Traditional South Indian Curd Rice | Thayir Sadam

Learn how to make the authentic Curd Rice, South Indian style. The rice is mixed with yogurt & tempered with spices to make it flavorful. Good for digestion

Finally this recipe features on my blog today! Traditional Curd Rice is one of the most staple food that you would find at a South Indian’s house. I enjoy it in Summers when the sun is scorching hot and I am craving for some cool food. The elderly consume this at least once a day. Some even just have curd rice for dinner. It is very filling and has a cooling effect on the body. Plus it is easy for digestion. Hence it’s an ideal meal for the elderly. But having said that, it doesn’t mean that others cannot consume it. It is one delicious meal made with rice and yogurt. Being a Tamil Brahmin, I have eaten curd rice all my life! As children, we used to visit my mom’s hometown every summer. My aunt would take me with her to the school where she used to teach just for fun. I used to attend some classes till lunch break and then my mom would pick me post lunch.

Curd Rice was one of the most preferred meal to pack for lunch to keep you cool in the hot scorching sunny day in Trichy. Me and my aunt would enjoy the lunch together. My granny would pack this with homemade mango pickle and roasted papad. While she would feed me, I would insist that she narrates me a story. She being an imaginative woman who would always come up with interesting stories to keep me engaged throughout the lunch. This memory is one of my most precious moments that I have shared with my favorite aunt. Let me show you how we make Curd Rice at home. I prefer using regular yogurt than the Greek yogurt. I also make yogurt at home. It is very easy and simple to make it. Just add 2 tbsp of culture in a litre of warm milk. Add one dried red chilly into it and give the milk a light mix. Cover and leave it in a warm place for a day.

Thick and creamy yogurt will be ready for you to use. This is my grandma’s way of making yogurt at home and is followed by my mom, aunts and now me. Even the curd rice recipe is hers. This is exactly how she made it and this is how we all love it. In a mixing bowl, add cooked rice, curd and milk. In a small pan, heat the oil and temper mustard seeds. Then add and fry urad dal till it turns golden. Next add minced green chillies, asafoetida, salt and chopped cilantro. Fry for 30 seconds. Pour this tadka over the rice in the mixing bowl. Using your hand or a spoon, mix it all up. Once the rice is all coated up with yogurt, cover it and refrigerate it till its time to serve. Serve with pickle/papad/mor mullaga. Some even add pomegranate seeds and chopped cucumber in this mixed rice which you can try if you prefer these flavors.

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All my non South Indian friends crave for this curd rice and ask for it whenever they visit me. This curd rice is even served as prasadam in temples. So if ever you happen to visit the southern part of India, don’t forget to try out this recipe at any local restaurant. Now you anyways make it yourselves in case you never get a chance to visit there. Some other fun recipes you can make using yogurt are Yogurt Berry Protein Bark, Avial & Mixed veggies cooked in curd & coconut gravy, Strawberry Lassi, Boondi Raita.