Version from India
Curd rice — India
Curd rice: South Indian cooked rice loosened with yogurt into a creamy dish, finished with a mustard-seed tempering and served chilled at the end of a meal.
- 40 min
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 4
- Servings
- Easy
- Difficulty
Curd rice, also called yogurt rice, is a rice dish from India in which cooked rice is mixed with plain yogurt until it turns soft and slightly creamy, then finished with a quick tempering of spices.
It is closely associated with South Indian states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and is also eaten in parts of western India, including Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, where it appears at the end of a meal as a cooling dish.
Warm rice is mashed and loosened with yogurt and a little milk, then a tempering of mustard seeds, split chickpea lentils, dried chile, curry leaves and sometimes grated ginger is fried briefly in oil and stirred through. The dish is usually chilled or left to sit before serving, since it is meant to be eaten cool rather than hot.
It is commonly served as a way to close a spicy meal, its mildness balancing hotter dishes eaten earlier, and is also packed for travel or offered to guests because it keeps well and needs no reheating. Some cooks add grated raw mango, pomegranate seeds or grapes for a touch of sweetness and crunch.
Preparation
Mash the cooked rice lightly with a spoon while still warm to break up the grains.
Stir in the yogurt and milk gradually until the rice loosens into a soft, creamy mixture; season with salt.
Heat the oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds; let them pop.
Add the chana dal, dried chiles, curry leaves, grated ginger and a pinch of asafoetida; fry briefly until the dal turns golden.
Pour the hot tempering over the rice mixture and stir well to combine.
Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving, so the flavours settle and the dish turns pleasantly cool.
