Puli Aval (Tamarind Flattened Rice Mix)

Puli Aval is one of the easiest tiffins to make for dinner. We had a long exhausting day yesterday and came home completely drained out. I decided to make the puli aval, as a quick fix for an early dinner. I resort to the short cuts when my mom travels and I have to cook for myself. I have given both methods - the traditional and short versions.

Ingredients

Aval (thick variety) 2 cups

Tamarind water

Jaggery

Salt

Mustard seeds ½ tsp

Curry leaves

Urad dal ½ tsp

Asafoetida

Oil

Method

1. Wash the rice in water and let it dry.

2. Once dried, if you like, run it in a mixer to get the texture of the rava.

3. Take water in a vessel and squeeze the tamarind to extract the juice.

4. Filter the tamarind water and boil it with jaggery, and salt.

5. Pour over the aval, just enough to cover it. Too much will make it soggy.

6. In a wok, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, asafoetida, urad dal, and curry leaves.

7. Once the rice has absorbed the water, add it to the wok and turn it well.

Serve hot with curds and pappad.

Even easier is to add oil and fry the MTR Tamarind mix. Add the washed rice to this, season it and serve. It takes about 15 minutes to complete the dish.