Let me first tell you the preparation of pulikaichal.

Ingredients

Tamarind – 200 gms (app x size of a mango)
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tps
Salt – 1 1/2 tsp (increase or decrease the quantity according to taste)

For Seasoning

Mustard seeds – 2 tbl spoon
Red Chillies – 25-30 Nos , broken into pieces (If you don’t want the pulikaichal to be very hot while making the chillies into 2 pieces remove the seeds)
Chenna Dhal – 1 Tbl spoon
Urud Dhal – 1 Tbl Spoon
Curry leaves – Fresh and dried (20 to 30 Nos)
Gingly oil (Nallennai-til oil)- 250 ml

If you are going to store for a longer period then it better to add less quantity of dhal at the time of preparation . Fry and add the required quantity of dhal at the time of mixing pliyodarai.

For Powdering

Methi seeds – heap of 1 tsp
Hing ( Asafoetida or perungayam) – 1 small piece or 1/2 tsp

Dry fry the methi seeds till they are deep brown. Add one teaspoon of gingly oil and fry the hing. It is better to use the solid hing for this preparation because this is the main flavouring agent. Allow it to cool and make it into a fine powder.

Note:- Some of them add 1tsp of dhaniya and 1/2 tsp of black pepper along with methi seeds and hing and powder it. These additions are optional.

Procedure

-Strain the tamarind into a thick pulp mix it with turmeric powder and salt and set aside.

- Take a thick bottom pan and add the gingly oil. Keep it on medium flame. Once the oil starts fuming add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter completely. Only when the mustard seeds splutters completely the shelf life of pulikaichal will last long.

- Then add the red chillies and the dhal and fry till the dhal is golden brown. Add the curry leaves and allow them get fried completely i.e, till all the water content in the curry leaf evaporates.

-Pour 1/2 a cup tamarind mix and when it starts to boil add the rest. Add a small piece of jaggery for added taste.

-When the pulp gets thick, oil will come up on the sides & the gravy will get deposited at the bottom. This indicates that pulikaichal is done. Switch off the stove and add the prepared methi-hing powder, mix it well and transfer it to another vessel to avoid further thickening.

Preparation of Puliyodarai

In general raw rice is used for this preparation.

1.Just pressure cook 1 cup of raw rice.

2.Take a vessel. Add 1 Tbl spoon of gingely oil and put the cooked rice over the oil.

3.If you are preparing the puliyodharai on the day when you make pulikaichal no additions are required.

Approximately for 1 cup of rice (i.e,200 gms of rice) we need 3 tbl spoon full of pulikaichal.

4.Mix it with the rice using a flat laddle so that the rice will not get smashed.

If you are going to refrigerate and prepare puliyodharai once in a while then , in just 1 tsp of gingly oil fry, 2 broken green chillies, fresh curry leaves, 1pinch of trumeirc powder and 1/4 hing and add to the rice. Add pulikaichal according to the quantity of rice.

If you like your puliyodharai to be crunchy, you can add fried peanuts and cashew nuts.

Note :- For the puliyodarai to taste good preferably use gingly oil. Usually we fry cashews in ghee. But for this preparation it is better to use gingly oil.

Refrigerate it in an air tight container.

While mixing puliyodharai try to use a flat laddle ( Here I mean Dosa Thudupu) so that the rice will not be smashed.

Ingredients

Rice – 1 Cup
Mixed vegetables – 1 cup
Garlic Ginger Paste – 1/2 tsp
Cardamom – 2 Nos
Clove – 4 Nos
Tej Patha (bay Leaves – 1 big leaf
Green Chillies – 2 Nos
Big Onion – 2 Nos
Sombu (sonuf) – 1 tsp
Ghee or cooking oil – 2 table spoons
Chili powder – 1/2 tsp

-Wash the rice and soak it for 15 minutes. You should not wash the rice after soaking. The rice will break .

-Drain the water thoroughly.

- In the mean time cut all the desired vegetables into small pieces (carrot, beans , cauliflower, onion, green peas etc)

- Dry fry all the given spices except bay leaves and make it into a coarse powder.

- Apply one table spoon of ghee in a kadai and fry the rice along with the bay leaf and at the end add the powdered masala and pour it into the vessel into which you are going to make the pulav.

- Again in another table spoon of ghee fry fry the ginger garlic paste and all the vegetables and add to the fried rice.

- Add 2 cups of water, 1/2 tsp chilliepowder and the required amount of salt (in general it requires 1 tsp of salt, but the quantity depends upon an individual’s taste).

- Pressure cook this mixture in high fire until 3 whistles come. Let the cooker simmer for about 10 minutes.

- Soon after the cooker gets released take out vessel and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes.

-You can garnish pulav with fried golden cashews, finely chopped coriander. Even small pieces of bread can be fried in oil till golden brown and can be used for garnishing.

-Serve with onion raitha as side dish

[Note: Onion raitha is nothing but finely chopped onion , coriander and green chillies added to fresh curd with salt. You can also add grated carrot and pomegranate seeds to make it more colourful.Ordinary rice or Basmathi rice can be used. basmathi rice gives more flavoured pulav.]