I want to thank Valli for helping me with the Andhra Thali spread. We both went back and forth with the recipe picks, and she patiently answered all my questions; in fact, she sent me the assembling and serving details. I didn’t create an elaborate spread but tried my best to cover all the main recipes in the thali. :-) More information in the thali post, which is coming right next. Yes, two posts in one day!
I was planning to prepare Gongura pulihora, and that’s what I mentioned to Valli too, but my bad; I couldn’t find them during the weekend when I made this thali. That’s my favorite pulihora, and I will post the recipe soon. So I picked the curry leaves pulihora, which was on my to-do list already. I followed Valli’s recipe but just modified the ingredients measure as per our liking. We enjoyed this rice and loved how simple ingredients blend to create this exotic and healthy rice. This is a perfect lunch box recipe too. You can prepare the pulihora mix ahead of time, and when required, you can mix it with rice and serve it with fryums or chips. A healthy and comforting meal ready. :-)
Without any delay, here is the recipe.
Ingredient required for karivepaku pulihora
Rice – 1 cup Water – 2 cups + 1 cup Tamarind Paste – 1.5 tbsps or extract 1 cup of juice by soaking small lemon-sized tamarind. Curry leaves – 1 cup loosely packed Pepper Corns – 1 tsp Ghee / Oil – 1 tsp Salt – 2 tsps For Tempering: Oil – 1 tbsp Turmeric Powder – a pinch Hing – ¼ tsp Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp Urad Dal – 1 tsp Channa Dal – 1 tsp Peanuts – 1 tbsps Red Chillies – 4
Prep – Work:
Wash and cook the rice in your preferred way by adding two cups of water. Let the cooked rice cool down and set aside. Wash 1 cup of curry leaves and pat it dry. You can keep it under the sun for half an hour or dry them under a fan too. If using tamarind paste, mix 1.5 tbsp of tamarind in 1 cup of water or soak small lemon-sized tamarind in 1.5 cups of water extract about 1 cup of tamarind juice.
Steps:
Heat the kadai and add two tsps ghee or oil. Add the curry leaves and the black pepper and dry roast until the leaves are crisp. Let it cool and grind into a powder.
Tempering and Preparing Karivepaku Pulihora Mix:
In another kadai or pan, add 1 tbsp of oil. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, peanuts, hing, and red chilies. Saute for a couple of minutes and as they start to splutter, add the turmeric and tamarind extract. Add salt to the mix and bring it to a boil. At that stage, add the curry leaf powder and mix well. Bring it to a boil again, and it will slowly start to thicken. As it starts to thicken, turn off the heat. That’s it; the pulihora mix is ready.
Store this mix in an airtight container, and I stayed good for up to 2 weeks. And when required, add it to the rice mix to prepare the pulihora like below. Preparing the Curry Leaves Pulihora:
Add the curry leaves paste to the rice and mix well. If required, add more ghee and serve hot with fryums or papad.
Recipe Notes:
For a spicier version, you can add up to 2 to 3 tsps of peppercorns. I love the combo to curry leaves and peppercorns. :-) I did not add jaggery, but a small jaggery piece can be added to while simmering the tamarind mix. You wash and dry the curry leaves well ahead, and make sure you roast the curry leaves until they are crisp. Adjust salt and spice as per your preference. You can use oil instead of ghee for the vegan version.
📖 Recipe
