South Indian Style Curd Rice -THE BEST Curd Rice there ever was! So creamy, so comforting.
This is the best South Indian curd rice recipe, made countless times by many readers and my friends and family.
At it's simplest, curd rice is just yogurt and rice together, with a bit of tempering. It is also called thayir sadam in Tamil.
If there was one recipe that I have tweaked repeatedly, then it's this. I have been making it for years, collecting snippets of tricks and tips from everyone I meet. And this is the final, the best version of curd rice I have ever made.
At my engagement in Tamil Nadu about 14 years back, we were served this curd rice that we have since been obsessing over. It was in a hotel called Benz Park, and we have been unable to get it out of our minds.
We make all our friends and family celebrate their milestones there so we can have curd rice.
This recipe is the closest I have gotten to that Chennai curd rice. I want to thank all my friends for introducing me to their moms and grandmas so I could pick their brains about curd rice.
We love eating curd rice and some south Indian style fried chicken or spicy potatoes, crispy fish fry ,papad(pappadam), and lime or citrus pickle.
A perfect curd rice
1. should have soft, melt-in-your-mouth rice, which is achieved by slightly overcooking the rice and mashing the rice.
2. served cold and never hot. It's blasphemous to serve hot curd rice.
3. tempered with at least mustard seeds, chili, and ginger.
4. Served with at least pickle
Ingredients
Here is what you need to make the curd rice
- Softly cooked rice
- Curd
- Milk
- Coriander/ cilantro leaves
- Oil
- Black mustard seeds
- Cumin seeds
- Dried red chilies
- Green chilies
- Ginger
Rice
You want to use rice that becomes soft on cooking. So any short grain rice- Indian rice like jeera samba, sona masoori & raw rice will work.
Jasmine rice or any Asian rice is a good substitute. In a pinch, you can use overcooked basmati rice.
You can also make this with leftover rice. Though, you will have to heat the leftover rice to be able to mash it. I sometimes refresh cold rice in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. It becomes as good as new!
Curd/Yogurt
You can use homemade curd or store-bought yogurt to make this. You don't want a very ripe, sour curd but a milder, not too tart version.
If you live in a hotter climate or are making this in summer, reduce the amount of curd and use more milk instead. That way, even if the curd rice is on the counter or in the lunch box, it will stay mild and not tart.
Runny curd will make a runny curd rice. Never mix yogurt with hot rice, it will spilt.
How to Make Curd Rice
Step 1: Cooking the Rice
To make the most comforting, softest rice, you have to over cook it. Whatever rice you are using, increase the water by one more unit.
Example- If regularly, you use 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water, to make curd rice, use 1 cup of rice and 3 cups of water.
You can use pressure cooker to cook the rice or cook it in a pot. Here is how to make Sona Masoori Rice in Instant Pot.If cooking in a pot, use a heavy-bottomed pot with a lid.
Cover the rice till the water starts to boil and the froth steams out. Leave the lid open and let the rice cook to a soft consistency.
For restaurant like curd rice
Add a tablespoon of butter to the freshly cooked rice and then proceed to mash the rice. It adds a richness to the curd rice you associate with restaurant curd rice.
Step 2: Prepare the Cooked Rice
As soon as the rice is cooked and is still hot, use a heavy ladle or masher to mash it.If you wait till the rice is cold to mash, it will not give you the right consistency.
If you are using leftover rice to make curd rice, you might have a bit of trouble mashing it. You can sprinkle the rice with water and microwave it covered till it's steaming. And then mash the rice.
Transfer it to a large flattish bowl so the rice can cool while you get all other ingredients in order.
Step 3:Mix in the Curd & Milk
Once the rice has cooled down slightly, add the milk and curd.
You can stick the cooked rice under the fan or in the freezer to get the temperature down a bit.The reason we have to wait for the rice to cool a bit is , adding curd to steaming hot rice might split it.
Step 4: Temper
And finally, the flavor booster - Tempering.
This is a classic Indian cooking technique of heating fat/oil, adding spices, herbs, and condiments, and adding them to the dish.
A few rules of tempering
- The oil should be super hot or smoking
- Prep all the ingredients for tempering before you heat the oil
- Be very very carefull of things spluttering out.
In this case, we will either use a neutral oil(or coconut oil), heat it till it's smoking. Switch off the heat.
Add the grated/pounded ginger, green chilies, mustard, curry leaves and cumin.
You want all the ingredients sizzling in the oil.
Step 5: Extras
If you want to take it a few notches above, you can add these extras.
Fruits - Pomegranate arils, pineapple bits & grapes. My mom adds sliced kiwis,cut mangoes and other seasonal fruits too.
Vegetables - Add sliced green capsicum, diced cucumber, or grated Beetroot for that gorgeous pink hue.
Nuts - Sautéed, fried cashews or raisins taste great in curd rice.
Second Temper - Once you have made the curd rice, you can reserve the tadka to top it up while serving or make a second tadka with the same ingredients.
Notes
- Rice - Over Cook the rice. Mash it when it's still hot. After that, Cool it a little before adding milk and curd.
- Salt - Curd rice ends up over-salted very quickly. So be mind full of the salt.
- Coriander Leaves waft into the curd rice and release all the good flavor when given a bit of steeping time. You can mix it with the curd and milk before you start tempering.
- Green Chili- You can control the heat level of the chili by cutting it in a specific way - Pierced Chili < Slit Chili < Chopped chili < Pounded Chili.
Serving Curd Rice
Here is curd rice serving rules - Okay, Some of these are more guidelines than the absolute rule, but you get it.(Right?)
Curd rice can be kept outside for 6-7 hours without spoiling, especially in cold places. In hotter places like Chennai, people add more milk than curd to the curd rice.
What to eat with Curd Rice
Curd rice is heaven when served with any of the following
- Potato Fry
- Papads- Appalams, pappadams or fryams or Chips
- Fried Curd Chili - A south Indian delicacy where the red chili is dipped in curd, sun-dried, and then deep fried to crisp perfection.
- Pickle- Citrus or South Indian lime pickle, mango pickle.
- Fried Fish or chicken 65, fried shrimp , kerala chicken roast , chicken ghee roast.
Storage & Leftovers
Fridge - You can keep curd rice which has been made with fresh curd for 2-3 days or till the expiry of the curd. It does tend to become drier in the refrigerator.
To serve- Just add a few tablespoons of hot milk to the refrigerated curd rice. Mix it in and serve cold.
To pack curd rice for the lunch box, swap the milk and curd measurements in hot weather. That way, the milk ferments into curd while being mixed with rice. This is an old trick mom in Chennai used to pack lunchboxes that must be eaten in 5-6 hours.
If you use this recipe to make curd rice, do leave me a comment and a rating.I would love to hear from you!
Traditional South Indian Curd Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Rice Short Grain Rice- Sona Masoori or regular rice
- 3 Cups Yogurt more if required.
- ½ cup Milk
- ¼ Cup Coriander Leaves Chopped
Tempering
- 1 Tablespoon Oil Gingely/Groundnut or vegetable oil.
- ½ Teaspoon Black mustard Seeds smallest you can find.
- ½ Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- ½ Teaspoon Grated Ginger
- 1 Green Chilli Sliced
- 10-12 Curry Leaves
- 1-2 Dried Red Chilies optional
Optional ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon butter melted
- 1 Teaspoon Milk Powder
Instructions
- Cook the rice so its soft and mashable.
- Instant Pot- 1 cup rice, 2.5 cups water, 6 minutes on High Pressure.
- Pressure Cooker - 1 cup rice, 3 cups water, 10 minutes on medium flame.
- Stove Top- 1 Cup rice, 3.5 cups of water, cover the pot and simmer till cooked soft.Check in the middle if it overflows.
- Spread the hot rice on a plate , lightly mash it and let it cool down.(If adding butter, add when the rice is hot.)
- Once it's at room temperature(touchable) , add the yogurt and milk.(If using milk powder, mix it with the milk before adding)
- Add the chopped coriander and give it a mix. Adjust with more milk if needed.
Tempering
- In a small pan or wok, heat the oil. Once it's smoking, switch the gas off, add the mustard and cumin. Let it splutter.
- Add the ginger, curry leaves, green chillies and red chillies
- Pour the tempering over the curd rice and give it a mix.
- Serve at room temperature or cold.
- Optional Steps- You can top the curd rice with one more tempering, pomegranate seeds, and fried cashews.
Video
Notes
Serving
Curd rice is best served with pappadam(Papad) and pickle. We love eating it with Potato fry or Bombay Potatoes too It also goes famously with Chicken 65Notes
- If using leftover rice, refresh is with a few drops of water , and microwave is covered till its hot and steamy.
- Make sure you mash the over-cooked rice while it's still hot.Once it cools down, mashing becomes difficult.
- Let the rice cool a bit before adding curd. It should be cool enough that you can feed it to a child.
- Curd rice is best served cold.
- The Rice will absorb more moisture as it sits.
Heat Level
To adjust the heat, follow the tips below Mild heat: 2 whole red chilies Moderate heat: 2 whole red chilies & one pierced green chili Spicy heat: 2 whole red chilies & 2 Chopped Green chilies The whole red chilies will not add any heat but just the smoky flavor of tempered chilies.On the other hand, green chilies will add the heat which contrasts very well against the cooling curd rice.
Nutrition
Different Types of Curd Rice
So you can make curd rice in a zillion ways but here are some classics
- Capsicum Curd Rice - Add chopped up capsicum in the tempering and mix with the curd rice.
- Carrot Curd Rice - Add grated carrot to the rice and Curd.
- Curd Rice with Pomegranate - After tempering, add fresh pomegranate arris on top of the curd rice as a garnish.
- Special Curd Rice -Top the curd rice with fruits like pomegranate, kiwi or sweet berries and dry fruits like you would to a smoothie bowl.
Frequently asked Questions
Curd rice can be a healthy food option as it provides several nutrients such as protein, calcium, vitamin B12, and probiotics. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that help improve gut health and aid digestion.
It can be a great option for those looking for a light and refreshing meal or a nutritious snack.
Yes, curd rice can be a good source of protein, particularly if it's made with Greek yogurt or curd that has a higher protein content. One cup (250 grams) of plain Greek yogurt contains approximately 23 grams of protein, while one cup of regular curd contains around 8 grams of protein.
When rice is added to the curd, it further boosts the protein content of the dish. One cup of cooked rice contains around 3-4 grams of protein, depending on the variety.
Curd rice tastes best when cold or at room temperature. Never serve curd rice hot.
Curd rice can become sour over time due to the fermentation process.
Here is what you can do to prevent curd rice from becoming too sour:
Use fresh curd or yogurt: Always use fresh curd or yogurt to make curd rice. If the curd or yogurt is old or past its expiration date, it is more likely to become sour.
Use cold ingredients: Make sure that the rice and curd are cooled down to room temperature or refrigerated before mixing them together. This will slow down the fermentation process and prevent the curd rice from becoming too sour too quickly.
Use less sour curd or yogurt: If you are using sour curd or yogurt, use less of it than you would normally use. This will reduce the overall sourness of the dish.
No. Curd rice is vegetarian
Raman Waran says
Cucumber (sliced or grated) is also a super addition to 'thayir saadam'.
Vadu mango pickle is also perfect side for curd rice😋
chhavi says
Thankyou for this...i have never tried grated cucumber in my curd rice. I know what to try next now!
Kusum Vashisht says
I love this curd Rice recipe👌
Ankur shrivastav says
refreshing and comforting dish with a perfect balance of tangy yogurt, aromatic spices, and fluffy rice.