In north India, Dahi-Rice is customarily a very plain and simple preparation.
It is usually served up to someone who is sick and consists of nothing more than yoghurt, rice and a pinch of salt and looking at the distasteful heap makes one feel even more ill usually. But it is considered food that soothes and heals.
The South knows how to make melt-in-your-mouth Dahi-Rice, or Thayir Sadam as it is called. It's an incredibly appetising dish, eaten with vadams (fryum type papads) and Vadu Manga baby mango pickle.
But then along came Deepa Mehrotra...
Deepa's kitchen is her artist's palette and on a daily basis she dabbles with recipes and ingredients, conjuring up delicious dishes to feed her family and guests.
She recently decided to turn her focus to gussying up the typical north Indian comfort food and had plenty of success.
The magic is in the attractive toppings/garnishes she chooses to serve the dish up with like pomegranate, chopped cucumbers and an interesting tadka, reinventing the North Indian Dahi Rice, ideal for the hot weather.
Photograph: Ashish Mehrotra for Rediff
Deepa's Dahi Rice
Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
For the dahi rice:
- 1 cup uncooked rice
- 2½ cups water
- 500 ml whipped yoghurt, preferably homemade
- 1 tsp salt
For the garnish:
- 3 large Lijjat papads, roasted
- Dash Cajun spice, available for purchase online (a blend of paprika, cayenne pepper, herbs, onion powder, garlic powder etc)
- 1-2 tsp ghee
- 1 cucumber, peeled, finely chopped
- Handful pomegranate arils or seed pods
- 2-3 tbsp pudina-dhania or mint-green coriander chutney
For the tadka:
- 1-2 tbsp ghee
- 1 tbsp channa dal or Bengal gram
- 1-2 Kashmiri chillies, broken
- ½ tsp jeera or cumin seeds
- 1 tsp rai or mustard seeds
- ½ tsp hing or asafoetida
- Few curry leaves
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 7-8 cashews, split in half
Method
For the dahi rice:
- In a large saucepan, over medium-low heat, cook the rice in the water till it is absorbed.
Take off heat and add in the salt and mix.
Cool.
- Mix in the dahi and transfer to a serving bowl.
Refrigerate.
For the tadka:
- In a small frying pan or tempering pan, heat the ghee over medium heat and add in the channa dal and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Then add the jeera, rai, hing, red chillies.
Saute for a few seconds, allowing the rai to crackle.
Add in the cashews, curry leaves and fry for 2-3 minutes more.
Next add the onions and fry till soft.
- Take off heat and pour the tadka over the dahi-rice but don't stir.
Serving:
- Add in the various garnishes (please see the pic above).
Spoon the dhania-mint chutney over the dahi-rice on one side.
Crush the roasted papad, drizzle the 2 tsp ghee over it and sprinkle the Cajun spice and add on another side of the serving dish of dahi-rice.
Place the pomegranate arils on a second side.
And the chopped cucumber on a third side.
- Serve immediately.
Deepa Mehrotra hails from Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, but has been living in Mumbai for three decades. In the family and far beyond, she is well-known for her delightful dishes and the spreads -- Indian or otherwise -- she puts together.