Weeknight dinner- Curd Rice
With microwave semolina idlis and coconut cilantro chutney.
The hardest part of this recipe was mashing my perfectly cooked, long, separate grains of fragrant Basmati rice into the creamy mush that is curd rice. [That's conditioning for you.] The mashing is important to give it the creamy texture, though, and for a proper melding of flavors.
Curd Rice (recipe adapted from here)
- 1 cup raw rice (medium grain is good)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup sour plain yogurt ( Activia plain yogurt comes closest to homemade.)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- a pinch asfoetida (optional)
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp ginger green chilli paste
- a few curry leaves (I used dried ones that my mother mailed from her kitchen garden in India.)
- 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
- a handful of seedless grapes, or pomegranate arils, or fresh cherries
- In a saucepan, soak the rice in the water for 20-30 minutes.
- Place the saucepan on high heat and bring to a boil, covered. Then lower the heat and simmer until all the water is absorbed. Keep the lid on as much as you can.
- Turn off the heat, and add the salt and the milk to the rice, stirring and mashing the rice with the back of your spoon. The rice will absorb most of the liquid. Cover, and let it cool.
- Once cooled to room temperature, add the yogurt and mix it in.
- Heat the oil in a small skillet.
- Add the asfoetida and the mustard seeds. Let em pop.
- Add the curry leaves and the ginger green chilli paste. Saute for a minute.
- Add this tempering to the rice along with the fruit and the cilantro. Mix well.
- Chill in the fridge for half an hour.
Serve with your favorite hot pickle.
- 1 cup raw rice (medium grain is good)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup sour plain yogurt ( Activia plain yogurt comes closest to homemade.)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- a pinch asfoetida (optional)
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp ginger green chilli paste
- a few curry leaves (I used dried ones that my mother mailed from her kitchen garden in India.)
- 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
- a handful of seedless grapes, or pomegranate arils, or fresh cherries
- In a saucepan, soak the rice in the water for 20-30 minutes.
- Place the saucepan on high heat and bring to a boil, covered. Then lower the heat and simmer until all the water is absorbed. Keep the lid on as much as you can.
- Turn off the heat, and add the salt and the milk to the rice, stirring and mashing the rice with the back of your spoon. The rice will absorb most of the liquid. Cover, and let it cool.
- Once cooled to room temperature, add the yogurt and mix it in.
- Heat the oil in a small skillet.
- Add the asfoetida and the mustard seeds. Let em pop.
- Add the curry leaves and the ginger green chilli paste. Saute for a minute.
- Add this tempering to the rice along with the fruit and the cilantro. Mix well.
- Chill in the fridge for half an hour.
Serve with your favorite hot pickle.
Comments
This looks delightful and I would love to taste it. them.
Your Mom's curry leaves!! that's such a good feeling!
Your picture is GORGEOUS!!
Mustard seeds pop and jump, and hurt a lot if they manage to touch skin.
(Mom has been keeping me in a constant supply of home ground spices. I love cooking with them and use them in everything, yet they are so precious...its a bittersweet feeling.)
jump, and hurt a lot if they manage to touch skin. I had no idea...wow.
The cool thing about mustard is, it completely changes character. I love the nutty taste of popped mustard seeds. And ground mustard is used in Indian pickles to give them the sourness. In the north, we use fine black, more pungent mustard seeds, while in the south, a dark brown, bigger version is used, which is milder. I'm planning to buy some yellow ones and make some home-made, zero-alcohol, coarse mustard.