TranslatePuliyodharai, or tamarind rice, is the great travelling food of Tamil Nadu and one of the most widely distributed temple prasadams in the state. Cooked rice is folded through a dark, oily tamarind paste called pulikachal, loaded with peanuts, chana dal, dried chillies and asafoetida. It tastes better after a few hours, which is why it is packed for journeys and pilgrimages.
Type
Vegetarian
Meal occasion
Temple prasadam, travel food, festival lunch
Region
Statewide; famous at Srirangam, Tirunelveli and Kanchipuram temples
Key ingredients
Rice, tamarind, gingelly oil, peanuts, chana dal, dried red chilli, asafoetida
The heart of the dish is pulikachal, a thick paste of tamarind extract simmered slowly in gingelly oil with mustard seeds, chana dal, dried chillies, curry leaves, asafoetida and a spice powder of coriander, fenugreek and sesame. This paste keeps for weeks.
A few spoons are mixed through cooled rice with roasted peanuts. The taste is sour, salty and gently hot, with a strong sesame-oil and asafoetida aroma. The flavour deepens as it sits.
Puliyodharai is a defining prasadam at Vaishnavite temples including Srirangam near Trichy and the Perumal temples of Kanchipuram, where it is distributed in leaf packets after worship. Because it keeps without refrigeration, it was historically carried by pilgrims walking long distances.
Temple prasadam counters at Srirangam, Kanchipuram, Tirunelveli and Thiruvanaikaval serve some of the best versions. Traditional tiffin shops sell it by the packet, and it is a fixture on long-distance train journeys and at wedding lunch counters.
