God’s favourite Prasadam- Srirangam Puliyodharai
Puliyodharai (Tamarind rice) is a type of rice prepared in every state of South India that is served as Prasādam – a religious offering. The rice is known for its spiciness, aroma, and way of seasoning.
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam serves the luscious puliyodharai of all time. The rice is one of the perennial aliments that coexist with the people of Tamil Nadu even now. Puliyodharai is one of the dishes which will not spoil for a long-time at room temperature.
Yesterday’s story of today’s mouth-watering Prasādam:
In some shrines, there would be a strict set of rules to be followed to prepare the prasādam. At times, items like garlic, onion, roots, etc., were prohibited. So, pulyodharai has become one of the dishes served as prasādam by many shrines in South India.
Srirangam Kovil puliyodharai is Iyengar style tamarind rice served in the temple since the temple was built (mentioned in Tamil literature of Sangam Era - around 6th century BCE). It is also a belief that the dish is Lord Vishnu’s one of favourite dishes, and it also acts as a forbearance for Lord Vishnu.
Components of concoction:
To prepare food for God, you must be a hell of a chef. Therefore, if one thing goes wrong, you might be facing the wrath of God (#Busted). But, the exact recipe of Srirangam puliyodharai is unknown. As said, a magician never reveals his secrets. It is also applicable for the culinarians in the temple.
Let’s see the ingredients and recipe (approximately) used to prepare the dish.
Ingredients:
For pulikachal:
- Gingerly oil – 3 tbsp
- Peanuts – Skinned
- Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp
- Channa Dal – 1 tbsp
- Urad Dal – 1 tsp
- Dried Red chilies – 2
- Curry Leaves – few
- Powdered jaggery – 1 tsp
- Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
- Hing – a generous pinch
- Tamarind – lemon sized ball
- Salt – to taste
For powder:
- Oil – 1 tsp
- Channa Dal – 1 ½ tbsp
- Urad dal – 1 tbsp
- Coriander Seeds – ½ tbsp
- Dried Red Chillies – 2
- Fenugreek Seeds – ½ tsp
- Sesame seeds – 1 tbsp
Method:
- Heat the oil and roast the elements mentioned in ‘For powder’ till it turns golden brown. Rest it and Grind it into a fine powder
- Add ½ cup of water and tamarind and set it aside for 15 minutes. Then squeeze out the thick tamarind pulp.
- Pour the oil into a cooking-pot. Add peanuts to it and roast it till lightly browned.
- Add Mustard Seeds, Channa Dal, Urad Dal, Curry Leaves, Turmeric Powder, and Hing. Roast it till browned.
- Add prepared tamarind juice to it and heat it for 10 – 15 minutes.
- Add Powdered jaggery and mix and heat it for a few minutes. (The result would be pulikachal – usable up to 4 weeks)
- Add the cooked rice to the pot and mix well with care.
- Cover it for 30 minutes and serve.
The best side dishes for this piquant recipe would be appalam (pappad), paruppu thuvaiyal (Lentil chutney), and chips. The flavour will get better every few hours after preparing the dish.
The most active temple in the world:
Srirangam temple Madapalli (kitchen) is dated back to the Ramayana period, and Lord Ram worshipped Lord Ranganatha.
More than ten lakhs of pilgrims are visiting the temple. Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple has its kitchen to prepare puliyodharai along with other dishes such as Pongal, curd rice, etc. The temple management distributes the prasādam to 150-200 homeless people.
Many disciples would wait to get a single cup of puliyodharai in a crowd of thousands. Do a favour for yourself. After visiting the main shrine, kindly head straight to the canteen and buy the cup. Despite the large crowd, you can find a corner to sit in the temple that has 21 towers. Pray to the goddess Annapurna for the food and savour it with whole-heart.
Looking to prepare this divine dish at home with ease, order our Puliyogare Powder or Puliyogare Paste Mix.
https://www.sambarstories.com/collections/masala-powders/products/puliyogare-powder
