Chintapandu Pulihora/ Tamarind Rice for Sankranthi festival

Like I said in my previous blog, Pulihora is an all time favorite for kids and adults. It was my favorite while growing up and now I am glad that my kids enjoy it too. Out of all the different types, Chintapandu pulihora or Tamarind rice is my favorite. Making the mix at home is not at all difficult. I usually make more of the mix and save it in the fridge so that I can make it again over the next week. Tamarind rice with plain dal or mudda pappu and aloo curry is the way I like to eat it. It also tastes good with plain yogurt.

Tamarind Rice/ Chintapandu Pulihora

Ingredients:

100g tamarind (soak in warm water, squeeze and remove pulp)

1/4 cup peanuts

1/4 cup cashew nuts

1 tbsp channa dal

1 tbsp urad dal

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tbsp fresh chopped ginger

1/4 tsp hing/ inguva

4-5 green chillies slit down the middle (thai green chillies)

3-4 dried red chillies

10-12 curry leaves

1/2 tsp tumeric powder

salt to taste

1/2 cup oil

2 cups cooked, cooled rice

Method:

Soak tamarind in a little water for some time untill it gets soft. Then squeeze, remove pulp and keep aside. Heat oil, add peanuts and fry till they start to  brown, then add cashews, all the dals, mustard seeds and fry till everything turns brown and mustard seeds start to splutter. Add the curry leaves, red chillies, ginger, green chillies and fry a little before adding the hing and turmeric powder. Let it cook a little before removing from heat. In a different pot, cook the tamarind paste for about 10min on medium heat. When you see it thicken, add the above mix and salt to your taste and cook for another 5 min before removing from heat. Now your pulihora paste or mix is ready. Now you can add it to the cooked cooled rice and don't forget adding salt because rice will absorb the salt and you will have to add more to get the right taste.

Tip: If you think that your tamarind paste wasn't sour enough, you can add some lemon juice to the rice while mixing. Some people even add a lttle bit of jaggery/ gud to the paste to give the sweet sour taste.

See it isn't that difficult to make pulihora paste and I am sure it tastes much better than the store bought one. So go ahead and try it!! and you will enjoy it!!!