Curd Rice

Curd Rice is one of the most favored South Indian rice dish. You can enjoy it as a one bowl complete meal or as a part of South Indian thali lunch or dinner. It is a great comfort food and very cooling during the hot summer months. Curd Rice is also known as Dahi Bhaath, Yoghurt Rice, Thayir Saadam, Daddojanam, Mosaranna.

Curd Rice is light, healthy, soothes and aids easy digestion. Even though one may feel that adding cream and butter makes it rich and heavy, these two ingredients helps the curd rice to retain its smooth, moist and creamy texture. You may skip these two ingredients if you so prefer. Addition of garnishes suggested below brings in some sweetness from the fruits and dry fruits. The nuts and vegetables boosts the nutritive value and adds some crunch to the soft and mushy Curd Rice.

It is ideal to eat and relish Curd Rice in summer when the appetite is not very good and the digestive fire is low. It peps up the appetite and tastes real good with an accompaniment of mixed pickles or tangy mango or lemon pickle. Curd Rice is just right for persons recovering from an illness and even for children as it is not spicy. You can adjust your tempering (tadka) accordingly for kids and ailing persons.

I made this Curd Rice the other day when I did not have a good appetite and believe me it did help me to rejuvenate my taste buds and cool down my digestive system. Even though many are familiar with this delicious and simple preparation, I thought it to be a good idea to share with the onset of summer. You can enjoy this lovely rice meal anytime but it is very special when the heat is at its peak… to feel cool as ever.. 😀

Ingredients:

• 100 gms. Basmati Rice or as per preference
• 1 cup warm Milk
• 1 cup fresh thick creamy Curds/Dahi/Yoghurt whisked)
• 1 tsp. fresh Cream (optional)
• ½ tsp. Butter (optional)
• Salt to taste

For the Tempering/Tadka:

• ½ tsp. Mustard Seeds
• ½ tsp. Cumin Seeds
• 1 tbsp. Chana Dal
• 1tsp. Urad Dal
• A pinch – Hing (Asafoetida)
• A sprig – fresh Curry Leaves
• 2 fresh Green Chillies (slit) or dry Red Chillies
• 1 tsp. fresh Ginger (peeled & grated)
• 1 tbsp. Cooking Oil

For Garnishing: as per choice

• Freshly chopped Coriander Leaves
• Carrot, Cucumber, raw mango (peeled & grated)
• Pomegranate, Grapes
• Cashew nuts, raisins (fried to lightly golden)

Procedure:

Pick, wash & soak rice for about 25 mins.

Pressure cook the rice with enough water (I used 2 cups) up to 2 whistles or until the rice is soft & slightly mushy.

When the cooked rice is reasonably warm, stir in butter, cream and milk.

Add the whisked curds to the cooled rice mixture.

Preparation of Tempering/Tadka:

In a pan or tempering pan, heat oil until hot.

First crackle the mustard seeds and then add all the remaining tempering ingredients.

On low heat, sauté until lightly golden.

Reserve some tempering for the topping. Add the remaining tempered ingredients and salt to the rice mixture when it is lukewarm. Give it a good stir.

Serve garnished with the remaining tempering and with one or a favorite combination of the above mentioned ingredients for garnishing.

Enjoy with more whisked curds and your favorite pickle (achaar).

---