Jewelled Curd Rice/thayir sadham/yoghurt rice

I have been fortunate to live in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu for a year, to know the Tamilian community at its best, their wonderful food, and all things curd - top on any probiotics list. Tamilians love their curds - whether it is with piping hot idlis, dosas or upma. So I instantly associated thayir sadham aka curd rice with Viswanathan Anand, chessmaster and his brains.

I've feasted on all sorts of  imaginable flavours of curd rice from humble plain curd rice to a lavish spread with nuts on numerous occasions and still love the idea of experimenting with flavours. A complete meal by itself and best served with pickle. I have concocted many a curd rice over the years, loved it more and more for its simplicity. 

These are number one heat killers and you are gonna fall into this mesmerizing world of curd rice. After experimenting with many versions, now I am stuck with my version of jewelled curd rice adorned with ruby red pom niblets and shavings of carrot.  


So what are you waiting for ....... go make your curd rice, tuck some into your stomach. I am sure you are going to fall in love with it and don't blame me if you can't stop saying I'm cool as a curd.

Recipe


Ingredients:-


Basmati Rice - 2 cups
Water - 6 cups
Yoghurt - 2 1/2 cups
Milk - 1/2 cup
Green chillies - 3 tbsp
Ginger - 11/2 tbsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Grated carrot - 3 tbsp
Pomegranate - 1/2 of a pomegranate
Salt as needed


Directions


Cook Basmati rice with more water than the package instructions to get a mushy rice. Keep aside.


Pour some oil in a small pan. When hot, put in the mustard seeds and urad dal. As soon as the mustard seeds and dal begin to pop, put in the curry leaves, ginger, and green chillies. Stir once quickly. Remove from stove and pour over the cooked rice and add curds. Mix well. Adjust salt accordingly. Now bring on to heat till everything is hot and blended well. Make it as thick or thin as you like it. Sprinkle pomegranates and grated carrot. Blend well. Serve curd rice with mango pickle or lemon pickle.


Notes: You can omit milk if you don't like it. Substitute with same amount of yoghurt, it adds sourness to the dish. Pomegranates give the dish that extra crunch. Add water if you don't like a thick looking curd rice. I like it a little thick so I made it that way. Traditionally it is served a little loose than shown in the above pics.