Pulihora (Tamarind Rice)పులిహోర

Name: Pulihora (Tamarind Rice)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 5 servings
Cuisine: Telugu (Andhra & Telangana)
Ingredients: 3 cups Cooked rice, cooled; lime-sized ball Tamarind (చింతపండు); 3 tbsp Peanuts; 1 tbsp each Chana dal & urad dal; 4 Dried red chillies; 3 Green chillies, slit; 1 tsp Mustard seeds; 2 sprigs Curry leaves; 1/2 tsp Turmeric; as needed Sesame oil, salt; a pinch Asafoetida

⏱ Prep 15m🍳 Cook 20m🍽 Serves 5🌿 Vegan

Video: Hebbars Kitchen (YouTube)

Pulihora is Andhra’s tangy tamarind rice — cooked rice tossed with a spicy tamarind paste (pulusu) and a crackling tempering of peanuts, chana dal and dried chillies. A temple-prasadam favourite that keeps well, it is equal parts sour, spicy and nutty.

📍 Make it in Plano

This recipe is the same everywhere — but where you buy the ingredients and eat the dish is local to you.

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Ingredients

▪Cooked rice, cooled3 cups
▪Tamarind (చింతపండు)lime-sized ball
▪Peanuts3 tbsp
▪Chana dal & urad dal1 tbsp each
▪Dried red chillies4
▪Green chillies, slit3
▪Mustard seeds1 tsp
▪Curry leaves2 sprigs
▪Turmeric1/2 tsp
▪Sesame oil, saltas needed
▪Asafoetidaa pinch

🌍 Cooking abroad? Substitutions

Use day-old or fully cooled rice so it doesn’t turn mushy.
Sesame (gingelly) oil is traditional and worth using; the tamarind paste keeps refrigerated for a week.

Method

1Soak the tamarind and extract a thick juice. Simmer it with turmeric, salt and a little jaggery until it reduces to a thick, glossy paste (pulusu).
2Spread the cooked rice on a plate, drizzle with a little sesame oil, and let it cool so the grains stay separate.
3Temper: heat sesame oil, fry peanuts golden, then splutter mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal, red and green chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida until the dals turn golden.
4Add the tamarind paste to the tempering and cook a minute.
5Pour the tamarind tempering over the rice and fold gently until every grain is coated and yellow. Rest 30 minutes for the flavour to soak in — it tastes even better later.

A Desi.Net original recipe · part of our Indian Cuisine library. Confirm details and adjust to taste.