I hail from an Indian community that is famous for its Puliyodharai - a verity rice that is flavored with a spiced tamarind paste. Also known as Puli sadham, Pulihora and puliogare , this South Indian classic has a huge following and is pretty straightforward to make. Its quick to put together as long as you have the pulikaachal (seasoned tamarind paste) ready in your pantry. Then it is all about making rice and mixing the paste whenever you please, even at a very short notice. Given that I have this background, I have had many acquaintance make the assumption that I have this paste ready to go and are quite taken aback when I don’t!
No, its not that I don’t like Puliyodharai. In fact, my husband loves the classic and has at many times insisted on making a big batch of pulikachal at hand. He always packaged it under “Oh it will be so easy for you during busy days” – of course 
And I gave in and started buying the store bought paste 
He was not pleased – to be honest, but did not say anything ‘cos he understood my reluctance to make that tedious paste that took hours and energy. Frankly, I always could find better things to do in that time. But when one has a kid, perspective change and I found myself slogging to make this paste occasionally just to be able to introduce and familiarize my little one of our traditional foods. Did you notice how I still use the verb slog in association?
But enter OPOS and now I have the best of both the worlds! Making pulikachal is now a child’s play. There are many recipes that you can convert to OPOS and make your life simpler. But recipes like Puliyodharai are what makes OPOS empowering to me. We all would love to hold on to our traditional values, customs and beliefs for the comfort that it provides. But it is imperative to understand that the environment and life has drastically changed from those ancient days and we have to adapt. Instead of letting go of traditions completely, I believe in using means that make it easier for me to embrace our culture with current norms. In cooking, I feel that OPOS is that tool that has hugely enabled me to continue cooking our classic dishes without the expected expenditure of time and energy.(...)
Read the rest of Easy Pulikachal (OPOS©) at Chef In You
© DK for Chef In You, 2018. |
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