Cranberry is one of those seasonal things that we love. In fact, a lot of people do not really know that cranberry is a sour sweetless fruit as they always associate it with cranberry juice, syrup and crainsins, all loaded with additional sugar. I never liked that cranberry, but the real fresh cranberry is a whole different story, it is awesome and can be used in so many different ways. This recipe is a South Indian classic called Puliyogare.
Puliyogare is a traditional dish and can be eaten at any time of the day :-). As the name suggests, it has a sour/tangy taste. This rice dish gets the sour taste from tamarind (and from lime in some parts). It is also a staple at most temples as a prasadam. This is the case in tbe US as well where most temples serve this dish and we have always look forward to it as part of the temple visits :-).
Many of our traditional dishes call for sour ingredients like raw mango, tamarind, lime, cocum, etc. and cranberry is a great substitute for each of them. Being seasonal and packed with nutrients is an obvious bonus, along with the color it can bring to all dishes.
For puliyogare powder:
Ingredients:
- Horse gram - 3 Tbs
- Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
- Red chilly - 3-4
- Asaphoetida - a pinch
Directions:
- Dry roast the ingredients one by one, cool down and grind them using a dry blender or coffee grinder.
For puliyogare:
Ingredients:
- Raw rice - 1 cup (I used Jasmine rice, but Basmati or other varieties work fine too)
- Fresh cranberries - 1 cup
- Sesame oil - 2 Tbs
- Urud dal - 1 Tbs
- Peanuts - 2 Tbs
- Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
- Red chilly - 1-2
- Sea salt - as per taste
Directions:
- Cook rice with 1 3/4 cups of water. Keep aside.
- Heat oil on medium heat and add mustard seeds, urud dal, peanuts and red chillies.
- Once the mustard seeds pop, and urud dal and peanuts golden, add curry leaves and saute for a few seconds.
- Add cranberries and saute till cranberries pop and become soft. Add the puliyogare powder and salt, mix and mash well. Adjust seasonings and switch off.
- Add the cooked rice and mix well.
- Serve warm. Enjoy!!
