Happy Diwali to all my readers and their families. Let me guess whats going on back home!  Homes lit up with bright lights, sweet shops over flowing with people, and everyone can’t seem to stop munching their favorite dishes. Festive dishes are best loved just the way we always had them as kids. We simply can’t help the fact that we love food just the way our grandmothers or mothers used to make it. Since it’s all about memories this diwali, I decided to bring my dear readers something from my nannamma’s (grandma’s) kitchen that would light up your plates & palettes. Tamarind Rice aka pulihora and pesarapappu boorelu. I have blogged recipes for nimmakaya pulihora and purnam boorelu earlier but today’s recipes calls for tamarind in the pulihora and moong dal/pesarapappu stuffing for the boorelu.  Here’s how we make them:

Pulihora (Serves 4 persons)

Ingredients:

3 cups raw rice ( I used sona masoori)

Large lemon sized tamarind (Soak in 1/2 cup hot water and extract the pulp)

5 dried red chillies (roughly broken with your fingers)

4 tbsp cooking oil

10-12 curry leaves

1 ½ tsp turmeric

Salt to taste

2 pinches of hing/asofetida

For the popu/tadka

2 tsps cooking oil

3 tbsp peanuts (roast them on low flame with 1 tsp oil and set aside0

2 tbsp senagapappu (chana dal)

1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)

1 tsp avalu (mustard seeds)

8 green chilies (slit lengthwise) – adjust to your spice levels

10-12 curry leaves

How To:

• Cook the rice so the grains remain separate, allow to cool and work with your hands or with the back of flat spoon to remove lumps out of the rice. Alternatively, you can spread rice in a wide plate when hot and allow to cool.
• In a sauce pan, add tamarind paste, dried red chillies, oil, turmeric, curry leaves, salt, and asofetida/hing. On medium flame bring it to boil then reduce flame and cook for about 10-15 mts or till the paste turns thick yet flowing in consistency and the oil separates. Turn off the flame and set aside to cool. This step will yield about one cup of paste.
• In a pan/kadhai heat oil, add senagapappu and fry for a minute till light brown on low flame; Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, let them splutter. Add green chillies, and curry leaves. Fry for a minute or two on low flame. Set aside to cool.
• Now add about 3/4 cup of the cooked tamarind paste, roasted peanuts, and the popu/tadka to the rice. Mix well. Cover and leave aside for a couple hours for the flavors to set in. Refrigerate the left over tamarind paste in an airtight container for further use.
• Serve with yoghurt/curd and boorelu on the side.

Pesarapappu Boorelu (makes about 20 boorelu)

Ingredients:

1 cup minapappu (whole urad dal)

2 cups raw rice

2 tsps sugar

pinch of salt

oil for deep frying

For the Stuffing:

1 cup pesarapappu (yellow moong dal. Soak in water for 4-5 hours, grind with 1 cup of water like idly batter)

1 cup grated coconut

1 ¼ cup sugar

¼ + 3 tbsps of water

2 tsps elaichi powder (cardamom powder)

1 tsp ghee

How To:

• Soak minapappu and rice overnight, grind it to smooth batter(the batter should be slightly thick than dosa batter consistency), cover and leave aside in a warm place for 3 hours. Add pinch of salt, sugar. Mix well. Cover and keep aside while we prepare the stuffing.
• Pressure cook the ground moong dal batter like idly’s in an idly stand for 15 mts on low flame. When cool, mash the idly’s that resembles crumbs. Set aside.
• In a wide sauce pan, add sugar + water, turn on the flame on high, mix well till the sugar dissolves and bubbles start showing up. When the bubbles start forming, stop mixing, and let cook till one string consistency. To check, touch the syrup with your forefinger, then touch your thumb and pull apart gently. If the syrup is ready, then one string is formed and the string does’nt break. The entire process takes about 4 mts. Add elaichi powder, mix and turn off the flame.
• Now mix grated coconut, crumbs of pesarapappu idly’s, ghee and put it back on medium flame. Cook for another 8-10 minutes stirring continuously till the mixture forms a ball. Turn off the flame, and allow to cool.
• When the stuffing is warm enough to handle, grease  your palms with little oil or ghee, and make balls as shown in the image above.
• Heat oil in a wide, deep bottomed vessel. Dip each ball into the rice&dal batter, let it coat evenly. Drop each ball gently into the oil and fry till golden brown in small batches.
• Serve warm. Left overs can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days or 1 week in a refrigerator.