Puli Kanchi

This is a dish made for the ill patients and during their convalescent period; to promote sweating and thereby bring down the fever. It is normally drunk with a spoon while it is still hot.
Puli kanchi (புளிக்கஞ்சி) was a speciality dish in Yarlpanam when the monsoonal rains arrive with storms and when it was chilly.

Ingredients:

Raw red rice 1 cup
Prawns cleaned ½ cup
Curry powder 1 teaspoon
Green chillies 4
Garlic cloves 5
Onion medium 1
Tamarind paste 1 teaspoon
Coconut milk ½ cup
Salt to taste
Water 5 cups
Drumstick leaves if available ½ cup

Method

Boil water in a pot and add rice.

Wait until water is boiling again and add the prawns, diced garlic, diced onions, curry powder and cook until rice and prawns are soft.

Add coconut milk, chopped green chillies and drumstick leaves and cook until the milk has boiled well.

And tamarind paste and salt and stir and simmer to make the dish like a thick soup.

Variation for vegetarians:

Omit prawns and add pieces of ash plantain and chopped jackfruit seeds.