Pulikachal is basically a tamarind sauce which is used to make the famous South Indian Puliyodharai (Tamarind Rice). This is the Iyengar style puliyodharai mix. I don’t remember where I bookmarked this recipe from, but it has been in my diary for months and it is a success every time. I usually make this in bulk and it lasts for at least 6 months in the fridge. This recipe also uses half the quantity of oil than the usual pulikachal. Having this mix on hand helps on those lazy days. This is also a perfect food to take on a trip.
Now for the past one month I have been wearing this super woman hat and doing things beyond my strength and time. There was one such day when I was cooking and taking pictures of two dishes simultaneously and one was this Pulikachal. Now we all know how time-consuming it is to take pictures for just one dish. Needless to say by dinnertime I was completely exhausted and was muttering that I should be sensible next time which was when the golden words popped out of K’s mouth. He had just finished his puliyodharai and looked up and told me “this is the best puliyodharai ever”. K is not the person who compliments often and those words made the whole day’s work worthwhile for me. He also went a step ahead and asked me in a worried tone “you did make a note of what you did to recreate right”. At this point I was blushing and told him .. “Do you remember I have a blog now and this goes to it”.
Anyway some moments are really sweet and stand out. Well enough of my rambling .. let us start cooking.
Ingredients
1 medium apple size tamarind soaked in warm water (roughly had 3.5 cups of juice extracted)
1/4 cup salt
5 oz oil (A little more than 1/2 cup. Gingelly oil is preferred)
1 tbsp turmeric
Dry roast and grind
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup coriander seeds
1/2 cup channa dal
15 red chillies
2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1.5 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp urad dal
10 red chillies
1 tbsp asafoetida
1/4 cup curry leaves
1/2 cup raw groundnut
Yields : 4 cups of mix.
Method
Soak the tamarind in warm water.
Dry roast sesame seeds, coriander seeds, channa dal and red chillies one by one.
Take care while frying fenugreek as the whole dish is spoilt if it burns.
Ingredients waiting to be ground.
Grind all the ingredients together in a blender to a powder.
Heat the oil and add the red chillies. Fry until the chillies turn black.
Next add all the remaining seasoning ingredients (mustard seeds, urad dal and asafoetida). Then add the extracted tamarind juice. Act fast since the oil is hot and the dals will burn otherwise.
Let the mix boil for around 15 minutes. Then add the turmeric powder and salt. I would suggest to add just 1/2 or 3/4 of the quantity of salt mentioned and do a taste test and then add the remaining salt if needed. Simmer for few minutes.
Now add the ground powder little by little stirring constantly.
Stop when the mix is almost thick. Remember it thickens more on cooling and we do not want to end with a dry powder finally. I only had about 2 tsp of powder left. See how it is nice and thick.
Meanwhile heat about a tsp of oil and fry the peanuts and curry leaves.
Add the fried curry leaves and peanuts to the mix.
Almost there. Mix well. Kitchen smells heavenly at this point 
Let it cool and then store in glass bottle. Yields around 4 cups of mix.
To make the puliyodharai rice :
Cook rice separately and let it cool. We want the grains to be separate. Once cooled add the pulikachal and mix gently. Quantity of mix depends on how tangy you like. Puliyodharai is generally served with potato fry or papad.
Enjoy!
The first pic was uploaded on 5/5/2013.
Tips
1. Increase the quantity of peanuts if needed.
2. More peanuts can be added to the rice when mixing with pulikachal.
 on https://cooksjoy.com/blog "Pin It")
Hi,
I tried your recipe last time it came out awesome. But this time I tried to make it in a big batch the powder I got after roasting tastes bitter but pretty sure I didn’t add more methi just the prescribed amount. Could you plz suggest any tips.
And if am using tamarind paste or pulp how many tablespoon should be used?
I am eagerly waiting for your out puts because my children love this rice and have been asking for a while.
Thank you in advance
Thanks for the feedback. This recipe yields 4 cups and when you say you made a big batch – did you double it?
I think it is OK for the powder to have a slight bitter taste. It should be OK when mixed with the tamarind mixture. You could use less amount of the powder if in doubt and taste to see if it imparts bitterness and then add more based on the need.
Regarding the pulp or paste, I am sorry I do not have an answer since I have never used ready made paste and not sure how sour it would be.
Awesome looking recipe, have bookmarked this page, am a big fan of pulikachal….so have to make it today…
love the pulikaachal recipe VArdhini !!
Cheers
Kalyani
New Event: Indian Mithai Mela ending 8th Aug
Ongoing Event : Dish it out- Mushroom and Onions – all this July
My fav recipe…lovely clicks…. tempting and mouthwatering too…
This tangy mix sounds very interesting. My mouth is watering right now, just fantastic
my fav one and ur tempting me too. nice stepwise explanations
Puliyogare is my hubby's fav rice… yours looks so neatly done..
http://krithiskitchen.blogspot.com
Event: Serve It-Chilled
Once I tried adding the powder, and felt the outcome was too thick for me. Don't remember what and all i add! Now you have given the measurement and pictures, sure, I can give it a try!
BTW,my version is totally different from yours! will try to post it soon.
Great recipe for standby….Perfect!
wow..excellent puliyodharai mix…now I am yearning to eat that rice..just delicious..
Mouthwatering Mix..Looks perfect
Saranya
http://www.foodandtaste.blogspot.com/
Your post made me nostalgic! It's been a long while since I had pulikachal rice…not counting the ready-mix pulikachal days…It looks DELICIOUS!!
Pulikachal looks perfect love to try some time.
I can eat that whole thing ~ that is what I callmouthwatering ! YUM!
US Masala
very nice recipe …… my fav pulihora ….. lovely pictures …..
very nice recipe…love puliyodharai very much n can live with tat alone for as many days
yours picture n recipe tempts me a lot..want to try your version 
Thats a lovely input that this could be stored together and prepared instant puliodharai..Thanx for sharing!!
Thanks a lot friends. It is the feedback from all of you'll which keep me motivated.
Nice recipe..this will be very handy..looks delicious.
One of my favorites, looks delicious.
Aha.. truly yummy.
Yay! I just bought some more turmeric, so I'll be able to try this dish!
Very useful recipe, sounds delicious.
This mix is so groovy and delicious! This is my fav one!
Very nice recipe !! sounds very delicious and tangy!!
Vardhini,
You must be baking in the glory of his compliments. This really looks very inviting
Enjoyed the conversation between you and your hubby
Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi
Awesome Vardhini, as my fellow friends have spelt out, even I can survive for months with puliyodharai. Ur illustrative clicks are mind blowing, toooooo good. Thanks for sharing a wonderful handy recipe.
Yummy,my all time fav…luks delicious and tempting…
wow dear thats a handy recipe …thx for the share….
Vardhini…love u…I'm bookmarking this one… I'm a lover of pulikachal, but havent tried myself till now… Ur presentation has made me to try this one… Will let u know once i do this…:-)
Looks spicy and mouth watering. Wonderful recipe.
even I love this…just need some rice 2 mix.:)
Nice pulikachal recipe.You remind me to make this recipe.Thanks for sharing.
This is a fantastic, mouthwatering & a handy recipe!!! Thx for sharing
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner
Very handy for busy days.Nice clicks.
http://www.easycookingforamateurs.com/
I can survive for many days with this pulikachal, just love this…
Very nice recipe… tangy and delicious. I can understand the amount of energy needed for cooking + taking pics + blogging… needless to say that u had 2 recipes to finish at the same time. Kudos to your hardwork and dedication:) Sometimes compliments come from "better half" out of the blue… Enjoy:):)
Reva
I am big fan of this, Now you made me crave for some,I can live only with this for my life time
I always have this in handy..quite useful & your pictorial rocks..keep going..