Indian Food

Pulihora rice is an authentic Andhra recipe. The word “puli” means sour and “hora” means meals or food in Telugu, the language spoken in Andhra Pradesh. The word “Pulihora” literally translates to  sour rice due to the tangy taste from tamarind, lemon or mango. The sour/tangy taste is balanced perfectly with other spices for a sour, spicy and salty taste all at once.

I remember eating my mom's Andhra Pulihor "sour" rice with dry fried spiced lamb meat when traveling on a train from North Indian to South India to visit family many decades ago. My mom used to make a huge “dekchi” or pot of sour rice with fried meat that we would eat as the movement of the train gently swayed us back and forth into a food coma. The food lasted a couple of days on the train without refrigeration due to the acidity of lemon or lime juice that served as a natural preservative for the food. However, I would caution you AGAINST leaving it unrefrigerated especially now when we have easy access to fridges.

My mom’s version of this recipe substitutes tamarind with lime juice for a tangy taste that is just AMAZING! It’s so easy to make when you have leftover rice. My only complaint about it is that you just can’t stop eating it. I have served it with Ground Beef (Keema) made with my Ground Beef (Keema) seasoning kit (pictured below). However, you can certainly eat it with baked chicken or chickpeas or beans for a vegan twist. I hope you love it as much as my family does.