Tamarind Rice ( Puliyogare/ Pulihara/ Puliyodhare)

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi All!

Since the Ganesh Chaturthi and Gowri Pooja came around mid-week, it was a bit crazy and hectic. The mid-week storm, gusty winds and rainy day played truant but did not dampen my spirit. I was happy to find Plantain leaves (Keli Paan), Betel Leaves (Padi Paan) at Indian stores. I found a good bunch of sweet smelling Pink Carnations and Daisies in alluring shades of burgundy, yellow and purple. The fresh flowers adorning nooks and crannies of the pooja corner, scent of floral Agarbattis certainly added a sparkle to the festive atmosphere.

Now, I am not big on sweets neither is the husband. So, I decided to make a simple dish for the festival. It also was a good opportunity to replenish my Puliyogare Gojju stock which was almost over. In India, I never made Puliyogare from scratch and relied on the small North Karnataka store in Rajajinagar near a friend's house which supplies the best Gojju in Bangalore in my opinion. I never knew that the Gojju is available as a ready mix, until my friends Mom introduced me to the store. In US, the small packet of store bought MTR Puliyogare mix seemed a bit bland and more sweet and I enjoy my food when its spicy. Surprisingly, it didn't pique my interest and that's when I decided to make my own Puliyogare Gojju mix. For the longest time, I used Coconut powder (unsweetened) but now have begun using scraped pieces of Copra which are easily available at Indian stores.

I make a small batch of this mix and it comes handy for 5-6 meals. My Ma uses Black Sesame seeds and I use White seeds since I had them handy. The black seeds enable the dark brown color for Gojju. On weekdays when I don't have the energy to cook, I turn to this Gojju for serving a nourishing meal. The good thing is both of us are big fans of Puliyogare, so more reasons to enjoy this dish. Its an extremely portable dish and is our favorite for lunch box.

~ Puliyogare ~

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

Puliyogare Masala Powder -

Copra (grated) or Coconut powder (unsweetened) - 4 tbsp

Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

White/ Black Sesame seeds - 1 tsp

Black Pepper corns - 2 tsp

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Chana Dal - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - Just a pinch

Red Chillies (split into two) [Byadgi variety] - 8

*** Dry roast all of the above one by one and then allow to cool.

Grind to a fine powder ***

For Seasoning -

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Chana Dal - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Curry leaves - 2 sprig

Red Chillies (split into two) [Byadgi variety] - 2-3

Coconut oil - 1/2 cup
Peanuts - 1/2 cup

Puliyogare Gojju -

Tamarind pulp (very thick) - 1 cup

Jaggery (scraped into bits) - 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Puliyogare Masala powder

Seasoning Ingredients

Salt

Method:

To Make Puliyogare Gojju -

Microwave Peanuts for 3 minutes till they get toasty. Allow to cool till they attain a  crunchy texture. 

In a bowl, add warm water and soak the tamarind for 10 minutes. Extract the thick pulp and remove any fibre, residue from the pulp.

Heat oil and season with mustard seeds. Once the seeds splutter, add the Chana Dal, Urad Dal, Red Chillies and Curry leaves. Add the Peanuts now and saute. Be careful and step back as they splutter rapidly once added in hot oil.

Add the Tamarind pulp now, add jaggery bits. The consistency will be thick like a sauce, bring to a boil. Adjust salt, add turmeric and red chilli powder. Once its par-cooked, add the powder mix. The powder absorbs the mixture quickly and the whole mass will come together like a thick chutney. Once oil oozes out, turn off flame. Store in an air-tight non-reactive jar for future use. It has a shelf life of 1 to 1 and 1/2 month.

To Make Puliyogare -

Cook Rice of choice. Heat a pan with little coconut oil, add the rice and mix well. Add the Gojju and mix well (2 tbsp of Gojju mix for 1 cup of cooked rice with 2 tbsp of coconut oil). Add salt only if required. A perfect tasting  Puliyogare is tangy, salty and sweet. Serve warm as a meal on its own.

Note - The Tamarind affects the quality of Gojju made. I use dark variety of Tamarind (the round blob variety) which I get from India. If the Tamarind has impurities, get rid of them before use, else the impurities will seep in, spoiling the Gojju mix. Use Copra if available instead of Coconut powder.

Prawn Rice with Coconut Milk | Goan Kolambi Bhaat

Recently, at our local grocery, I found small Prawns in the seafood section. Its a rare discovery considering that the usually sell the slightly bigger, plump ones which I don't fancy. I made Goan version of Prawn Rice with Coconut Milk. The taste was awesome and I relished it to the core. In US, Prawns are popularly referred to as Shrimps and they sell different varieties - the shelled ones, cooked ones, semi-seasoned ones, de-veined and peeled ones.

I grew up in a community of a seafood lovers and was probably the only vegetarian amongst my friends for the longest time. Shrimps are expensive in India (atleast while I was growing up) and for every birthday party there was Shrimp Rice with Peas. Since I was the only vegetarian I had limited choices but I often wondered why my friends were crazy after Shrimp Rice. They would perpetually haggle and argue over who got more shrimps on their plate. I now know why they did that.  :-)

In GSB Konkani, Shrimps are known as Sungat and Kolambi in Marathi. Few of my favorite Shrimp recipes are Sungta Phanna Upkari (a spicy broth of shrimps cooked in onions and red chillies, Prawn Balchao (a spicy Goan pickle made with Shrimps in a vinegar based sauce), Prawn Koliwada (deep fried spicy Prawns cooked Koliwada style), Shrimp Dangar (a Goan shallow fried cutlet made with Shrimps) and Kolambi Bhaat (Prawn Rice cooked in coconut milk).

One can substitute coconut milk with water, but the taste is a distant departure from the original one. This recipe is from my Maushi from Mapusa, Goa. The days you find a bunch of big Prawns from the fish market, fret not. Just chop them up once cooked. In addition, she adds Tomatoes and Peas which I avoided. A dash of Goan Garam Masala gives the red color. If you omit it, you will get a pale jade like green shade for the rice.

~ Kolambi Bhaat ~

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Shrimp (peeled, deveined and cleaned) - 15-20

Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Lime juice - 1/2 tsp

Sea Salt/ Rock Salt

*** Marinate the cleaned Shrimp in all of the above and set

aside for an hour *** 

Rice (Long grain Basmati) - 1 cup

Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup

Coconut Milk - 1 and 1/2 cup

Red Onion (finely chopped) - 1 cup

Peas (cooked) [optional] - 1/2 cup

Tomato (finely chopped) [optional] - 1/2 cup

Cinnamon - 1" stick

Cloves - 3

Star Anise - 1

Goan Garam Masala - 1 tsp

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Green Chillies paste - 1 tsp

Coconut oil 

Salt

 

Method:

Wash and rinse the Basmati rice. Soak in filtered water for 1/2 hour. Peel, devein and clean the Shrimps with sea salt to get rid of the smell. Pat dry and transfer to a zip lock bag. Add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and lime juice. Refrigerate for an hour.

In a non-stick pan, heat few spoons of coconut oil. Season with whole spices of Cinnamon, Cloves and Star Anise. Add very finely chopped onions and saute them till they turn reddish pink and wilt down. Add grated coconut now and roast it well. This process takes around 10 minutes. The flame should be on low-to-medium.

Add the ginger paste, green chilli paste and garlic paste now and saute till the raw flavor goes off. Add a hint of Turmeric powder for a golden glow. Add Goan Garam Masala powder and mix well. Add Peas and Tomatoes now and saute well. Fry this paste till the oil oozes off and it becomes semi-dry. Add the marinated shrimps now and toss to have an even coating of masala on the shrimp. Add Rice and toast it well, till you get a nutty aroma. Add 1/2 cup of water to coconut milk and mix well. Add this to rice and masala, mix well. Cover with a lid and cook for 15 minutes, till completely done. Fluff it gently with a fork and leave undisturbed with lid on for 5-8 minutes. Serve warm with Raita.

Note - Sprinkle sea salt on shrimps, mix well and rinse them thoroughly with water. This helps to get rid of the sea smell and you can proceed with cooking thereafter.

Raw Jackfruit Biryani (Kadgi Biryani/ Kathal Biryani) - 1.0

Recently, I bought a small bag of precooked raw jackfruit (young and tender) on a whim from the Indian grocery store and made an impromptu Biryani out of it. My husband loves the meaty texture of jackfruit and I love jackfruit in any form! I added lot of ingredients to the precooked jackfruit as a marinade which took the jackfruit taste few notches up.

This recipe is inspired from our cousin's wife's Chicken Biryani recipe which I will be posting soon. Taking inspiration from her I added little bit of tenderiser powder to soften the jackfruit pieces, not required for vegetables as much for meat, the flavour was nice, succulent and soft. Instead of layering the rice and gravy curry, I mixed them to mingle the delicate flavours and we both liked the change. Not to mention, Mace and Nutmeg add the extra zing which every Biryani dish requires. This is a good Biryani for vegetarians who do not eat meat yet wish to relish the flavour of Biryani.

~ Kadgi Biryani ~
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 mnts (rice) + 30 mnts (assembly)

Ingredients:
Onions (sliced) - 2 cups
Bay leaf - 2
Tomatoes (chopped) - 1/2 cup
Nutmeg (grated) - 1/2 tsp
Saffron water - 2 tbsp
Oil
Salt

For Raw Jackfruit marinade -
(Precook Raw Jackfruit with salt and turmeric water, cool and then use with marinade)
Yoghurt - 1 cup
Mint leaves (chopped) - 1/2 cup
Coriander leaves (chopped) - 1 cup
Red Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Mace (Javithri crushed) - 1 teaspoon
Garam Masala powder - 1 tbsp
Biryani Masala powder - 1 tbsp
Meat tenderiser powder - 1 tsp
Salt
Oil
Mix all of it and refrigerate till use.

For cooking rice -
Basmati rice - 1 and 1/2 cup
Star Anise - 1
Black Cardamom - 1
Cinnamon sticks - 2 of 2"
Cloves - 2
Cook rice with 1: 1 and 1/2 water, 1 tbsp oil and salt

Method:

Jackfruit marinade - Precook the jackfruit pieces in turmeric powder and salt water and drain water. Do not throw the water away. Keep aside. Allow to cool. Add all the ingredients of the marinade to the jackfruit pieces in a bowl, mix well and refrigerate till use. Add oil as it keeps the jackfruit pieces moist.
Cooking Rice - Wash rice. If possible soak the rice in salt water and oil for 1/2 and hour before use. Cook with whole spices in 1:1 and 1/2 cups of water. Cook till rice is half done. I cook in an electric rice cooker which gives me precise granularity. Once done, spread rice on a plate and allow to cool.
Jackfruit gravy and mixing rice - In a deep bottomed pan (the same will be made to prepare Biryani so use your judgement), heat few spoons of oil/ ghee. Once oil is hot enough, add bay leaves and add onions. Sweat them in oil till they turn light yellow and are fried. Pick half of fried onion and keep aside. In that add the jackfruit marinade and saute till completely cooked and the gravy is thick and not watery. This takes around 20 minutes. Mix the cooked rice now and give a good stir. Sprinkle the other half of cooked onions, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and saffron water. Cook covered for 5 minutes. Serve hot with Raita or Mirchi Ka Saalan.