Puliyodharai, a hot favourite prasadam

In ancient texts and writings on temple walls, food was equated with God and was therefore an important offering. Cooked rice was flavoured with ghee, gingelly oil and spices. Thus came about different kinds of rice varieties like puliyodharai, sesame rice, etc. 

The tastiest prasadam is to be had in temples and many feel, it’s because of the divine blessings. Inscriptions of recipes are hard to come by — there may be no more than 10 of them in all the temples but they date from the Chola and Nayaka periods and provide a tantalising glimpse into the food that we eat every day. 

One of the most comprehensive set of food related inscriptions is from the Tirumala temple, where each king, who ruled inscribed on the temple walls, the temple rules and prasadam details. The following offerings are mentioned — paanagam (water with dried ginger powder and jaggery), vadaparuppu, kari – amudhu (cooked vegetable), daddhiyodanam (curd rice), adhirsam (sweet), appam (sweet), vadai, sukiyanpadi (made of dried ginger), puliyodharai (tamarind rice), ellorai (cooked rice with gingelly seed), kadugorai (cooked rice with mustard), pongal, idli, akkaravadisal. Prasadam is separate for the Lords, the general public and annadanam. Separate kitchens are used. 

Venturing into the sacred kitchens where the annadanam is cooked is a holistic experience — the kitchen which caters to the Lords prasadam is sanctum of the temple. Only the priests who cook prasadam are allowed inside and the procedure to make it is very strict.  They rise at 2 am, have a bath and they cook the whole bhojanam for the lord on firewood. The rest is cooked on gas. Certain types of metal vessels, stone called kalchetti and mud are prescribed for the cooking. The mud pot goes back to a famous myth of the potter Bheema, who won the heart of the Lord with his devotion. 

A popular favourite among the devotees is the puliyodharai and hence I am sharing the recipe of this with you all.

Prep for: 4 to 6 pax

Prep. Time: 30 min.

Cooking time: 20 min.

Calories: 180 per serv

Gingelly Oil (Nallenai) – 3 tbsp

Peanuts – a fistful (Skin removed) 

Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp. 

Channa Dal – 1 tbsp. 

Urad Dal – 1 tsp.

Powdered White sesame ½ spoon

Dried Red chilies – 2

Curry Leaves – few

powdered jaggery – 1 tsp. 

Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp.

Powdered cashewnut/groundnut powder 1tsp. 

Hing (Perungayam) – a generous pinch

Tamarind – lemon sized ball

Salt – to taste

Channa Dal – 1 ½ tbsp. 

Urad dal – 1 tbsp.

Toovar dal 1 tbsp. 

Coriander Seeds – ½ tbsp. 

Dried Red Chilies – 4

Fenugreek Seeds (Venthyam) – ½ tsp. 

Sesame seeds – 1 tbsp.

Groundnuts 1tbsp.

Raw rice [samba or ponni , no basmati]

Gingely oil –2 tbsp. 

Curry leaves 

Groundnuts roasted 2 tbsp. 

* Heat oil and roast the ingredients ‘for the powder’ as above until golden brown. Allow it to cool and grind it to a fine powder. Keep aside.

* Then add 1/2 cup water to tamarind, let it soak for 15mins.Now squeeze out thick tamarind pulp and keep aside.

* Place the kalchetti or a nice heavy bottom vessel, heat 2 tbsp.of gingely  oil,on medium low heat and add the peanuts. Roast until slightly browned.

* Now add mustard seeds, channa dal, toovar dal, urad dal, curry leaves, red chilies, turmeric powder, and hing. Roast until they are browned evenly. Add curry leaves.  

* Roast cashewnuts and groundnuts, powder it and add to the seasoning. 

* Add all the seasoning Now add the tamarind extract and allow it to boil for 10-15mins. Add jaggery and mix well. Add salt. Add pulikachal masalas.

* When oil begins to separate and the mixture will become at one stage oozing out oil at the edges, at this stage switch off.

* Check and add salt.

* Take the cooked rice spread it in a wide bowl, drizzle a tsp. of oil on top, add the pulikaichal mix well without mushing up the rice. Add salt if required. Now add the roasted masala powder and give a quick stir. Keep covered and allow it to rest at least for 30mins before you serve. 

TIP: Check the pulikaichal once mixed with rice and then add salt accordingly. This is a very tasty puliodharai version as served in certain temples. I just added cashewnut powder for extra taste and it’s a secret ingredient for the prasadam. Adding jaggery gives the right flavour. You can store both the pulikaichal and the roasted powder in fridge and it stays well for about a week. You can use ponni or samba rice but try to avoid basmati.