Curd Rice is a delicious easy south Indian rice recipe where cooked rice is mixed with yogurt and tempering is done to it. Also known as Thayir Sadam, Yogurt Rice, or Daddojanam, it is a fabulous recipe to use leftover rice.
If you love South Indian Rice Recipes, here are some of them that you can make for everyday meals – Raw Mango Rice, Pepper Rice, Ghee Rice, South Indian Tomato Rice, South Indian Lemon Rice, and Ellu Sadam.
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About This Recipe
When things become routine, you start to take them for granted. Isn’t it? The same happened with Curd Rice. This dish is so regular in my house yet it never struck me to blog about it.
Also called Daddojanam, Yogurt Rice, or Thayir Sadam, it is another rice dish from South India where cooked rice is mixed with fresh yogurt and then seasoned with a tadka of urad dal mustard seeds, green chilies, and curry leaves.
It is one of the best things to eat when you have an upset stomach and eating it daily definitely improves digestion. Thayir Sadam is easy to digest and the probiotic helps in the growth bacteria which aids in digestion. It cools the body and helps in maintaining internal body temperature.
Thayir sadam is quite filling and keeps you full for a long time so you don’t snack on unnecessary things. It indirectly helps to maintain body weight. It is rich in antioxidants and helps the body fight the infection.
This recipe is very popular in South Indian and is prepared in almost every household for their everyday meals. It is popularly eaten along with Lemon Pickle and Fried Rice Papad.
You can cook the rice for this in a pressure cooker and let it cool before mixing it with yogurt.
I like to cook my rice with little extra water so that it becomes a little mushy. And then while mixing it with yogurt, I use my fingers and slightly mash the rice with the yogurt.
thayir sadam is tasty, easy and also great for your stomach as it is very light too, making it perfect for your Summer meals.
This dish is,
- Quick & Easy
- Cooling
- Healthy
- Perfect for Summer meals
- Light on Stomach
Ingredients
Yogurt – You can use homemade or store-bought yogurt for this Curd Rice Recipe. Just taste to see if the yogurt is sour or not because if it is sour, the entire dish will become sour and won’t taste good.
Rice – You can use leftover rice for this rice. If you are making fresh rice, make sure to cool it down slightly before adding it to the yogurt.
Milk – If you feel the rice and yogurt mixture has become too thick, add in a little milk to thin it out.
Carrot – This is optional, but I like the texture, taste, and color grated carrots add.
For Tempering – For the South Indian tadka, you will need vegetable oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, urad dal, ginger, and dry red chilies.
Pomegranate – The addition of pomegranate adds a nice crunch and slightly sweet taste.
Coriander leaves – At the end, add in some freshness with finely chopped coriander leaves. You can also add in finely chopped mint leaves.
You can also top this rice with fried cashews for extra crunch.
Step By Step Recipe
Wash the rice and cook with 1 and ½ cup of water until cooked and most of the water is absorbed.
Rice should be mushy. Bring the rice to room temperature.
Add yogurt, milk, carrot, and salt in the rice and mix well. Slightly mash this mixture using your hands.
Heat oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and curry leaves and let them crackle for a few seconds.
Add urad dal, ginger and dry red chillies and fry until dal turns slightly brown.
Pour the tempering over curd rice and mix well. Garnish with fresh coriander and pomegranate seeds. Serve chilled.
Frequently Asked Questions
Technically Curd and yogurt are two very different things.
Yogurt is made by fermenting milk using bacteria and curd is made by curdling milk.
However in India, term curd is often used for yogurt and so if any Indian recipes say curd, you can use yogurt instead.
Making yogurt at home is quite an easy process and with just some starter at hand, you can make a batch regularly.
The starter is usually yogurt from the previous batch or else for the first time, you can buy a pack of curd (Yogurt) and use some of it as a starter. You can read a detailed post to make curd (Yogurt) here.
To make yogurt, heat milk until it is lukewarm. Add a tsp of starter and mix well. Cover the bowl and keep undisturbed for 6-8 hours or until the yogurt is set. Sometimes I also add a dried red chili to my milk. I have heard it helps in setting the yogurt even without the starter.
It’s best to start giving curd rice to babies when they turn a year old but you should still consult your doctor before starting to give it your kid.
Each kid is different and can react to the thing which other kids might not. So consulting your doctor before starting anything new to them is should be a must.
Notes
In Summers, Curd Rice tends to get sour when kept at room temperature. Adding a little milk will save them from turning sour. Also the tempering will keep it fresh.
Yogurt is considered as mucus-forming food and it triggers mucus formation and can worsen the cold. So I would suggest avoiding it for a few days while you have a cold and cough, especially at night time.
Yogurt has slight acidic nature and it might cause heartburn to some. If you are prone to acidity, then avoid eating it.
You can eat it any time of the day, but avoid eating it at night if you are prone to cold and cough.
You can use Poha, Broken Wheat, Brown Rice, Quinoa, Millets or even Couscous instead of Rice to make this recipe.
Storage Suggestions
Thayir Sadam will last in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days when stored in an airtight container. I will not recommend you to freeze the same, as the yogurt will split while thawing which won’t taste good, as it will completely change its texture.
Serving Suggestions
The best side dish it is papad, pickle, or chutney.
I like to garnish mine with chopped coriander leaves and pomegranate seeds but since I was in a hurry to serve it to kids, I forgot to sprinkle pomegranate seeds on top.
But they do make a difference in taste and looks so please add some 🙂
Also, applam or fried rice papads go very well with it and I make sure to fry a few whenever I make this dish.
You can also sprinkle a little South Indian Podi on top, for extra flavour and taste.
You can skip adding green chilies if making it for kids as I did. It tastes great when served chilled but you can pack it for lunch box too.
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Recipe Card
Curd Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup Short Grain Rice
- ½ cup Yogurt
- ¼ cup Milk
- 2 tbsp Carrot (Grated)
- Salt to taste
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
- 10-12 Curry Leaves
- 1 tsp Urad Dal
- ½ tsp Ginger (Grated)
- 1 Dry Red Chilli (Broken)
- 1 tbsp Fresh Coriander (Chopped)
- 2 tbsp Pomegranate Seeds
Instructions
- Wash the rice and cook with 1 and ½ cup of water until cooked. Rice should be mushy.
- Bring the rice to room temperature.
- Add yogurt, milk, carrot and salt and mix well.
- Slightly mash the mixture using using your hands.
- Heat oil in a pan.
- Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and curry leaves and let them crackle for a few seconds.
- Add urad dal, ginger and dry red chillies and fry until dal turns slightly brown.
- Pour the tempering over curd rice and mix well.
- Garnish with fresh coriander and pomegranate seeds.
- Serve chilled.
Ritu Tangri
These curd rice look so inviting just like a gourmet meal to me
Neha Mathur
Thnx 🙂