Puliyogare Gojju

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredient

Thick tamarind juice 1 cup
Salt to taste
Jaggery small piece or sugar 1 tbsp (More if you want a little sweeter Gojju)

For seasoning:

Oil for seasoning
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Urad dal
2 tbsps Peanuts
1 tsp Chana dal
3-4 Red chillies
Few Curry leaves

For Dry Masala (to be ground):

1 cup Dessicated coconut or shredded copra
2 tsp Coriander seeds
1 tsp Peppercorns
A pinch of Asafoetida
6-8 Red chillies (Can be increased or decreased based on how spicy you want the gojju to be)
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
2 tsp Sesame seeds
2 tsp Chana dal
1 tsp Urad dal
1 tsp Peanuts
A few Curry leaves

Method:

Heat oil in a non stick pan. Add the seasonings one by one and once the mustard seeds splutter, add the tamarind juice.

Mix it well and add the salt and jaggery. Allow this mixture to come to boil.

Now add the ground dry masala powder to the boiling juice. Turn the heat to medium and boil for a few more minutes until the juice becomes thick and also you can see the oil separating from the mixture.

Now the Gojju is ready. Allow it to come to room temperature and then you can store it in the refrigerator for close to a month.

Preparing Puliyogare Rice:

Heat a little Ghee and Oil in a pan. Add seasoning of mustard seeds, urad daal, Peanuts and curry leaves. Add 2 to 3 tbsp of the puliyogare gojju and mix well. Add this to the cooked and cooled rice and mix well. Garnish with Freshly grated coconut. You can even mix just the gojju with cooked rice and eat, but this extra seasoning that you add gives an added taste.


Note: You can always use Rasam Powder instead of the the dry ground masala powder as it has pretty much the same ingredients. You might need 10-15 tsp of the Rasam powder depending on how hot you want the gojju to be.