South Indian Tamarind rice is a spicy, tangy, savory and mildly sweet, easy to make rice using simple aromatic Indian spices in a tamarind based sauce which can be homemade or store bought; perfect as a quick meal, lunch box option or even for a picnic!
Although traditionally made on a stove top using already cooked rice, here, I have shared stove top and pressure cooker methods too (stove top pressure cooker and electric Instant Pot).
Recipe card and Step-wise Instructions can be found at end of post.
But do read the whole post as I have given tips and tricks to make perfectly cooked pressure cooker tamarind rice!
WHAT IS TAMARIND RICE?
Most temples in the southern part of India serve some Prasad or offering from God to their devotees and tamarind rice is one of the more popular ones! Prasad is something that is cooked (or it could be any fruit or drink), offered to God and then served to devotees as it is considered blessed thereafter.
But it is very popular as it is super delicious and easy to make especially if using store bought tamarind rice mix, but nothing like making a homemade spice mix!
This lip smacking rice is known by many other names in different parts; puliyogare, puliyohare, puliyodharai etc.to name a few! Any which way it is called, no one can resist enjoying this easy to make spicy, tangy and savory rice dish which needs no onions, garlic, ginger or any other strong spices you normally would find in most Indian dishes.
Basically it is cooked rice mixed with a homemade (like I have made here) or store bought (available in Indian grocery stores) tangy spice mix.
The basic ingredients used are lentils like urad (split black gram), chana dal (split chickpeas), fenugreek seeds, mustard, hing or asafetida powder, black pepper corns, sesame seeds etc.
Coming from the coconut grove land Mangalore in Karnataka, I love to use coconut in most every thing and decided why not in this too! I noticed that adding this imparts a lovely sweet hue to the dish which endears us to the overall taste of the dish.
Making this is so easy. Just roast the spices with grated coconut (fresh, frozen or dry), powder and make a thick sauce with some tamarind (either soaked tamarind water or even a bottled tamarind paste), salt and jaggery (unrefined cane sugar).
Cooked cool rice is then mixed into the tamarind sauce to coat each grain of rice thoroughly. Once mixed, you can enjoy it hot, warm or even at room temperature. It is best savored with some crispy potato chips and a salad on the side.
Since I first tried this last month, I have made it three times already and every time my family is all gaga over the uber taste of this simple, yet delicious Puliyodharai or spicy south Indian flavored Tamarind Rice!
PRESSURE COOKER TAMARIND RICE (Updated March 26, 2020):
Although it is made traditionally using already cooked rice, I decided to make it in a pressure cooker for those who need to eat this like today and do not have already cooked rice!
With the corona virus haunting all of us and everyone cooped up at home, some finding it difficult to even procure groceries and veggies, tamarind rice is a welcome savior as it needs mainly pantry ingredients like rice, tamarind, spices and peanuts!
Also, sometimes we crave for that tangy tamarind rice but, like I said, we got to make the rice first!
Comes this easy peasy pressure cooker version. Except for making the spice powder or mixture, it needs only one pan - the pressure pan/pot!
And, I love making a quick one-pot dish always; who doesn't right?
So I tried Pressure Cooker versions of tamarind rice, both stove top pressure cooker and Electric Instant Pot and you will be surprised how delicious it came out!
No compromise on taste or texture. Just like you would make any pressure cooker pulao/rice, tamarind rice too can be made too!
- Just make the spice mixture powder as listed in the recipe, make a tempering of lentils first, add the tamarind water/paste and spice mix along with a dash of water and mix well. This is the puliyogare or tamarind rice mix.
- Stir in washed and drained rice and salt to taste; and cook as you would any pulao! (Please check out all the tips and tricks you will need to get perfectly cooked pressure cooker tamarind rice in the recipe card and step-wise recipe below).
- Once done, remove the pressure pan/pot from the heat source to avoid further cooking.
- Once sufficiently cool, gently mix and enjoy!
- All in one pot; no precooking of rice.
In the pressure cooker methods, you will notice the just cooked tamarind rice will look moist with a bit of gravy. Do not panic!
Allow the rice to cool and absorb the rest of the masala.
Just wait for the mixture to completely cool before mixing or digging in.
The key step to remember is, any pressure cooked dish especially rice would also be slightly softer than just mixing in already cooked rice. So make sure to wait a bit to let it cool before mixing it. If you do mix when hot, the rice tends to be soft and will break or turn mushy when you use a spoon or ladle. SO WAIT!
Once almost cool, then gently mix to distribute all the spices and flavors using a fork or a ladle!
If you prefer, add a tempering on top again; temper with mustard, curry leaves and peanuts and dig in! Easy peasy isn't it?
SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
As tamarind rice can be enjoyed at room temperature, it is a wonderful make ahead dish especially for parties, get togethers, special occasion, picnics, lunch boxes or even for our daily meals.
We enjoy it with a sprinkling of roasted or fried peanuts but you can have it with a side of salad, raita or even some simple potato chips.
Do make this easy south Indian rice delight and do not forget to give me a shout out on either my Facebook page by sharing a picture of the dish or use the tag #curryandvanilla16 on Instagram (@curryandvanilla16)!
Feel free to leave a comment in the box below and please give a rating to the recipe!
Enjoy and Happy Cooking!
Here are some more rice delights for you:
- South Indian Style Lemon Rice
- Quick and Spicy Vegetable Fried Rice
- Satvik Tomato Pulao
- Burnt Garlic Vegetable Fried Rice
PULIYODHARAI/SOUTH INDIAN TAMARIND RICE (Stove Top/Pressure Cooker methods)
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serving Size: 4-6
Puliyodharai or Tamarind rice is a spicy, tangy, savory and mildly sweet south Indian rice using simple aromatic Indian spices in a tamarind based sauce, perfect as a quick meal, lunch box option or even for a picnic!
Ingredients
- 4 cups of cooked rice or 1 1/2 cups raw rice
- 2 tbsp dhania/coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp chana dal/split Chickpeas
- 2 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp urad dal/split black gram dal
- 4 to 5 dry red chilies
- ¼ tsp methi/dry fenugreek seeds
- 1 tsp black pepper corns
- ¼ to 1/3 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen)
- ¼ tsp hing/asafetida powder
- ½ tsp haldi/turmeric powder
- Small lemon-sized tamarind or 1 to 2 tsp of tamarind paste
- 2 to 3 tbsp grated or powdered jaggery (unrefined cane sugar)
- Salt to taste
- ¼ cup sesame oil/coconut oil or any other cooking oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp chana dal
- 1 tsp urad dal
- 1 dry red chili
- 3 to 4 methi/fenugreek seeds
- Few curry leaves
- ¼ tsp hing/asafetida powder
- ¼ to 1/3 cup peanuts/ground nuts
FOR THE PULIYOGARE MASALA:
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
FOR TEMPERING/SEASONING:
Instructions
- If you do not have pre-made cooked rice, make it and then cool completely before starting for stove top version. Each grain of rice should be fluffy and separate.
- If making in a pressure cooker, wash and drain raw rice and set aside.
- If using fresh tamarind, soak it in about ½ cup of hot water for about 15 minutes.
- Heat a large saucepan on medium high heat and add the spices listed under puliyogare masala except coconut, turmeric and hing.
- Roast the spices on medium low heat, stirring often until light brown.
- Add the grated coconut and keep roasting until the coconut is dry and loses all its moisture. At this stage, add the hing powder and haldi, mix and remove the pan from heat. Let cool.
- Once the mixture is cool, blend in a spice grinder or a small blender jar to a fine powder. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a saucepan and once hot, add the mustard seeds.
- Once the seeds splutter and crackle, add the chana and urad dals; sauté a few seconds.
- Stir in the hing, curry leaves, dry red chili and peanuts along with the methi seeds and fry on medium low to low heat until the peanuts are well roasted and fried.
- At this stage, squeeze water from the soaked tamarind and add to the seasoning mixture. If using tamarind paste, add this and some water; about ½ cup.
- Add salt and jaggery (about 2 tbsp to begin with) and mix well.
- Increase the heat and bring the mixture to boil. Simmer for about 2 to 3 minutes on medium low heat.
- Do a taste test and adjust the amount of tamarind, salt and jaggery to make a tangy, slightly sweet and savory mixture according to personal taste.
- Add the spice mixture (puliyogare mixture); stir to combine well. Keep mixing and stir until you get a thick sauce or chutney.
- At this stage, stir in the cooked rice (in batches); mix until well to coat each grain of rice with this lip smacking tamarind sauce or chutney! Add more oil if you feel the mixture is dry.
- Remove from heat and eat warm or let cool; can be eaten at room temperature too!
- If you have less amount of rice, remove some tamarind sauce from the pan and add rice to just coat it. If needed, you can use more tamarind sauce. Store leftover sauce in fridge for later use.
- Same procedure to make the spice masala.
- Heat oil (1/4 cup) in pressure pan on medium heat and after the mustard seeds have spluttered, add 1 tbsp chana and urad dal along with hing, methi, dry red chili, curry leaves and peanuts (if using).
- Sauté a few seconds and then stir in tamarind water or paste.
- Add powdered spices, jaggery and salt. Add more water (just a dash so as to not burn the spice mixture) and cook until slightly thick. Mix well.
- Stir in washed and drained rice and sauté for a few minutes, stirring often.
- Add twice the amount of water (or adjust the amount of water like for any pulao with the type of rice you use).
- Mix well, adjust seasonings and pressure cook on low (after first whistle) for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat source.
- Let the pressure drop naturally and then open; let cool completely. Fluff up with fork.
- Make sure it is cooled or it will mash up.
- After the spice mix is ready and tamarind paste has been squeezed from the soaked tamarind (you will need about 1/2 cup tamarind water), time to make the rice.
- Heat 1/4 cup oil and add 1 tsp mustard seeds on sauté. When they splutter, add the urad and chana dals along with hing, methi seeds, curry leaves and peanuts if using.
- Roast or fry, stirring continuously until the lentils are lightly browned and peanuts are slightly fried.
- Stir in tamarind water, spice mix, jaggery and salt to taste.
- Mix well and cook until most moisture is gone. At this stage, if you feel the bottom is burning, turn the IP off and continue cooking or remove from heat source. The residual heat is enough to fry the puliyogare mix. If needed splash some water to avoid burnt mixture at the bottom of pot.
- When thick, add drained rice (about 1 1/2 cups), 1 3/4 cups hot water; mix well.
- If you have switched off the sauté button, turn it back on. Mix well and adjust salt and jaggery if needed. Scrape the bottom to remove any stuck on portions.
- Cancel the sauté button and pressure cook on high 4 minutes.
- After 4 minutes, natural pressure release 5 minutes, then manually release pressure.
- When the seal has dropped, remove inner pot from IP and place the inner pot on a trivet and cool slightly.
- Keep it open or loosely cover with a lid. This prevents the rice from cooking further and turning mushy.
- You will also notice that there is also some amount of gravy. Do not worry. Let the rice cool fully, undisturbed!
- When fairly cool, gently mix and fluff up the rice using a flat ladle without breaking up the rice grains.
- Thoroughly mix and enjoy warm or best cold at room temperature.
- Make a tadka of oil, mustard, curry leaves, hing and peanuts.
- Add to rice, mix and serve!
- Serve spicy, tangy and lip smacking puliyodharai or tamarind rice with some crispy potato chips and a salad on the side.
- ENJOY AND HAPPY COOKING!
TO MAKE THE PULIYODHARAI MASALA:
TO MAKE THE PULIYODHARAI OR TAMARIND RICE:
Stove Top Method:
Pressure Cooker Method:
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Method:
TO MAKE THE TADKA (optional but adds more flavor):
Notes
Rice should be at room temperature or cold when you add to the tamarind sauce if making on stove top.
Adjust the level of spices, chilies and tamarind according to personal taste.
If you have less rice, use only as much of the sauce as you need and store leftover tamarind sauce in the refrigerator for up to a week or two to make fresh puliyodharai later.
If making using the pressure cooker method, adjust the amount of water added according to the type of rice you use and make sure the whole mixture is stirred well and nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan before pressure cooking.
When making in the pressure cooker, make sure to remove the pressure pan (stove top pressure cooker) or inner pot (Instant Pot) once the pressure drops from the heat source.
Let cool completely before fluffing up with fork or ladel!
Enjoy!
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STEP-WISE INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE PULIYODHARAI/TAMARIND RICE (Stove top and Pressure Cooker Methods):
If you do not have pre-made cooked rice (in case of stove top method), make it and then cool completely before starting. Each grain of rice should be fluffy and separate.
If making in pressure cooker, wash and drain rice; set aside.
If using fresh tamarind, soak it in about ½ cup of hot water for about 15 minutes.
TO MAKE THE PULIYOGARE or SOUTH INDIAN TAMARIND RICE MASALA:
Heat a saucepan on medium high heat and add the spices listed under puliyogare masala except coconut (fresh/frozen/dessicated), turmeric and hing.
Roast the spices on medium low heat, stirring often until light brown.
Add the grated coconut and keep roasting until the coconut is dry, turn light brown and loses all its moisture. At this stage, add the hing powder and haldi, mix and remove the pan from heat. Let cool.
Once the mixture is cool, blend in a spice grinder or a small blender jar to a fine powder. Set aside.
This spice mix can be made ahead and used whenever you like.
TO MAKE THE PULIYOGARE OR TAMARIND RICE:
To make over stove top:
Heat oil in a saucepan and once hot, add the mustard seeds.
Once the seeds splutter and crackle, add the methi, chana and urad dals; sauté a few seconds.
Stir in the curry leaves, dry red chili and peanuts and fry on medium low to low heat until the peanuts are well roasted and fried.
At this stage, squeeze water from the soaked tamarind and add to the seasoning mixture. If using tamarind paste, add this and some water; about ½ cup.
Add salt and jaggery (about 2 tbsp to begin with) and mix well.
Increase the heat and bring the mixture to boil. Simmer for about 2 to 3 minutes on medium low heat.
Do a taste test and adjust the amount of tamarind, salt and jaggery to make a tangy, slightly sweet and savory mixture according to personal taste.
Add the spice mixture (puliyogare mixture); stir to combine well. Keep mixing and stir until you get a thick sauce or chutney.
At this stage, stir in the cooled, cooked rice; mix until well to coat each grain of rice with this lip smacking tamarind sauce or chutney! Stir in rice in batches and gently mix.
Add more oil if you feel the mixture is dry.
Remove from heat and eat warm or let cool; can be eaten at room temperature too! A wonderful travel/lunchbox meal!
If you have less amount of rice, remove some tamarind sauce from the pan and add rice to just coat it. If needed, you can use more tamarind sauce. Store leftover sauce in fridge for later use.
Pressure Cooker Method (stove top version):
Same procedure for the masala mix.
Heat oil (1/4 cup) in the pressure pan and after the mustard seeds have spluttered, add red chili, methi, hing, 1 tbsp chana and 1 tsp urad dal.
(At this stage, you can add the peanuts but if you do not like it, just garnish with roasted/fried peanuts in the end).
Sautéa few seconds and then stir in tamarind water or paste.
Add powdered spices, jaggery and salt. Add more water (just a dash so as to not burn the spice mixture) and cook until slightly thick. Mix well.
Stir in washed and drained rice and sauté for a few minutes, stirring often.
Add twice the amount of water (or adjust the amount of water like for any pulao with the type of rice you use).
Mix well, adjust seasonings and pressure cook on low after the first whistle for 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove from heat source to avoid further cooking.
Let the pressure drop naturally and then open the pan to cool completely.
You will notice that the rice is still moist and you may feel there is still gravy masala. Do not worry.
Let it cool completely and you will notice that all the moisture has been absorbed by the rice.
Fluff up with fork. Make sure it is cooled or it will mash up.
Make a tadka/tempering of oil, mustard, curry leaves, hing and peanuts.
Add to rice, mix and serve!
Enjoy!
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Method:
After the spice mix is ready and tamarind paste has been squeezed from the soaked tamarind (you will need about 1/2 cup tamarind water), time to make the rice.
On sauté, heat 1/4 cup oil and add 1 tsp mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the urad and chana dals along with hing, methi, curry leaves and peanuts if using.
Roast or fry, stirring continuously until the lentils are lightly browned and peanuts are slightly fried.
Stir in tamarind water, spice mix, jaggery and salt to taste.
Mix well and cook until most moisture is gone. At this stage, if you feel the bottom is burning, turn the IP off and continue cooking. The residual heat is enough to fry the puliyogare mix. If needed splash some water to avoid burnt mixture at the bottom of pot.
Or, you can remove the inner pot from heat source, continue to sauté and then return to IP.
When thick, add drained rice (about 1 1/2 cups), 1 3/4 cups hot water; mix well.
If you have switched off the sauté button, turn it back on. Mix well and adjust salt and jaggery if needed.
Cancel the sauté button and pressure cook on high 4 minutes.
After 4 minutes, natural pressure release 5 minutes, then manually release pressure.
When the seal has dropped, remove inner pot from IP and place the inner pot on a trivet.
You will notice that the rice looks moist; do not worry. As it cools, rice will absorb all the moisture.
Let cool completely; either keep the pan open or cover loosely with a lid.
When fairly cool, gently mix and then fluff up the rice using a flat ladle or a fork without breaking up the rice grains.
Thoroughly mix and enjoy warm or cold at room temperature.
Serve spicy, tangy and lip smacking puliyodharai or tamarind rice with some crispy potato chips and a salad or any curry on the side.
ENJOY!!
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- Achari Vegetable Pulao by Sasmita
- Lemon Rice by Swaty
- Triple Schezwan Fried Rice by Ruchi
- Red and Yellow Bell Pepper Pilaf by Jayashree
- Mumbai Street Style Tava Pulao by Geetanjali
- Baby Corn Pulao by Poonam
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