Say what?! Sounds weird, right? But trust me, this tastes delicious and you don't have to go through making both a main course and a side. It's all in one grand dish. The bonus point is that it doesn't steer away either from the taste or the method of preparing tamarind rice. Intrigued? Read on. Also, don't blame me when you go "doi" at the end of it all.

Ingredients :

1. Rice - 1 cup

2. Water - 2 cups

3. Frozen diced peas and carrots - 1 cup (you can add/ substitute with potatoes)

4. cumin seeds / jeera - 1 tbsp

5. Puliyodharai powder / tamarind rice powder - 2 tbsp or more as needed. (I used MTR brand)

6. Sesame oil - 2 tbsp

7. Curry leaves - 1 sprig

8. Peanuts - 1 tbsp

9. Salt - to taste

Procedure:

1. Cook the rice according to package instructions (mostly 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water depending on the variety) but also throw in the diced peas and carrots along with cumin seeds and a pinch of salt. You'll be cooking everything in one pot. I used a pressure cooker and let 3 whistles pass.

2. In a pan, add sesame oil and once warm, roast the curry leaves and peanuts.

3. Next, add the tamarind rice powder and saute for 15-30 secs.

4. Finally add the cooked rice mixture and mix everything together.

5. Turn off the stove and it's ready to be served with chips or papad.

**Optional additional steps - you could add potatoes while cooking the rice and saute some onions while roasting the peanuts. I skipped these because it was a Sunday and I didn't see a reason to whip out my chopping board and knife.