind. It rounds the sourness off; leave it out and the dish is harsh.
7. THE RICE IS COOKED, SPREAD OUT AND COOLED FIRST. Warm rice turns to paste when it is stirred. Spread on a tray, fanned, grains separate.
8. IT IS MIXED BY HAND, NOT STIRRED WITH A SPOON. Fingers spread the paste without crushing the grains. A spoon mashes.
9. IT IS BETTER AN HOUR LATER AND GOOD THE NEXT DAY. The rice goes on taking up the paste. This is a dish made to be carried.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes