Curd Rice/Thayir Sadham is an easy to prepare dish with leftover rice. A favorite menu item in every South Indian home, especially in summer, paired with lemon pickle and papadams( Indian rice crackers).The pearly pink pomegranate seeds sprinkled on top as a garnish gives curd rice a festive look. The pomegranate seeds add a tinge of sweet juicy deliciousness to the buttery creamy curd rice/thayir sadham.
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My earliest memories of Curd Rice/Thayir Sadham
Imagine a crowded lunch room with school kids laughter and chatter. We friends sat next to each other & opened out tiffin boxes. Each of us brought the flavors of our home to the lunch table.It was common practice in South India , to share our lunch with each other, be it kids in school or grown ups at work. We were taught sharing food is caring from a very young age and so the culture stuck. It was rude not to offer your food to a friend or stranger beside you.
Kids being kids we soon got bored with our own home food. My friend beside me was a Tamilian Brahmin (belonging to the Tamil speaking people of the Brahmin community), which translates to the best “thayir sadham/curd rice makers” of the world! They know to make it deliciously buttery & just right.
All my friend had to do was open her “tiffin box” …..sitting on the top was the lime pickle, in the box below was “ooey gooey Thayir sadham“. We quickly traded lunch & soon enough I was relishing her thayir sadham , while she my spinach mash. There is a bond that happens over sharing food, that the western culture would never understand!
Summer time & Thayir Sadham
Slowly the days are getting warmer. Sunlight is streaming through the windows.The food that comes instantly to one’s mind is Thayir sadham, when we think of summer time .While growing up in India,lunch with cool curd rice provided a respite from hot summer days.
It is a staple in every South Indian home to finish the 3 course lunch with, an easy picnic lunch menu, a favorite lunch item in every kid’s lunch box, a temple ‘prasadham’(food distributed in the temple, after being blessed by prayers to the residing deity ), a favorite among all age groups.
A bit of lime pickle to go with it, and your day is made ! I added pomegranate seeds to flavor it, one may use grapes, raisins, cashews or even shredded carrots for the extra crunchiness.Pomegranate gives it a little sweet taste along with mildly spiced rice.
Curd Rice/Thayir Sadham
5
minutes5
minutes386
kcal10
minutesIngredients
1 cup 1 Yogurt/Curds
1/4 cup 1/4 Milk (boiled and cooled)
1 1/2 cup 1 1/2 Cooked Rice
To taste Salt
- For Seasoning
1/4 tsp 1/4 Mustard Seeds
1/4 tsp 1/4 Chana dhal
1/4 tsp 1/4 Uradh Dhal
3 3 Green chilies cut lengthwise
2 2 Dry red chilies crushed
A sprig Curry leaves
A pinch Hing/Asoefoetida
1 tsp 1 Coconut Oil
- For Garnishing
A handful Pomegranate seeds
Directions
- Use left over rice or cooked rice, result is good !
- Add warm milk to cooked rice and mash it a little. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a pan for seasoning. Add the mustard seeds, chana dal and uradh dal and let them splutter. Add the green chillies, curry leaves, red chillies and Asafoetida/Hing to it and fry for a couple of seconds.
- Add this to the curd rice and mix well.
- Garnish with pomegranate seeds & serve hot
Nutrition Facts
- Amount Per ServingCalories386
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 5g 8%
- Saturated Fat 4g 20%
- Cholesterol mg 0%
- Sodium 452mg 19%
- Potassium 83mg 3%
- Total Carbohydrate 76g 26%
- Dietary Fiber 5g 20%
- Sugars 5g
- Protein 7g 15%
- Vitamin C 19%
- Calcium 2%
- Iron 6%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Are you ready to taste some buttery curd rice, this summer?