Photo: Medhi jyoti · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Tamilnadu · Breakfast

Puliyodharai / Puli Sadam (புளியோதரை / புளி சாதம்)

Traditional 67. Puliyodharai / Puli Sadam recipe

🧺 Ingredients

• Tamarind — lime-sized ball (about 50 g), soaked in ½ cup hot water
• 2 tbsp sesame oil (gingelly oil)
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 1 tsp chana dal
• 3 tbsp raw peanuts
• 4 dried red chilies, broken
• 10 curry leaves
• ¼ tsp asafoetida (hing)
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tbsp jaggery powder
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds, dry roasted and lightly ground
• 2 cups cooked rice (leftover, cooled and grain-separate)
• 3–4 tbsp pulikachal (from above)
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• Extra roasted peanuts for topping

👩‍🍳 How to make Puliyodharai / Puli Sadam

1. Soak tamarind ball in ½ cup hot water for 10 minutes.
2. Squeeze and strain through a fine sieve to extract thick tamarind pulp.
3. Discard fibers.
4. Heat 2 tbsp sesame oil in a kadai over medium heat.
5. Add raw peanuts — fry 2–3 minutes until golden and crispy.
6. Remove and set aside, leaving oil in kadai.
7. Raise heat to high.
8. Add mustard seeds to the peanut-flavored oil — crackle 20 seconds.
9. Add urad dal and chana dal — fry 30 seconds until golden.
10. Add broken dried red chilies — fry 10 seconds.
11. Add asafoetida and curry leaves — sizzle 10 seconds.
12. Reduce heat to medium.
13. Add tamarind pulp to the tempering.
14. It will sizzle and sputter intensely — stand back.
15. Stir vigorously.
16. Add turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder, black pepper, and salt.
17. Cook on medium heat for 10–12 minutes, stirring frequently, until the tamarind paste reduces, darkens, and thickens significantly — the raw tamarind smell should transform to a deep, complex, cooked tamarind aroma.
18. The paste should be thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon.
19. Add jaggery — stir until dissolved.
20. Add roasted peanuts and lightly ground sesame seeds.
21. Cook 2 more minutes.
22. Taste — the pulikachal should be intensely tangy, moderately spiced, with a background sweetness from the jaggery.
23. Remove from heat.
24. Cool and store refrigerated.
25. Warm leftover rice slightly (or use at room temperature).
26. Add 2 tbsp sesame oil and 3–4 tbsp pulikachal.
27. Toss gently and thoroughly — every grain should be coated with the deep red-brown pulikachal.
28. Add more pulikachal to taste — some prefer intensely sour, others milder.
29. Top with extra roasted peanuts.

Track the macros of Puliyodharai / Puli Sadam and 100s of Indian dishes with Nutri Macro India.