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The Classic curd rice is a gluten free, probiotic rich recipe that is served cold and soothing for your tummy. Learn how to make the best kind here.
The absolute soul saver of a South Indian mum is thayir saadam. Somehow this creamy, probiotic rich, lunch staple was not on my favourite foods list. I used to run miles away from it. The main reason I learnt to make a proper one was because my children love it. Over a period of time, I tested a lot of home style thayir saadam and picked up a lit of tips to make a good one. So here we are with Classic thayir saadam.
What is thayir saadam?
Thayir saadam is a cold preparation of soft cooked rice with fresh set natural yogurt. Also called curd rice, mosaruanna, daddojanam .This is the best way to end a South Indian meal. This probiotic, gluten free preparation is easy to digest and gut soothing. Given the humid heat of the region, the rice habituated population of South India finds it cooling to have some at the end of a meal.
Is it good to have curd rice everyday?
Thayir saadam is a part of all lunches in South Indian states. Usually this is prepared with freshly set curds that are rich in a thriving population of Lactobacillus. This aids in a stronger gut lining. Since the milk is fermented, the products of fermentation make the proteins easier to digest making cued rice good to have everyday. So, yes it is good to have some everyday.
What is curd or thayir?
Natural set, unflavoured yogurt is what is referred to as curd in Indian cuisine. It is made using boiled and cooled cow’ s milk or buffalo milk. The preset home culture is the fermentation starter. Since it is made on a daily basis, the yogurt stays fresh and less tangy. Unlike Greek yogurt the whey is not drained hence it is going to be carrying a lot more liquid content in it.It is called curd as it is still he first process of coagulating milk, very similar to the first step of cheese making. However, the coagulating agents are different in both cases.
Ingredients to make thayir saadam
Rice:soft cooking short grain white rice is used to make curd rice. I have used Sona Masoori rice with a water ratio of 1: 4. You can use Ponni raw rice, Mapilai samba, Srilankan red rice also. The idea is to get the rice to a smooth mashable consistency.
Yogurt:natural set, unflavored yogurt is used in this recipe. You can either set it at home with pre-made culture and lukewarm milk or use a store bought one. Ensure you are not getting Greek yogurt and this is thicker and creamier and not the same as the Indian ones. You can buy a small batch at the Indian groceries for your use.
Salt: This is optional. I prefer to add salt to the curd rice and there are many who will disagree with me. So I leave this up to you.
Tempering: to make a good curd rice don’t just mix rice and curd. The seasoned tempering is the one that adds the flavour. For this, you need oil, mustard seeds, black gram dal,curry leaves, chillies, grated ginger and asafoetida. The oil is what you prefer to use in your kitchen, you can use coconut oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil or ghee. I have used dried curry leaves as that is what I have at home. As for the chillies I love to use cured chillies if I have them if not use green chillies.
Let’s make yogurt rice
Prepping the rice: the rice for thayir saadam is soft cooked with excess water. You can do this with 4 times water to the rice or add a cup of milk with 3 cups water for every cup of rice. The rice can be pressure cooked or done in a rice cooker. Either way, they turn out soft. You can do saucepan absorption method too. However if using milk it is going to bubble all over. Once the rice is cooked remove it into a bowl and cool it down. As you cool, mash the rice it slightly becomes sticky at this point. That’s OK.
The tempering : as the rice cools down, prepare the tempering. Into the pan add the oil followed by mustard seeds. As they crackle and splutter, add the black gram dal, curry leaves, chillies, grated ginger and saute till the dal turns golden. Now add the powdered asafoetida. Remove from heat and set aside.
Making curd rice: Whisk the yogurt together with the whey. Stir the rice and add the yogurt into it. Mix well, add the tempering and stir it in. Adjust the seasoning. Chill if you prefer and enjoy. I have added chopped carrots and corinader leaves along with the tempering. You could add pomegranate arils, grated cucumber or chopped grapes too.
Here is a quick video of making this recipe – Click here
How to pack curd rice for lunch box?
When you pack curd rice for a lunch box or picnic you will commonly come across two problems. The first one is that the curd rice will solidify by afternoon. The second is that the yogurt would have become lip puckering sour. So, you can’t do the normal way to get a perfect lunchbox curd rice. Here are my best learnings with getting this lunch box perfect.
- Cook the rice to extra soft consistency.
- Use an equal mix of milk and water to cook the rice.
- Mix milk to the yogurt to almost equal quantities if you are in tropical climates and one fourth for cold / temperate climates.
- If possible take the prepared rice in Thermos. This keep it cool and nice.
What are the best combos with this curd rice?
Curd rice is served commonly with pickled mango or lemon. However, it does taste fabulous with sambhar, vadam or mormolugai. My kids like it with kosambari and some brined mango pickle.
Is curd rice made for festivals?
For most festivals of the south it goes without saying that curd rice will be on the menu. It is certainly made during Pathinettam oerrukku (aadi 18), Rama navami, Ganesha chathurthi, Pongal and Janmashtami. It is a naivedyum or prasadam in many temples and then served to the devotees.
What to do when my thair saadam solidifies in the box?
Thayir saadam solidifies if kept for a long time as the rice will absorb the whey. It will be tasty nevertheless. However, it is not the same mouthfeel of the classic one. The best trick to reduce the solid curd rice is to add a generous amount of milk and yogurt into to rice to the point that it is almost runny.you can do this oy if you are sure you arr going to keep it for a while. The second trick to revive the solid curd rice is to mix a bit of natural buttermilk into it just before eating. Please don’t add water to the prepared curd rice, it simply ruins any flavor it has!
Thayir saadam
The Classic curd rice is a gluten free, probiotic rich recipe that is served cold and soothing for your tummy. Learn how to make the best kind here.
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Cooling time for the rice 20 minutes mins
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Baby toddler food, gluten free, South indian
instant pot
mixing bowls and spoons.
To cook the rice
- 1/2 cup Raw rice
- 2 cups water
The liquids
- 3/4 cup yogurt
- 1/4 cup milk ( if going to eat later)
- salt to taste
For tempering and seasoning
- 1 tsp cooking oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp Black gram dal
- 4-6 curry leaves
- 2 green chill
- 1 pinch Asafoetida
- salt to taste
For Garnishing
- 1 tsp carrots finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp coriander leaves chopped
Wash and cook the rice.
Once the pressure settles, spread the rice and cool it a bit.
Mash the rice and set it aside to cool.
Into the tempering pan add the oil, mustard seeds and he black gram dal.
When the mustard seeds crackle add the chillies, grated ginger and curry leaves.
When they turn aromatic, add the asafoetida and remove from heat.
Set this aside till needed.
Whisk the yogurt.
Once the rice is cool, add the yogurt, salt and mix it well.
Add the tempering and mix it in well.
Adjust the seasoning, sprinkle the carrot bits and the coriander leaves.
The curd rice is now ready to be served.
Keyword festival offerings, Indian vegetarian dinner, summer recipes
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Hope you like this classic curd rice recipe. Please so let us know if you make thayir sadam differently as this is always an area I like to improve at. Hope you like our posts and will stay subscribed.
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