Curd rice, a South Indian dish made with yogurt and rice, is a popular comfort food in Tamilnadu and neighboring states. It can be made simply or with added spices and fruits, and is often served with spicy pickles.
Rice curd is a mixture of yoghurt with rice seasoned with various spices. It is one of the most beloved South Indian dishes eaten for lunch or dinner, usually at the end of a meal. Curd rice is known as thayir sadam in Tamilnadu and is extremely popular there and in the neighboring states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. Considered a comfort food, it can be made very simply by mixing unsweetened yogurt with rice and a little salt or it can be made much more elaborately with spices and even fresh or dried fruit.
This dish is favored by many Tamil Brahmans who feel that a meal is incomplete without it. It is prepared by boiling rice, allowing it to cool, and then by mashing the rice it becomes a bit sticky. Some people prefer to mash the rice until it becomes a total paste, while others may just use boiled rice without mashing it.
Plain, watery yogurt is added to the rice along with a little salt and mixed thoroughly. Spices like mustard, urad dal, channa dal and cumin are sauteed separately in some kadai and some asofetida and red chilli are added to it. When the chili melts, the kadai is removed from the heat and the dressing is poured over the curdled rice and mixed well.
While it is typically garnished with coriander leaves and curry leaves, in practice, the side dishes and additional ingredients can be extremely varied and entirely dependent on the enthusiasm of the cook. Some may make very elaborate versions of rice curds that include seedless green or purple grapes, raw mango flakes, and pomegranate seeds. Others may add grated carrot, grated ginger and finely chopped green chillies. It can also be garnished with boondhi, small fried balls of gram flour, which give it an extra crunch. Some may even make rice curds from leftover rice to keep it from going to waste.
One of the quickest foods to make, this dish can be whipped up in minutes with pre-cooked rice and ready-made yogurt. This rice is typically eaten with any type of spicy pickle – lemon and mango pickles are the standard favorite. It also goes well with dishes such as hash browns or fish, although some have a taboo on eating any non-vegetarian item with yoghurt. Usually eaten at the end of a meal to combat the effects of previously consumed spices, curdled rice is also eaten as a standalone meal and is often packaged for lunch. It tastes best when cold and as it normally tends to absorb a lot of water, excess water is added to keep it from drying out and becoming very thick.
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