My recipes are not for seasoned cooks. My recipes are only for first time/new cooks who are experimenting and are nervous if they can get the dish right.
Chintapandu pulihora is a very easy dish and it also happens to be one of my favourites. Use non stick pans and electric cooker for healthy cooking and finery of rice. If you don't have an electric cooker no qualms. After all traditionally our mothers have cooked in cookers.
To serve 6-7 persons:
Ingredients:
1) 2-2.5 cups of rice
2) ground nuts - less than a handful
3) cashew nuts - however you like. I usually take 10 and split them into 2
4) tiragamota/popu/tempering
5) pasupu - haldi - a tea spoon
6) chintapandu gujju/pulusu - tamarind paste - a generous amount if you like a sour taste, else around half a cup or little less.
Preparation method:
1) Cook rice.
2) In a non stick pan fry ground nuts and cashew nuts. Store them aside.
3) Take a bowl of water and add tamarind to bring it to a boil. Cool it and separate the juice.
4) If you need more juice use the same tamarind, add more water to the bowl and repeat the above step.
5) Add 2 tea spoons oil to the frying pan (you can add more if you please, I go easy with oil) and do the tempering/tiragamota/popu. Be a little generous with tempering as you are serving 6-7 persons.
6) Finally add the tempering, ground nuts, cashew nuts, turmeric powder and salt to taste to the rice.
7) Mix well.
Even though it's not a practice in traditional Indian kitchens, I like to taste what I make intermittently to know I'm going to right. If you are not orthodox about this practice, do the same. To increase sourness add more tamarind paste.
P.S. Make the tamarind paste at home, try not to buy it from the market. I've noticed that home made tamarind paste surely tastes different and better. You won't believe how easy it is to make the tamarind paste. And hardly takes time. Maybe I'll add a blog on how to make tamarind paste :D
7) Mix well.
Even though it's not a practice in traditional Indian kitchens, I like to taste what I make intermittently to know I'm going to right. If you are not orthodox about this practice, do the same. To increase sourness add more tamarind paste.
P.S. Make the tamarind paste at home, try not to buy it from the market. I've noticed that home made tamarind paste surely tastes different and better. You won't believe how easy it is to make the tamarind paste. And hardly takes time. Maybe I'll add a blog on how to make tamarind paste :D
- I add a tea spoon of Oil in rice, while cooking rice. This will separate rice grains easily after cooking making it easy to mix all the ingredients.
ReplyDeleteTrust a good friend to support you!! Yes that's a great tip when you are cooking in a pressure cooker. If you use an electric cooker you probably won't have to add even the tea spoon of oil! Well, a tea spoon of oil never hurt anyone :)
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