Gongura puliyodharai - Rice with Ambadi Leaves

This week for the Blogging Marathon I, picked the special theme Book marked recipes. I always feel happy to see a unique recipe on other's blog. One such recipe is this Gongura puliyodharai from Jayashree , when I read her recipe last month I was so surprised that she made rice from this plant ie. Ambadi. I have been seeing this plant for years during my walk daily in forest of SGNP Thane and it never struck me that even these leaves are used to prepare rice. We usually use these leaves to make a mixed leafy vegetable. This is also freely available, there is saying what comes free is never valued. After reading her recipe the next day when I went for walk, picked up these leaves and prepared this rice for lunch, really enjoyed it. The tanginess of the leaves and crunchiness of the peanuts made this rice really yum.

I also clicked a pics of the plant one green and the other when the plant turns red, i,e, when the fruit is ripe. Do you know the fruit outer part is dried and then powdered, this is used to make any food preparation tangy ( like amchur powder).

Ingredients

1 Cup Rice - cooked and cooled
1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric powder
2 Teaspoon Oil - (I used groundnut oil, but any oil you regularly use/like will work)
Salt to taste
A fistful Peanuts - roasted

To fry :

1 Teaspoon Urad dal
1 Teaspoon Chana dal
2 Teaspoons Coriander seeds
2 Sprigs Curry leaves
2 Red chillies
1 Teaspoon Mustard seeds
1 Teaspoon Oil
2 Cups Gongura leaves(washed) - packed tight

Method :

Spread the cooked rice to cool. Add turmeric powder and 2 tsp of oil to it and set aside.

Heat a tsp of oil. In it, fry on low heat, the urad dal, chana dal, dhania, curry leaves, red chillies, and mustard. Set aside. Fry the washed gongura leaves in the same pan on a low flame till wilted. Let it cool.

Powder the fried spices to a coarse powder. Add the gongura and grind again to a paste without adding any water. Add this to the rice in small quantities and mix well. Add required amount of salt and mix. Top with some more curry leaves. Fry a fistful of peanuts in a teaspoon of oil and mix it into the rice.