Soak a lemon-sized ball of tamarind in 2 cups of hot water for 20 minutes. Squeeze well and extract the thick tamarind juice, then strain through a colander to remove any fibers or seeds.

To the extracted raw tamarind juice, add turmeric powder, salt, raw curry leaves and hing. Mix well and set aside.

In a small pan, dry roast methi seeds on low heat until they crackle and turn golden brown. Remove and set aside. In the same pan, roast 1 tbsp chana dal and 1-2 dry red chillies until golden and aromatic. Once cooled, pulse the roasted methi seeds, chana dal and red chillies in a small mixer jar to a coarse powder.

Heat 3 tbsp sesame oil in a heavy-bottomed kadai. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, pinched dry red chillies, hing and curry leaves in order. Saute on medium flame until the dals turn golden brown and crisp.

Carefully pour in the prepared tamarind extract mixture. Allow it to boil vigorously on medium flame for 10 to 15 minutes until the liquid reduces by half.

Once the tamarind mixture has reduced to half, add the powdered jaggery and the freshly ground spice powder. As soon as you add the powder, the gravy starts to thicken with a characteristic bubbling sound (called salangai satham in Tamil). Boil for just a few seconds until it reaches a semi-solid paste consistency, then immediately switch off the flame. (Do not overboil after adding the powder). Allow the pulikachal paste to cool completely, then store in an airtight glass jar.

To make Puli Sadam: Cook rice (raw rice or boiled rice) so that grains remain separate and fluffy (add 1 tsp oil while cooking). Spread the cooked warm rice onto a wide plate or bowl, drizzle with sesame oil, and let it cool slightly. Add the homemade pulikachal paste little by little and mix gently using a ladle until each grain is evenly coated. Check for salt and add more sesame oil if dry. Let the tamarind rice rest for at least 1 hour before serving so the grains absorb all the rich flavors. Enjoy with vadam or appalam!