Tamarind Rice

Dear Husband of mine cooked this dish for me. :) Been craving for 'Amma kai Sapaadu' (Food prepared by loving mom) these day and he took it upon himself to re-create one of my favourite foods cooked by my mother. He followed the same recipe and I should say, it was almost like my mom's. Hers is not a typical pulihodhara recipe with ground powders, but a very simplified one. And Oh! It never gets spoiled atleast for a day or two, even without refrigeration, if prepared carefully with dry and clean hands (No wet spoons/lids too). It is a picnic food and the yummiest picnic food, I know of. Let me submit this for Anthony's Currymela.

PuliKaachal

Tamarind - lemon sized ball (soak in hot water for 1 hr and extract thick pulp
Red chillies - 2
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Channa dal/kadalai paruppu - 1 tbsp
Garlic cloves - 4 (chopped lengthwise)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida - 2 pinch
Salt to taste
Sesame oil - 1 tbsp (for pulikaachal) + 1 tbsp (for rice)

Heat oil and add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the channa dal and asafoetida. When the dal is roasted to light brown color, Add the red chillies, curry leaves and garlic cloves. Saute for a while, till these are slightly browned. Add the tamarind pulp and turmeric powder. Add salt and let it boil. Stir once in a while using a ladle. After a while, the oil will float on top and this is the time to know that the pulikaachal is almost ready. Test for salt and adjust accordingly. Let it boil for a while, if the tamarind still has that raw smell. This is Pulikaachal.

Prepare rice in a rice cooker and let it cool down. Add 1 tbsp of sesame oil to this and mix carefully with a wooden spoon. After the rice has cooled down, add the Pulikaachal to this, little by little, and mix with the wooden spoon. Serve with potato chips and curd (yogurt).

Note: The pulikaachal can be stored in refrigerator for 2-3 weeks and used when needed. You can add roasted peanuts too, if you like. Use unsalted ones.