CURD RICE is a South Indian Dish made with Soft, pre-cooked rice mixed with yougurt/curd and tempered with spices. CURD RICE is a part of South Indian meals. It is usually served with pickles and papad. It is also the go-to meal for anyone suffering from an upset stomach. One of the biggest advantages this dish has over others is that it is extremely easy to make.
The process of making curd rice is pretty simple and straight forward.
First the rice is cooked with more water than you normally would. Because the rice is cooked with extra water, it’s quite soft and that’s the consistency you want for curd rice.
I have used Sona Masoori rice in this recipe, you may use long grain or basmati. Even brown rice would work.
Once the rice is cooked, you have to let it cool down completely. And then add in the CURD (I add a lot of it!) and milk (to avoid the sour taste). You can also Grated carrot, chopped cucumber, onion, cashews, whole grapes and raisins.
BENEFITS OF EATING CURD RICE
Curd Rice aids digestion: Curd rice is the best home remedy for an upset stomach because it is easy to digest and works against bloating and indigestion. The curd in curd rice is also rich in probiotics that promote the growth of healthy gut bacteria thus relieving constipation and abdominal pain triggered by it.
Curd Rice cools the body: Curd rice should ideally always be eaten cold. Curd is a natural fire extinguisher that cools the body and helps maintain internal body temperature. Thus if you're feeling feverish or if it's simply a very hot day, try some curd rice.
Curd Rice can act as a stress buster: Curd contains probiotics, antioxidants, and good fats. This helps the brain deal with pain and emotions like stress. This makes curd rice not only a tasty dish but also a stress-busting one.
Curd Rice aids weight loss: A bowl of curd rice can fill your stomach and keep you from snacking. It also has negligible calories when compared to the same amount of fried rice or pulao. This makes curd rice a good meal to indulge in when you're attempting to lose weight.
Curd Rice boosts immunity: Being easy to digest is only one of the reasons curd rice is the best food to eat when ill. Curd is rich in antioxidants that give the body power to fight infections. It also gives the body much needed energy when ill.
Curd rice as a source of probiotic: It's a good natural substitute for pro-biotic and antibiotics for very young children during early stages of fever
IS CURD RICE HEALTHY?
Curd is rich in proteins, calcium, good fats, minerals And thus excellent for vegetarians.
The friendly probiotic bacteria present in the curd help in the digestion.
Curd reduces bloating, constipation and diarrhea.
It also helps in reducing stress and anxiety
TIPS FOR PREPARING FINGER LICKING CURD RICE:
You can fry ginger and curry leaves while tempering if you want.
For good homely flavour, use homemade curd. Homemade curd has a totally different flavor and taste as compared to the store brought curd. When making recipes where curd is the main ingredient, then do try to use homemade curd.
Use fresh curd, but if the curd is slightly sour, then you can add some more milk.
Curd and milk proportion can be adjusted to suit your taste. You can skip milk also if you want.
To avoid the curd rice from turning sour during summers, milk is added.
Green chillies and ginger can be skipped for small kids.
You can add cashews too.
Almond yogurt, coconut milk yogurt or cashew yogurt can be used instead of dairy curd.
You can also add Black Grapes or Green Grapes.
Now, lets quickly jump to check out the Ingredients and recipe!
INGREDIENTS:
For Cooking Rice
Rice - ½ cup (Sona Masuri)
Water - 1½ cup (for pressuring cooking)
Other Ingredients
Curd - 1 Cup
Milk - ¼ Cup
Green Chilli - 1 nos (chopped)
Ginger - 1 tsp (finely chopped)
Curry leaves - 1 tsp (chopped)
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp (chopped)
For Tempering
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Urad dal - ½ tsp (optional)
Curry leaves - 5 to 6
Asafoetida (hing) - ⅛ tsp
For Garnish
Pomegranate arils - 1 to 2 tbsp - optional, sweet grapes can also be used instead
coriander leaves - 1 tbsp
PROCEDURE: Cooking Rice
Rinse rice a couple of times in water. Then add the rice in a pressure cooker.
Add water. Stir very well.
Pressure cook rice for 5 to 6 whistles or 8 to 9 minutes till the rice is cooked and softened very well.
When the pressure settles down on its own, remove the lid and check the doneness of rice. The rice has to be more softer than what we cook on a daily basis.
With a spoon or masher, mash the rice. Close the cooker and allow the rice to become lukewarm or come at room temperature.
Making Curd Rice
When the rice becomes lukewarm or comes at room temperature, add fresh curd and milk.
Mix again very well and break lumps if any. You can either use the spoon or masher while breaking the lumps.
Add finely chopped ginger, finely chopped curry leaves, chopped green chilies and chopped coriander leaves.
Instead of adding ginger and curry leaves to the rice, you can also fry them in the tempering.
Add salt. Mix very well. Keep aside.
Tempering Curd Rice
Heat a small pan or tadka pan and add oil in it.
When the oil becomes hot, lower the flame. Add mustard seeds.
Let the mustard seeds crackle.
Then add urad dal. Urad dal is optional and can be skipped.
Fry on a low flame stirring often till the urad dal becomes golden.
Lastly add the curry leaves and asafoetida. Mix very well.
Switch off the flame and immediately pour the tempering in the curd rice mixture. Again mix very well.
Serve south indian curd rice topped with a few coriander leaves or pomegranate arils or grapes. You can skip the fruits too and just serve curd rice plain. You can also serve with fried sun dried green chillies or south indian mango pickle.
Notes:
This curd rice recipe can be doubled or tripled.
Some grated carrots and or beetroot can also be added. Note that beetroot will impart a pink color in the curd rice.
Pomegranate arils can be skipped.
Curd rice can be made with leftover rice or rice which has been precooked earlier.
For small kids, you can skip the green chillies and ginger completely.
Use fresh curd or yogurt.
For vegan curd rice, use coconut milk yogurt or cashew milk yogurt or almond milk yogurt. Use vegan milk like thin coconut milk, cashew milk or almond milk.
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