Bulgur puliyodharai, is almost a one pot meal. Lip-smacking tamarind sauce, simmered with tempered spices and mixed with soft cooked bulgur. Puliyodharai/pulihora is a rice-based dish, popular in South-India.
What is Bulgur/Burghol
Burghol/Bulgur is a product of whole wheat. It resembles and mistaken for lapsi. But it is different from lapsi. Whole wheat is par-cooked and crushed to get various sizes of bulgur. Though it looks similar to cracked wheat, the process makes difference. Since bulgur is pre-cooked, the cooking time of it, is very less in dishes used.
What is this Puliyodharai/Pulihora?
The name puliyodharai, also called pulihora means tamarind rice. The name itself makes many of our taste buds salivate. The heady aroma of tamarind simmered in pounded spices makes this dish a delectable experience of the senses. The same recipe can be made with rice, or any grain, make sure the chosen grain is cooked in proper consistency.
This tamarind rice recipe is an inspiration from Chandra Padmanabhan’s Simply South cookbook. The Original recipe used Lapsi or Broken wheat, but i have made this with Burghol. The puliyodharai was so yum, hubby dear couldn’t make it out that it is not rice.
Some sides to serve with this Bulgur Puliyodharai
Bulgur Puliyodharai|Burghol Tamarind rice
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups burghol/bulgur
- 1 lime sized ball of tamarind
- 1 tablespoon ghee or any vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoon broken cashew nuts
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
- a sprig of curry leaves
To Roast and Grind
- 1 teaspoon urad dal dehusked black gram dal
- 1 teaspoon moong dal dehusked green dal
- 6 nos red chilies i used round variety
- 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds
- 1.5 teaspoon fenugreek seeds methi/venthayam
- ½ teaspoon hing/asafoetida
- ½ teaspoon black peppercorns
- a sprig of curry leaf
Tempering
- ½ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ tablespoon chana dal
- ¼ cup shelled peanuts
Instructions
- Wash Burghol/Bulgur well and pressure cook it with enough water for 2 whistles. Keep aside until use.
- Soak tamarind in warm water and extract about 1.5 cups of tamarind extract, discard the pulp.
- Roast all ingredients given under Roast ngrind together, until golden and aromatic, grind it to a fine powder
- Heat oil in a pan, fry cashew nuts until golden brown, drain and set aside
- In the same pan, heat oil for tempering, splutter mustard seeds, add gram dal and peanuts. When they turn golden brown, add tamarind extract, ground spice powder and salt to it.
- Let it cook in a medium flame, until all of the water evaporates, and it turns into a jam-like consistency. Remove from stove.
- Add cooked bulgur/burghol to and mix well.
- Serve hot with any spicy curry or raita. i served it along Capsicum-Carrot subzi and potato raita.
This whole grain pulihora is a healthy alternative to rice. I served this delicious pulihora with some potato raita and capsicum-carrot subzi, an wholesome meal.
Some other mixed rice recipes
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Unknown
Wow what an idea 🙂 this healthy puliyodharai looks super yummy and very interesting dear 🙂
Unknown
great idea of making puliyodharai with bulgur… very healthy…
Unknown
even i was planning to do this priya 🙂 well made..
MySpicyKitchen
Indeed a nice alternative to rice! Looks tasty and love the side dishes too 🙂
kitchen queen
healthy puliyodharai.
Sujas Kitchen
I can totally relate to the 1st paragraph 🙂 Great thought & Presentation, Priya!
Nalini's Kitchen
Nice idea Priya,never thought of making puliodharai with broken wheat,sounds inviting…
Chef Mireille
so healthy and delicious…fyi – bulgur is the same as cracked wheat/lapsi
Pavani
That is a great variation to pulihora with rice.. Nutritious and delicious.
Archana
Absolutely love the idea and yes I want some of it. The puliyodharai at Hyderabad I still remember and wish I can eat it yet again. So you will not be surprised if I do start making this idea much to Apeksha’s distress!
Archana recently posted…Khubani ka Meetha Recipe