Curd Rice / Thayir Saadam

Curd Rice or Thayir saadam is eponymous with Tamil Brahmins. Infact, I have been called this name a lot at school.

It is a brilliantly easy recipe which is great to take along while travelling. Light on the stomach and great for health. Cooling and satiating.
Serve curd rice with any pickle, preferably Kanni manga pickle / mavudu and any journey will become easier.

Tender mango pickle

I will write down the basic recipe. 

The additions you can do are mind boggling - fruits like Pomegranate, Grapes; fried dried vegetables like thayir milagai / curd chilly; fresh vegetables like cucumber, ginger, green chilly, carrot, coriander leaf; dry fruits like cashew, raisins. 

Basic Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup, cooked

Curd - 2 cups + (not too sour)

Salt

Oil (preferably coconut / vegetable / sunflower) - 1 tbsp

Mustard - 1 tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Asafoetida powder - 1 pinch

Curry leaf - 1 sprig

Method:

Mix the rice, salt and curd together either by hand or use a hand mixer. 

If you want the rice to be loose, add more curd. If your curd is sour, add milk.

If you plan to have your curd rice later, then depending on the temperature you are storing the mixed rice in, you can mix the rice with varying ratio of milk and curd. (a mixture of more milk, less curd for lightly sour curd rice 6 hours into the journey). This way, the rice will not taste over-sour.

Splutter the mustard in the oil and then add the urad dal.

Once the dal turns golden brown, add the curry leaf and asafoetida powder.

Add it to the mixed rice.

Garnish with any of the above mentioned additions, if you wish. Tastes great like this too.

Curd rice garnished with coriander leaves, cucumber and fried curd chilly