Instant Puliyogare is a traditional south Indian dish known for its tangy and flavourful taste. This is a classic Karnataka style recipe made with homemade premix and gets ready in under 15 minutes.
It's often made during festivals, auspicious occasions, parties and to pack in a lunch box. It is one of the most loved dishes for having a perfect balance of tanginess, spiciness, and subtle sweetness.
Typically puliyogare is made by first preparing a gojju with pre pre-made spice blend, tamarind pulp, and tempered spices and nuts. Then the rice is combined with gojju and mixed until rice is well coated.
But the speciality of this recipe is puliyogare powder used here contains tamarind so eliminating the step of extracting the tamarind pulp and thus saving considerable time.
This dish is a convenient option for picnics or packed meals for road trips or during long drives as it stays tasty even at room temperature. Perhaps, it tastes best after a few hours as the rice absorbs the flavours well.
Like lemon rice, jeera rice, corn fried rice and coconut rice one such rice dish that tastes good either way - hot or at room temperature.
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Why do we love this instant puliyogare?
Gets ready in less than 15 minutes
Made with instant puliyogare mix
No tamarind required
Ideal dish to use up leftover rice
What is puliyogare?
It is a flavorful rice dish made with tamarind, a blend of spices and cooked rice. It is a popular choice for festivals, special occasions, or as a part of temple offerings.
This spiced tamarind rice is known by different names in various regions, such as Puliyodarai in Tamil Nadu and Pulihora in Andhra Pradesh.
The preparation typically involves cooking rice separately and then mixing it with a premade spiced powder.
The spice mix contains ingredients such as sesame seeds, dried red chillies, coconut, tamarind, fenugreek seeds, asafoetida (hing), and curry leaves. The mixture is then tempered with oil and added to the rice.
Ingredients
- Spices, nuts and lentils: Mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal, peanuts, cashews, asafoetida, turmeric, dried red chillies and premade powder. Check out the homemade puliyogare powder recipe on the blog.
- Herbs and Vegetables: Curry leaves, green chillies and fresh coriander leaves.
- Liquid: Oil to cook and water to prepare puliyogare gojju (paste). I use olive oil but feel free to use any cooking oil that you use regularly.
- Rice: Cooked rice. I use sona masoori rice but any rice variety will work in this recipe. Check out how to cook parboiled rice on the stovetop if you decide to use that variety.
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to make puliyogare with homemade premix?
Wash the rice thoroughly and cook it with the appropriate amount of water. Allow it to cool.
Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry green chillies until they release a strong aroma and start to pop.
Now reduce the heat to the lowest setting, add premade puliyogare masala and mix well.
Add a little water and stir until it is well combined with the powder.
Cook for a few more minutes until the mixture thickens.
Transfer the puliyogare gojju to the bowl.
Heat oil in the same pan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, chana dal and dry red chillies.
Once the mustard seeds start spluttering, add peanuts and cashews. Fry until they turn golden brown.
Add turmeric powder, asafoetida, and curry leaves. Sauté for a few seconds.
Switch the heat off.
Place the cooked rice in a wide pan or a bowl.
Add the gojju and gently mix until the rice is well coated with the mixture.
Now add tempered spices and nuts, chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
Allow the puliyogare rice to rest for some time to absorb the flavours.
Substitutions and Variations
Coconut: Add freshly grated coconut to the Puliyogare for a hint of sweetness and added texture. You can also use coconut oil in the tempering to intensify coconut flavour. But remember to be mindful as the premix already contains coconut.
Rice Alternatives: Substitute rice with millets like foxtail millet, barnyard millet, or quinoa for a healthier option. Check out how to cook millet in instant pot on the blog.
Oil Variations: Try sesame oil or coconut oil for a unique taste and flavour.
Storage
Airtight Container: Store Puliyogare in an airtight container to preserve its freshness. It can be refrigerated for a few days. However, I wouldn't suggest storing puliyogare made with leftover old rice. Try finishing it off the same day.
Serving Suggestions
Serve instant puliyogare with fried accompaniments like happala, sandige, cabbage pakoda, vegetable pakora, medu vada or mirchi bajji.
Pair it with light salads such as carrot kosambari, cucumber kosambari or moong sprouts salad and a simple vegetable side dish such as jeera aloo or bombay aloo for a complete meal.
Pack it in a lunchbox along with baked potato wedges instead of packed potato chips.
It pairs well with a chilled curd vada as well.
Tips and Tricks
Cool Cooked Rice: Allow freshly cooked rice to cool before mixing it with the puliyogare gojju. This prevents the rice from becoming mushy.
Tempering Ingredients: Tempering (tadka) is essential for flavour. Ensure the mustard seeds splutter and the dals turn golden brown for added flavour.
Gentle Mixing: Mix the cooked paste and tempered spices, nuts with the rice gently, ensuring even distribution without breaking the rice grains.
Resting Time: Allow the Puliyogare to rest for some time after mixing. This helps the rice absorb the flavours, making it more delicious.
Do not add too much gojju at a time to the rice. Mix only the required amount of gojju to rice. Check the taste and add more only if required.
FAQ
Transfer the leftover puliyogare gojju to a clean and dry airtight container and store it in the fridge.
Seal the container tightly to prevent air from entering, as exposure to air can cause the paste to spoil faster.
Yes, you can store puliyogare gojju in the freezer to extend its shelf life. Divide gojju into desired portions, Place each portion in an airtight container or zip lock/resealable bag and store in the freezer. Ensure to remove as much air as possible from bags before sealing.
In general, adding too much gojju to the rice makes puliyogare overly spicy. To tone down the spice, add extra cooked rice.
To avoid these problems, add a small amount of gojju at a time to rice, mix well, taste it, and add more only as needed.
KEEP IN TOUCH
Do let me know if you try this south Indian instant puliyogare recipe. If you like this recipe kindly consider rating it using stars in the comment section or on the recipe card to help more people find this recipe online. You can stay up to date by following me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or subscribing to my Youtube channel. Or why not subscribe to my blog and get simple recipes straight to your inbox?
📖 Recipe Card
Puliyogare
Ingredients
1 Cup = 250ml ; 1 Tablespoon = 15ml ; 1 Teaspoon = 5ml
For Puliyogare Gojju
- 2 Tablespoons Oil (Olive/Coconut/Sesame)
- 5 Tablespoons (or) 55 gms Premade Puliyogare Powder
- 2 Green Chillies
- ⅓ Cup Water adjust to get desired consistency
To make puliyogare
- 1 Tablespoon Oil (Olive/Coconut/Sesame)
- 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
- 1 Teaspoon Urad Dal
- 1 Teaspoon Chana Dal
- 5 Dried Red Chilles each broken into 2-3 pieces
- ½ Cup (or) 78 gms Peanuts
- 25 (or) 8 gms Cashews
- Big pinch Asafoetida/ Hing
- 1 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 Sprig Curry Leaves remove leaves from stem
- Handful Fresh Coriander Leaves chopped
- 3 Cups (or) 500 gms Cooked Rice
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry green chillies until they release a strong aroma and start to pop.2 Tablespoons Oil (Olive/Coconut/Sesame), 2 Green Chillies
- Now reduce the heat to lowest setting, add premade puliyogare masala and mix well.5 Tablespoons (or) 55 gms Premade Puliyogare Powder
- Add a little water and stir until it is well combined with the powder.⅓ Cup Water
- Cook for a few more minutes until the mixture thickens.
- Transfer the puliyogare gojju to the bowl.
- Heat oil in the same pan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, chana dal and dry red chillies.1 Tablespoon Oil (Olive/Coconut/Sesame), 1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds, 1 Teaspoon Urad Dal, 1 Teaspoon Chana Dal, 5 Dried Red Chilles
- Once the mustard seeds start spluttering, add peanuts and cashews. Fry until they turn golden brown.½ Cup (or) 78 gms Peanuts, 25 (or) 8 gms Cashews
- Add turmeric powder, asafoetida, and curry leaves. Sauté for a few seconds.Big pinch Asafoetida/ Hing, 1 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder, 1 Sprig Curry Leaves
- Switch the heat off.
- Place the cooked rice in a wide pan or a bowl.3 Cups (or) 500 gms Cooked Rice
- Add the gojju and gently mix until the rice is well coated with the mixture.
- Now add tempered spices and nuts, chopped coriander leaves and mix well.Handful Fresh Coriander Leaves
- Allow the puliyogare rice to rest for some time to absorb the flavours.
Notes
Nutrition
Related
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More dishes from Karnataka cuisine
Welcome to Flavours Treat. I share vegetarian recipes made with wholesome, mostly fresh ingredients. Every recipe has easy-to-follow instructions with process shots (detailed step-wise pictures), a short video and lots of tips to help your cooking journey. Read more
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