1. Soak the tamarind in water, squeeze out thick juice and keep it aside.

2. In a pan, heat some vegetable oil and season it with mustard and jeera and once they sputter add the other ingredients and fry till the dal becomes golden brown.

3. Now add tamarind juice carefully.

4. To this add sambar powder, red chilli powder and turmeric powder. Add salt to taste.

5. A very little piece of jaggery or a little sugar can be added to the mix to control the hotness of chilli.

6. Let the mix boil well for 5-6 minutes.

7. Add the pre-roasted groundnuts (ie. groundnuts fried in a pan till light brown).

8. Keep stirring the mix from time to time so that it doesn't get burned. The taste of puliadharai is in boiling well.

9. Once the mix becomes really thick and starts leaving the sides, switch off the gas stove.

10. Puliadharai is ready to serve.

Puliadharai is best with rice as Tamarind Rice. If well made it can substitute for pickle in most of the dishes. The quantity of ingrediants can be adjusted according to taste. Be sure to store the Puliadharai in refrigerator. The above mix should be sufficient for a couple of weeks.