Tamarind Rice-Chintapandu Pulihora

No festival in south India is complete without Tamarind or Lemon Rice.This dish is a blend of tamarind and spices and rice.

Preparation time:45 minutes

Serves:5

Ingredients:

2 cups rice (Add 4 cups of water and cook,the rice should be cooked and separate, not mushy)

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 spring curry leaves

salt to taste

2 teaspoons tamarind paste or a large lemon sized tamarind boiled in water and juice extracted

1 tablespoon channa dal

1 tablespoon urad dal

1  teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

3-4 dry red chilli

6 green chillis slit length wise

2 teaspoons grated ginger

pinch  of asafoetida

1/4 teaspoon methi powder

1/2 teaspoon grated jaggery or sugar

1/3 cup peanuts

2-3 tablespoons oil or ghee

Procedure:

1.Take the white rice in a large bowl, separate the grains and and let cool. 

                        

2.Heat the oil in a pan and add the peanuts and let brown lightly.

3.Now add the chana dal and urad dal and let brown lightly, add the mustard and cumin seeds and curry leaves and let splutter. Then add the slit green chilli and red chili and roast well. Add the grated ginger, asafetida, salt,jaggery and methi powder and turmeric and saute for 1 more minute.

4.Add the tamarind paste and 1 cups of water and let the mixture thicken about 10 minutes(if using tamarind juice add it as is), the peanuts and green chili will pick up some amazing flavor from the tamarind in this step. If you have time let simmer on a low flame until the mixture thickens.

5.Add the cooked tamarind mixture to the rice and mix with a fork so all the mixture is combined with the rice. Adjust salt.

Tips:

This tamarind mixture can be stored in the fridge for upto a week and can be just mixed with rice and eaten.

 Let it sit for at least 3-4 hours for the flavors to set in.
Serve with yogurt or daddojanam