Pulihora recipe | How to make pulihora (chintapandu pulihora)

Pulihora recipe with step by step photos. Pulihora is a popular rice dish from andhra cuisine made with tamarind, rice, tempering spices & curry leaves. It is also known as chintapandu pulihora. It is one of the most basic dishes prepared during andhra festivals.

Each south Indian state has a different version of this dish & most commonly these are known as Tamarind rice. Puliyogare is one such variation from Karnataka cuisine.

All of these are very commonly made in traditional households during festivals & even on regular days. Pulihora is also popular in temples & is offered to the devotees as prasadam. The temple style pulihora is not only very flavorful but also delicious.

Making pulihora at home is simple & can be prepared even by a novice. I make chintapandu pulihora mostly during festivals & very rarely make for a weekend lunch when I run out of veggies.

How to make pulihora

1. To make mustard powder (optional) – Add mustard seeds to a pan and heat them. Do not fry a lot they may turn bitter. Remove and set aside to cool. or you can also use sesame seeds. Dry roast them in a pan until they begin to splutter. Turn off and cool them. Make a fine powder. Set this aside.

2. Soaking Tamarind: Rinse and soak tamarind in hot water and make a thick paste by squeezing. Filter to remove stones and debris. Set this aside.

3. Cook rice without making it mushy. I cook rice in a pressure cooker directly for 1 whistle. Spread the rice on a wide plate and sprinkle salt, turmeric and oil.Set aside to cool completely.

Tempering pulihora

4. Add oil to a pan and heat it. Next add mustard, chana dal, urad dal and peanuts. Fry the peanuts till golden & aromatic. Then add curry leaves, ginger, green chilies and red chilies. Fry everything well until the curry leaves turn crisp.

5. Add tamarind paste, jaggery, hing and more salt.Cook until the mixture becomes thick.

5. Switch off the stove when the mixture begins to leave oil.

6. Sprinkle mustard powder. Then add the pulihora mixture over it. Mix the rice well.

Chintapandu pulihora is ready.
Related recipes,
Tomato rice
coconut milk rice
pudina rice
ghee rice

Tips to make good pulihora

1. Cook rice to grainy and not mushy. You will not get good pulihora if you cook the rice too soft or mushy. Aged rice is better as you will need to cook the rice grainy. Use water according to the age of rice. Newly harvested rice will need only 1.5 cups water for every cup of rice.

2. Always rinse, soak & filter the tamarind pulp. Usually tamarind has lot of dust & unwanted particles so do rinse it at least once before using. Once it has soaked pass it through a filter. This helps to get rid of the fiber & unwanted pulp.

3. To make temple style pulihora, add little mustard powder or sesame powder. However this is optional. Do not use both as it may make the dish bitter. I usually make a few tbsps of this powder and keep in the fridge as it is very hard to make only a bit.

4. If making pulihora for offering to god, then we skip chilies & ginger. For the heat some people even add coarse crushed pepper.

Rice payasam, simple Curd rice , Rava kesari and Ven pongal are some of the most made foods for festivals in Telugu speaking homes.

Pulihora can be served with
onion pakoda,
mirchi bajji,
mixed dal vada,
aratikaya bajji,
punugulu.

If you are looking for more andhra festival recipes check
kudumulu
bellam undrallu
payasam
chakkara pongal
minapa garelu

Andhra pulihora