Usirikaya (Amla) Pulihora
It’s been so long since I have put up a recipe! I have been so lazy to take the camera out out of the bag, upload the pictures and post them. But since I have downloaded WordPress into my phone it’s been easy. It’s just the pictures aren’t of great quality as I want them to be. They are rather poor quality compared to my fancy camera, but I keep thinking I’m going to lose the recipes if I don’t record them. Most of the recipes I make I make on a whim and just go with whatever I think in the moment, and those recipes turn out great (usually). On a whim last night I decided to make pulihora with amla that I bought frozen from the store. I want to explore more options with these frozen ones.
As fresh Usirikaya or Amla isn’t available here I went in for the frozen ones. I picked up a bag a few weeks ago, and found them delicious. There weren’t too sour. The recipe is fairly simple, but it does require a blender. Alternatively, you can also grate the Amla, but it is a very slow and exhausting process. Amla has so many health benefits. It’s good for skin, nails, hair and has loads of Vitamin C, that you need to get a bucket full of in these COVID-19 times. 2020 is a strange year, but glad half of it is over. If I find more recipes with Amla that I experiment I’ll surely put it out.
Ingredients
Usirikaya (Amla) – 1/2 frozen pack (1/2 pound)
Salt – As required
Turmeric – 1/2 teaspoon
Cooked Rice – 4 cups
For Tempering:
Oil – 3 tablespoons
Channa Dal – 2 tablespoons
Urad Dal – 2 tablespoons
Peanuts – 1/4 cup
Mustard seeds – 1 tablespoon
Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida – 1/8th teaspoon
Green Chilies – 5
Dried Red Chilies – 5
Curry leaves – A few
How To Make
Step 1: Take Frozen Usirikaya (Amla) in a bowl and wash them once. Soak them in water for 30 minutes, drain the water and keep it aside for 2 hours.
Step 2: Cook the rice and keep it aside.
Step 3: Drain excess water from the Amla, add them into a blender jar, and pulse them. It needn’t be a paste.
Step 4: Add turmeric, salt and the Amla to the rice and mix it well, so that they all come together well.
Step 5: In a pan, once hot, add oil. Add channa dal and urad dal, as they start to change color, add peanuts, once the peanuts start darkening add mustard seeds. The mustard seeds will start spluttering at this point add cumin and asafoetida. Add curry leaves, green chilies and red chilies, fry them a little and add the tempering to the rice. Mix it well.
Step 6: Serve it with coconut chutney or tomato chutney.
