Yogurt rice /curd rice is ideal for lunch , to carry on road trips , hot summer days to cool you off.
Are you thinking yogurt and rice what’s so great about it ?Hmmmm…I too thought like that till I started making curd rice the Queen’s way.I got this style of pepping up plain rice from my landlady ,who stayed next door .My …I must tell you about her .She is one twister like cook and horse like on her bicycle ..no kidding guys..
Once my mom was visiting me and for her return journey I planned to make rice .I had not given much thought to what rice …now here comes the landlady ,she insisted she would make for me..Ok I must say I am glad she taught me how to make this special yogurt rice.To me it was almost similar to decking up a plain looking female to a pretty princess.
Ingredients:
White rice -2 cups
Plain yogurt- 3/4 cup (on the sour side)
Milk -1/4 cup
Green chili-1 cut into round pieces
Ginger-small piece -cut into small strips
Urad dal-1 tsp
Pepper- 7-8 seeds
Peanut- few
Cashew nuts – few
Raisins- few
coriander leaves ,curry leaves -few
mustard seeds and whole red chili-1 for seasoning
salt to taste
cumin powder-1/4 tsp
sugar- a small pinch
Method:
1.Cook the rice with enough water and strain it well.Let it cool off to room temperature.
2.To rice mix curd/yogurt (half the quantity only )mix then add salt,milk if the rice is clumpy then loosen it with curd.Repeat till the sourness is balanced.
Here the intention is to create a slightly soggy rice without much sourness because as the day progresses and it is ready to be eaten the rice would absorb all the moisture and the yogurt would not turn too sour.
If u get yogurt that is not too sour skip milk and do the rest.
3.Heat oil in a pan and put mustard as it crackles add whole red chili broken into two ,then urad dal let it turn golden brown then ginger ,curry leaves,green chili ,pepper corns, peanut, cashew when it is slightly golden brown add raisins let it puff up switch off flame .
4.Put the whole thing into the prepared rice .Add coriander leaves chopped and combine everything well ,add sugar and cumin powder give a final mix .
5.Put it in a leak proof container with a napkin and spoon and there you go…serve it with pickle and papadam or chips.I like it with spicy chutney.
Note
The yogurt as u know turns really sour on hot humid days hence milk is added to balance it.Yogurt smells awful if mixed with hot rice so don’t attempt that.
Cumin makes the rice get a good aroma when you open the lunch box 🙂
Are you not anxious about what my mother thought of the food packed for her return trip ?
When she reached back home she called me and said this was the best yogurt rice she ever had !It was not soggy or clumpy and neither sour or sweet just right !!
Guys!this happened long before cell phone ruined our lives,an era when the phone got a throne to sit on and blare out loud when anyone called.Times when neighbors would walk in to our house like family members….
Don’t you think it is a humble dish for the simple people…
Jot down your thoughts here to let me know I am not the only one feeling this way..
Meena
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This sounds delicious, I'll try it!
I had something remotely similar in Turkey once, at asitane's in Istanbul.