SOUTH INDIAN CURD RICE – a creamy, cool and comforting bowl of precooked rice with curds/yogurt tempered with simple south Indian spices and aromatics; perfect as a soul satisfying finale to any meal or as a meal by itself!
Curds or yogurt being a must in our daily diet, Curds Rice is one dish we reach out to when we need something light and soothing to finish a meal or as a meal by itself!
WHAT IS CURD RICE?
Curd Rice or Yogurt Rice is like manna to any south Indian! No meal of ours is complete without a bowl of fresh curd/yogurt, any raita, buttermilk or curd rice!
It is just some freshly cooked and room temperature rice (must be very soft and well cooked) mixed with yogurt and salt. This is then tempered with some mustard seeds, curry leaves, and optional ingredients like green chilies or red chilies, ginger or garlic, some lentils like urad dal or chana dal and hing or asafetida powder.
For more nutrition you can mix in grated carrots, chopped cucumbers, fruits like grapes or pomegranate and even add nuts like roasted peanuts, cashew nuts or even walnuts for added nutrition, texture and crunch!
And you can add turmeric powder too like I sometimes do .
A garnish of cilantro adds to the oomph of the dish but is optional!
Even if you go to any 5 Star or high-end hotels in south India, after an array of mouthwatering dishes, be it Indian, Italian, Chinese, Mexican etc., you will always find a large bowl of freshly made yogurt rice with a plethora of Indian pickles (like mango, lemon, mixed vegetables etc.) for a grand but soothing finale to the meal!
TIPS TO MAKE THE BEST CURD RICE:
Use freshly cooked rice; soft, at room temperature and mostly white rice is used. Some people tend to mash the rice before mixing in the yogurt, but we prefer to let the texture of rice add to the taste and experience!
Yogurt must be fresh and sweet (unsweetened) but not sour. Beat yogurt smooth and then mix into rice. You can either use only yogurt to make the curd rice or stir in some milk too with yogurt. But DO NOT ADD YOGURT TO HOT RICE! It will curdle!
Add salt to taste and then the best part is the tempering! The taste of curd rice depends upon the ingredients you add to the tempering.
Traditionally it is only mustard seeds; some curry leaves along with lentils and may be ginger or garlic.
A garnish of freshly chopped cilantro can be added but not a must..
SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
Curd rice is enjoyed mostly chilled during summers in India but in the southern part of India, where it is mostly warm and hot most of the year, curd rice is eaten all year round! Chilling allows the flavors to mingle and develop!
Enjoy a bowl of curd rice with some Indian pickles, poppadums, boondi (fried chickpea balls) etc as a complete meal.
A couple of tablespoons of curd rice after any meal satiates your palate, is totally cool, comforting and helps in aiding digestion and is easy on the stomach.
Make it plain or with added veggies; any which way you are going to love this south Indian delight!
Do make some this summer and enjoy with family and friends at any get together, party or at every day meals!
Enjoy and Happy Cooking!
BEETROOT CURD RICE (updated April 2023):
Summers are here and time to enjoy cool, refreshing and sumptuous curd rice again.
This time, with some beets lying in the fridge, decided to make this beet red curd rice.
Just stirred in some finely grated beetroot (after peeling) and added a final tadka of mustard, urad, chana, ginger, green chilies and hing with some chopped curry leaves!
This turned out perfect with a meal of some Sweet Potato Parathas and Methi Malai Matar!
Another variation you must try!
Linking this simple south Indian curd rice post to our gourmet Food group on FB “Healthy Wellthy Cuisines” where the theme this time, as suggested by fellow foodblogger Sujata Roy is anything with yogurt or curds. Do check out her awesome blog with healthy and delicious recipes! She blogs at BatterupwithSujata.
Do check out more yogurt based dishes shared by my fellow foodbloggers at HW:
- Chow Chow Raita by Preethi
- Eggless All Fruitcake by Swaty
- Strawberry Shrikand by Shalu
- Spiced Yogurt by Jayashree
- Tomato Raita by NamsCorner
- Corn Paneer Peas Kadhi by Sujata
- Kesar Badam Lassi Muffins by Sasmita
Let us see how to make this mouthwatering and easy South Indian Curd Rice:
A creamy, cool and comforting bowl of precooked rice with curds/yogurt tempered with simple south Indian spices and aromatics; perfect as a cool ending to any meal or as a meal by itself!
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked soft and room temperature rice
- 1 cup curds/yogurt
- ½ cup milk or more if needed
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ¼ tsp urad dal/white lentils
- ½ tsp chana dal/bengal gram dal
- 1 green chili/jalapeno/Serrano, finely chopped
- ½ inch piece ginger, grated or finely chopped
- ¼ tsp hing/asafetida powder (optional)
- Few curry leaves (left whole or finely chopped)
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder (again, optional)
- Grated carrots
- Finely chopped cucumbers
- Whole grapes
- Pomegranate pearls
- Roasted peanuts, cashew nuts, walnuts etc.
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add the cooked rice (which is soft and at room temperature) and the curds or yogurt.
- Mix well and stir in enough milk (again room temperature) to get the consistency you want. Keep it diluted a bit as the mixture thickens with time.
- Add salt to taste and give it a good mix.
- Now, if you want to add vegetables, this is the stage to add. You can add grated carrots, grated or finely chopped cucumbers, grated beets etc.
- Now, to temper the curd rice, prepare the tempering or seasoning.
- Heat oil in a small saucepan and once hot add the mustard seeds.
- As soon as the mustard seeds stop spluttering, add the urad dal (if using) and let it brown a bit.
- Stir in finely chopped green chilies, grated/chopped ginger and stir on low heat to fry a bit.
- Add the hing powder (if using) along with curry leaves and a dash of haldi/turmeric powder.
- Mix well and remove from heat.
- Pour the tempering over the curd rice and mix well.
- At this stage, if you are using roasted peanuts (or cashew nuts/walnuts), you can stir that in or if unroasted, add in the tempering.
- Chill the curd rice in the refrigerator until serving time or serve at room temperature but make sure it does not stay too long at room temperature to avoid the yogurt/curd rice from turning sour!
- Enjoy a cool bowl of freshly made curd or yogurt rice with a side of pickles (Indian spicy pickles), some potato chips, boondi (fried chickpea balls) etc.
Notes
Cooked rice should be soft, well cooked and at room temperature.
Make sure the yogurt is not sour but creamy and sweet (not sweetened) but not sour
If the curd rice becomes thick over time, dilute with more yogurt or milk.
Adjust the seasonings and added veggies according to personal preference.
Tastes best slightly chilled.
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Love this bowl of curd rice, we South Indians can never finish our meals without it.
Curd rice is the ultimate comfort food for sure 🙂 The ginger, green chilli, curry leaves tadka must be adding an amazingly tempting flavor to it !
I love curd rice. Ultimate comfort food. Yours is looking super scrumptious.
Yes, me too! Thanks dear for sharing your love for this super comforting yogurt rice 🙂
I love curd rice . Just need some sandige to polish this bowl of yummy cuts rice. This looks scrumptious.Perfect I’m summers .
Thanks so much dear <3 Sandige with this sounds perfect!
I love curd rice . Just need some sandige to polish this bowl of yummy cuts rice. This looks scrumptious.
Curd rice looks delish dear. Never tried it now I have a full proof recipe. I would love to try it sometime. Curd rice and ginger green chilli curry leaves tadka wow I can imagine the flavour.
Thanks a ton Sujata 🙂 This is like a super comfort food for south Indians; a must with any meal!
So comforting and soulful curd rice. Love all the toppings used and can have them anytime
Thanks a bunch dear <3 Me too! A perfect complete meal!