Tamarind Rice or Puliyogre

Hello everyone, I am blogging after a long time...yes and this time, its with some of the recipies which I love to make most of the time for my husband. Let me start with Tamarind Rice or Puliyogre which is easy and quick to make (especially if you have cooked rice ready). I made Puliyogre for one of our family friends, who are from Bangalore, when they had come to our place. Though Iam not a Bangalorean, I like the Rice items prepared in Bangalore households. Here is recipe for Tamarind Rice or otherwise called as Puliyogre in Bangalore:

Ingredients
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Rice (preferably white rice) - 2 cups

For the puliyogre mix:

Tamarind extract (can be made by putting a small ball of tamarind, which you get in stores, in warm water until it becomes soft. Then you can make a paste consistency using your hand) : 1/2 Cup (can increase or decrease
depending on the tangy taste you want)

Cumin seeds (jeera): 2 teaspoons

Grated Jaggery: 1 tablespoon

Coriander powder (malli podi): 2 teaspoons

Cinnamon powder (optional): 1 teaspoon

Hing (asafoetida powder): 1/4 teaspoon

Red Chilli: 4 nos

Oil: 2 tablespoon

In a pan, fry the above items in oil for 2 minutes to remove the raw taste. Remove from fire and when it cools down, grind the mixture.

For the tadka:

Oil: 2 tablespoons
Turmeric powder: a pinch
Mustard seeds: 2 teaspoons
Urad dal: 1 teaspoon
Channa dal: 2 teaspoons
Peanuts: 2 tablespoons
Green chilli (optional): 2 nos
Curry leaves to garnish
Salt to taste

Method
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1. Cook rice with a teaspoon of oil. Wait till it cools.
2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a sauce pan. Add the ingredients for tadka (refer above) one by one and saute them until they turn brown or in other words lose their raw taste.
3. Add the puliyogre mix (refer above), to the sauce pan and heat for another minute.
4. Add the rice when it is cool and mix it very well with the ingredients in the sauce pan. But make sure that while mixing, the rice should not become a paste.
5. Serve with coconut chutney. Can be also eaten as an evening snack.

Different version:

Mango rice: You may use amchur powder or dry mango powder instead of tamarind extract to
make Mango rice.