Wholesome, easy-to-make South Indian Comfort food called Thayir Sadam or Curd Rice.
Thayir Sadam (Yogurt Rice)
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♦Prep time: 5 min ♦Cook time:25 min ♦Yield: 6 servings.
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Thayir Sadam (Yogurt Rice)
Description
Thayir Sadam, OR South Indian Curd Rice, is the ultimate cooling comfort food and a staple finale to almost every traditional meal in Southern India. It is a simple yet soul-satisfying dish made by mixing soft-cooked, mashed rice with fresh, thick yogurt (curd) and milk. While it sounds humble, the magic lies in the "Thalippu" (tempering)—a fragrant crackle of mustard seeds, curry leaves, ginger, green chilies, in hot oil or ghee. This dish is prized not just for its creamy, velvety texture, but for its probiotic benefits and its ability to soothe the palate after a spicy meal.
Ingredients:
For Tempering:
Instructions
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Rinse the rice well and add it to the cooking pot. I use an electric Multicooker, similar to the Instant Pot.
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To the inner pot, add the rinsed rice along with 7 1/2 cups of water and the vegetable stock cube. If you are cooking the rice on the stovetop, do so by adding plenty of water and boiling it till the rice is of a mashable texture. Once the rice is cooked extremely soft like that, drain it, but reserve some of the cooking water.
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Lock the lid of the Cooker/Instant Pot and turn the steam release knob to the seal position. Now cook on the pressure cooker mode(porridge or risotto setting), and press start.
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Take the yogurt from the fridge and beat it well. Set aside so that it can come up to room temperature.
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After about 20 minutes, the cooking cycle on the cooker is complete. You can turn off the main power and wait a while to cool off. Turn the steam release knob to the vent position to make sure it has cooled down before opening the lock.
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Your rice should be cooked soft like porridge. Turn the cooker back on, Saute mode, and use a label to mash the rice as you stir. Cook like this till the rice resembles a thick porridge consistency. If you cooked the rice on the stovetop, you want to return the drained rice to the cooking pot and then add a little bit of the reserved cooking liquid at a time, while using your ladle to mash up the rice. Cook till you get the same thick porridge-like consistency.
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Once the rice is cooked to the right consistency, remove it from the heat. It should not to too loose as we still have to add the beaten yogurt.
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Tempering: Heat the oil in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds, and once they have popped, add the curry leaves.
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Next, add the ginger, shallots, and green chili. Stir continuously till the ingredients turn golden brown and slightly crisp.
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Add the asafoetida and cumin powder and stir once till fragrant.
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Add this over the cooked rice and stir briskly till the tempered ingredients are well incorporated.
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Now, add the beaten yogurt and stir through. You can always add more yogurt if you like.
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Also, stir in the fresh chopped coriander leaves.
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Heat 2 more tsp of Sunflower oil in the pan we used for tempering earlier, and add the cashew nuts. Fry till golden.
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Stir this into the prepared Thayir Sadam OR add the fried cashew nuts over each serving as a garnish.
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Serve warm or at room temperature,
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Besides, the cashews, you can opt for a second tempering of a few mustard seeds and curry leaves over each plate while serving. That is more for presentation purposes, and you could also add chana dal or urad dal (split chickpeas or black gram) to the tempering for more texture.
Note
- Why is it called Curd Rice? The term curd is used in Indian English to refer to (naturally probiotic) homemade yogurt. You can call it yogurt rice, just the same!
- Type of Rice for Thayir Sadam: Short-grain raw rice like Sona Masuri is often used. Some also like to make it with parboiled cooked rice. My family actually loves Thayir Sadam made with Jasmine rice, and it is a good option for those abroad.
- Yogurt/ Curd for making Thayir Sadam should be fresh, thick-set yogurt, which is beaten. Don't use yogurt that is too sour.
- I use a Vegetable stock cube to enhance flavor, but you can also use homemade vegetable stock(liquid) instead of water in the recipe. We get added nutrients from that. Also, you can totally skip the stock and use just water. My kids just love it more when I add it.
- Tempering ingredients, change from person to person. This is how we love it, You can add the split chana or urad dal to the tempering if you like more texture. You could also add Kismis(sultanas) along with the Cashew nuts, to give it a sweet touch, or add pomegranate seeds over the top when serving.
- I like to use my Philips Multicooker(similar to Instant Pot) for this recipe, as it makes the job easy! For the stovetop method, follow the instructions in BOLD.
Key Ingredients: Rice, Yogurt, Oil, Shallots, Ginger, Green Chillies, Curry leaves, Cashewnuts, Asafoetida, Mustard seeds, Cumin powder, Salt, Stock/Water.
