South-Indian style Yogurt rice
First off, I apologize for not posting in such a long time. I was terribly busy with an internship I’m doing. With the bulk of the project wrapped up, I finally found the time today to post a recipe I have been meaning to, for ages – Curd (or yogurt) & Rice.
Living in cold, freezing Minnesota after being in sunny, hot Mumbai for 26 years of my life, the need for comfort food has quadrupled. Curd-rice was the first comfort food I learnt to make. I enjoy it with a sprinkle of crispy fried onions and papad. Spiced with Mustard seeds, cumin seeds and lemony curry leaves, this dish is easy on the taste-buds, and easier on your tummy.
Not only is it easy to prepare, it is an ideal meal for days when your tummy feels uneasy, or when you want your digestive system to rest after a few days of eating out. Serves 2.
Curd-rice with papad
You will need:
- 2 cups long-grain, Basmati rice
- 3-4 cups plain whole-milk yogurt, beaten
- 1 medium size carrot, grated
Grated carrots
- 2-3 curry leaves
Curry leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 Green chili, slit lengthwise
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced (for garnishing)
- Vegetable oil – 1 tablespoon + 6 tablespoons
- Salt to taste
Method:
- Wash and drain the rice well . Cook on medium heat, with 4 cups of water, and salt
- While the rice cooks, prepare the garnishing – the crispy fried onions (leave this out if you have a seriously upset tummy)
- Heat 6 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan to high heat. Fry the thinly sliced onions in 2 separate batches, till they are crispy and golden-brown.
Fry the Onions in hot oil
- Place the fried onions, when done, on a paper towel
- When the rice is cooked, mix it with a wooden spoon to loosen up the grains. Keep aside to cool for about a minute
- Mix in the beaten yogurt / curd and the grated carrots after a minute or so
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan
- When well heated, carefully add the curry leaves and green chilies – the curry leaves splutter so be very careful in this step
- After about 30 seconds of frying the green chilies & curry leaves, add the mustard & cumin seeds
- Turn off heat as soon as the mustard seeds begin to splutter
- Pour this mixture on top of the yogurt & rice mixture and mix well
- Serve on a plate, garnish with the fried onions, and enjoy with a papad.
One Life to Eat 
Mmm, this looks SO good. Perfect comfort food for winter. And topped with the fried onions – oh my….looks absolutely perfect. I made channa masala yesterday, and was thinking of you as I was making it!
Thanks for checking out the post Jenn! Chana masala! It’s been an all-time favorite. Surprisingly I learnt how to make it only recently.
Oh, I should’ve gone to lunch before opening this! It looks so good!
Pearl
Thanks for checking out OneLifeToEat Pearl! I have many more yummy recipes planned ahead.
I just saw your blog and I’m really liking your blogroll! Some really interesting stuff out there. Not to mention your own! Yours is VERY fun to read 🙂 I’m stopping by more often…
Grand! Pleasure visiting you here. Keep sharing your expertise & experiments! Cheers!!!
Thanks for checking out the blog Neeraj! I have lots more planned ahead so do keep checking in. Any feedback (constructive or positive) is appreciated 🙂
Amazing coincidence. I was on another cooking blog earlier today and had posted a comment asking what curd was. Thanks for sharing! I would have tried it with cottage cheese otherwise (although that might work as well).
Thanks for the comment Tammy! Curd-rice will not taste very good if you use cottage cheese instead of yogurt. The idea is to have a tangy + earthy taste to the dish. The tanginess coming from the curd or yogurt, and the earthy taste from the curry leaves and mustard seeds.
I wish I could make a proper indian meal…but i can start trying one of yours!
Happy cooking!
Thanks for checking out OneLifeToEat Monica! I hope you find my recipes easy and quick to prepare. I liked some of the recipes you’ve posted too! Going to try for sure…