Method

Soak tamarind in 150ml warm water for 10 minutes. Squeeze and extract thick tamarind paste. Heat gingelly oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, hing, dried red chillies. Fry 1 minute. Add tamarind extract, turmeric, and jaggery. Cook on medium heat 8–10 minutes, stirring, until the tamarind paste thickens significantly and the oil separates.
About 10 min
Tip: Gingelly (sesame) oil is traditional and essential for authentic flavour — regular oil produces a flat-tasting puliyodarai.
Add roasted peanuts and ground sesame to the thickened tamarind paste. Mix well. Taste — the paste should be intensely sour, slightly sweet from jaggery, and complex. This paste (puliyodarai paste) can be stored in an airtight jar for 2 weeks and used on demand.
About 5 min
Tip: Temple-style puliyodarai uses more sesame and less jaggery — it has a more austere, complex sourness.
Add cooled cooked rice to the paste. Toss thoroughly — every grain should be coated in the deep, glossy tamarind paste. Add a fresh tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves on top. Serve at room temperature. Do not serve hot — tamarind rice is always room temperature. Serve with papad and yoghurt.
About 5 min
Tip: Puliyodarai improves as it sits — the rice absorbs the paste and the flavour deepens over 30–60 minutes.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

Contains: peanuts, sesame