Puliyodharai

Cooked rice tossed with a thick, concentrated paste of tamarind, sesame seeds, dried red chillies, and freshly ground spices, tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves, and peanuts in sesame oil. The definitive temple rice of Tamil Nadu — prepared as neivedyam at every South Indian temple and distributed to devotees after puja. The puliyodharai of Chennai's Kapaleeshwarar Temple is considered the gold standard.