Centuries ago, Sourashtrians migrated from the Sourashtra region in Gujarat to the southern states. There are many historic reasons quoted for their migration. Since then their language and culture has transformed. When they settled down in south, they adapted the southern style cooking into their daily lives. Food we eat today are pretty much same as what is cooked in South Indian households. But there is always a twist and turn in those recipes. There are umpteen popular sourashtrian dishes like Ambat Bhath, Limbu pongal, Gojju, Amti, Sivi but Ambat Bhath is always in the top. Ambat Bhath directly translates to Puli Satham in tamil or Tamarind rice in english. When one of my readers requested this recipe, I called up my mom and wrote to my friends. I was pretty sure that they will give me different recipes. In Salem area, Ambat Bhath is prepared like ‘Dhourav pongal’. And I knew my reader wanted to know how it was prepared around the Madurai area. After checking with two of my friends who hail from Madurai, I finally got the original recipe for Ambat Bhath. So this is for you ‘M’. Sorry I had to make you wait for a while.
Ingredients:
Tamarind / Puli – 50 gm (1 big lemon size)
Water – 1 1/2 cup (for soaking tamarind)
Sesame / Gingelly Oil / Nal ennai – 3 tbsp + 4 tsps for later use
Mustard Seeds / Kadugu – 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds / Jeera – 1/4 tsp
Bengal gram dhal / Chana dhal / Kadala paruppu – 2 tsp
Black gram dhal / Urad dhal / Uluttam paruppu (broken) – 1 tsp
Red Chili / Vara milagai – 12
Curry leaves / Karuvepilai – 10-12 leaves
Peanuts / Groundnuts / Verkadalai – handful
Asafoetida / Hing / Perungayam – 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder / Manjal thul – 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek powder / Venthiyam podi – 1 tsp
Mustard powder / Kadugu podi – a big pinch (optional)
Sea salt / Kal uppu – to taste (you can use regular salt)
For Cooked Rice
Rice (Basmati or as per your choice) – 2 1/2 cup
Water – to cook rice
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