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Pirandai Sadam

A spiced mixed rice or kalanda sadam made with pirandai, veldt grape or adamant creeper. A version of this rice is the traditional naivedyam in the Thirumeechaiyur temple near Mailadudurai.
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Ingredients
  

For the thuvaiyal

  • 1 bunch tender pirandai
  • Coconut oil to protect your hands
  • 2-3 tbsp cold pressed sesame oil
  • 10-12 dry red chillies
  • 1 tbsp urad dal
  • 1 tbsp split Bengal gram/chana dal
  • 1 ” piece of ginger
  • 2-3 green chillies
  • A lime-sized ball of kudampuli or tamarind
  • 10 pearl onions (optional)
  • 10 cloves garlic (optional)
  • ½ cup fresh grated coconut (optional)
  • A little jaggery to taste
  • Salt to taste

Tempering

  • 1 tablespoon cold pressed sesame oil
  • 1 broken red chilli
  • 1 tablespoon urad dal
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • ¼ cup roasted peanuts
  • A generous pinch of asafoetida/ hing
  • 2-3 sprigs curry leaves

For the rice

  • 2 cups jeeraga samba rice, or any other firm-cooking short grain

Instructions
 

  • Set the rice to cook until the grains are cooked through but still al dente. Spread on a large plate to cool and dry.
  • Meanwhile, clean the pirandai. Smear your hands well with coconut oil to protect them from contact dermatitis. Keep more handy in case you start to feel a slight itchiness. Using a sharp knife, cut away the hard nodes of the pirandai stems. Then peel the stems and/or scrape the edges and as much of the tough outer skins as possible. Set the interior flesh aside.
  • Set a large, heavy-bottomed pan on a high flame. When it is hot, add the sesame oil and heat it through. Drop in the red chillies and fry until they start to brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove them and transfer to the jar of a blender.
  • In the same oil, add the urad and chana dals. Once these are browning just lightly, follow with the ginger and green chillies, and then the pirandai. Fry the pirandai well to ensure there’ll be no residual itchiness from any bits of remaining skin.
  • Add the kudampuli or tamarind and then the pearl onions and garlic (if using). Cook until softened.
  • Then turn off the flame and transfer all the fried ingredients to the jar with the waiting red chillies. Add the fresh coconut, salt, and jaggery. Blend using as little water as possible into a thick paste. Try not to overblend, retaining a little of the texture of the coconut if possible.
  • Adjust salt and jaggery—you are aiming for an intense sour-spice paste with a little touch of sweetness.
  • In the same heavy-bottomed pan used to fry the spices earlier, heat the tablespoon of oil for tempering and once it’s nearly smoking drop in all the dry spices (except curry leaves). Once the mustard seeds crackle and pop, add the curry leaves. Fry until crisp and switch off the flame.
  • Now gently add and mix in the cooled cooked rice. Once the tempering spices and the rice are mixed well, add the thuvaiyal a tablespoon or two at a time, smearing and gently folding until it coats each grain of rice evenly.
  • Taste the rice once it appears to have sufficient thuvaiyal added in—and either add more or save the remainder for another use.
  • Serve warm.

Notes

  1. Pirandai sadam made with coconut will spoil faster than rices made without.
  2. Onions and garlic are not generally used to prepare temple naivedyam, and are optional in this recipe—but wonderful additions to a thuvaiyal.
  3. If you are making only a pirandai thuvaiyal, pour the same tempering used for the rice into the chutney instead.