Tomato Puliogare / Thakkali Puliodharai / Tomato Puliodarai

 Puliodarai / Puliogare is an authentic south indian rice variety which is generally made during festivals or on special occasions. Puliodarai is mostly liked by all and we love to taste this tangy rice during odd days also. As we all know that puliogare is generally made with thick tamarind paste along with other ingredients, I wish to try making "Tomato Puliogare" by adopting the method of making Puliogare with thickened tomato gravy instead of  tamarind gravy/paste. And I named my yummy, tangy Puliodarai as "Tomato Puliodarai". If you have "sour" tomatoes, then the taste would be heavenly. With an addition of few drops of Gingelly oil, the flavour of Puliodarai would be upgraded. With good accompaniments like Appalam, Vadams, or just with Potato chips, we can enjoy the Tomato Puliodarai at any time of the day. A good lunch box recipe, of course...

Ingredients

Tomato - 10 to 12 Medium size

Salt - To Taste

Gingelly Oil - 3 tbsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Basmati Rice / Sona Masoori Rice - 2.5 Cups

Hing/Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Mustard Seeds - 1 tbsp

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 5

Urad Dal /Minna Pappu/Ulutham Paruppu -  1 tbsp

Channa Dal/Senaga Pappu/Kadalai Paruppu - 1 tbsp

Ground nuts / Peanuts - 2 handful ( Adjust according to your taste )

Curry Leaves - 2 stems

Jaggery - 1 tsp

For the powder

Channa Dal / Senaga Pappu / Kadalai Paruppu - 1.5 tbsp

Urad Dal / Ulutham Paruppu / Minapa Pappu - 1 tbsp

Vendhayam / Fenugreek seeds / Methi Seeds - 1 tsp

Coriander Seeds - 3 tsp

Dry Red chillies - 5 or 6 big

Method

1. Wash the tomatoes and chop them ready. In the frying pan, add a tsp of oil and fry all the ingredients for making the spice powder till a nice aroma emanates. Then, grind them nicely using a mixer grinder and keep the spice powder ready.
2. Cook the Basmati Rice / Sona Masoori Rice and keep it ready. For 1 cup of basmati rice add 2 cups of water. For 1 cup of Sona Masoori rice, add 2.5 cups of water. But this ratio totally depends on the type and age of the rice.
3. In a separate frying pan, add a tbsp of oil and when its heated, add the chopped tomatoes and a pinch of salt and fry them till they become mashy. Make a thick paste of this tomato gravy and keep it ready.
4. In a big frying pan, add the remaining oil and start adding the ingredients for the tempering process like Hing, Mustard seeds, Urad Dal, Channa Dal, Ground nuts, Dry red chillies, curry leaves. Roast them till they turn golden brown.
5. Then, add the thicken tomato paste and the spice powder to the pan. Mix them well and fry them for about 2-3 minutes till they all blend together.
6. Add the cooked rice to the pan and spread them using a spatula. Add the Gingelly Oil, required amount of salt to the rice and mix them well with the spicy paste.
7. Leave the rice in the pan as it is for couple of minutes and transfer the rice to the serving container.
8. Tomato Puliodarai is now ready to enjoy with a side of few papads and crunchy vadas.

Tips / Variations 

• Instead of directly adding the chopped tomatoes, you can add the crushed tomato puree into the frying pan while making the thick tomato paste.
• You can add cashew nuts too while making this Puliodarai for a special occasion.
• Try not to forget the Gingelly Oil as its the main taste maker in Puliodarai.
• Cook the rice to the right consistency so that its not sticky or pasty. Rice should look separate but cooked.