Curd rice, also called yogurt rice is an easy, comforting and healthy south India dish made with cooked rice curd (yogurt) and tempered with indian spices

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 2
  • Category: Main Course, Side Dish
  • Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup sona masoori rice ((or 2 cups cooked rice))
  • 1.5 cups water (for pressure cooking)
  • 1 cup curd (yogurt) ((about 250 grams))
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 2-3 tablespoons cream ((fresh or heavy whipping cream), optional)
  • salt (to taste)
  • freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

For Tempering:

  • 1 tablespoon oil ((or ghee))
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
  • 1 teaspoon urad dal
  • 2 dried red chilies
  • 1 green chili (slit length wise)
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger ((optional))
  • 8-10 curry leaves
  • a pinch hing (asafetida) (skip for gluten-free)

Garnish:

  • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (finely chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds

Method

Cooking Rice:

  1. Firstly, rinse the rice 2-3 times until the water runs clear (removes extra starch), and drain the remaining water.
  2. In a Traditional Stovetop Pressure Cooker: Pressure cook ½ cup of rice with 1.5 cups of water for 4-5 whistles on medium-low heat. Let the pressure release naturally. The cooked rice should be softer than we cook regularly. In Instant Pot (Electric Pressure Cooker): Pressure cook ½ cup of rice with 1 ½ cups of water on MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) for 6 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. On Stovetop Pot: Cook ½ cup of rice with 1 ½ cups of water on medium-low heat until cooked, and let it cool a bit.

Prepare the Cooked Rice

  1. When the pressure releases naturally, mash the rice well with the back of a spoon or masher. This helps to make curd rice creamy. Make sure no lumps are formed. If you don't mash the rice, it may turn hard when the yogurt is added.
  2. Add pre-boiled and cooled whole milk to the mashed rice. It prevents the curd rice from turning sour when prepared in advance. I highly recommend not to skip adding milk. Mix everything well. You can increase the quantity of milk if required.
  3. Next, cool the rice completely otherwise, whey may get separated when the cold curd is added to the hot rice.

Making Curd Rice

  1. Once the rice becomes lukewarm or comes to room temperature, add fresh curd (yogurt) and salt. Mix everything well.
  2. Add 2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream (malai). Adding cream is optional, but it makes the curd rice rich and extra creamy. Again mix everything well.

Tempering (Tadka) for Curd Rice:

  1. Heat coconut oil in a tadka pan. Add mustard seeds, and cumin seeds. Let them splutter. Then add urad dal, dried red chilies, and saute until the dal turns light brown.
  2. Now add chopped ginger, sliced green chilies, curry leaves, and hing (asafoetida) and saute for a few seconds. Mix and turn off the flame.
  3. Add coriander leaves, and pour the tempering/tadka into the curd rice mixture. Mix everything well. Garnish with pomegranate seeds or grapes and coriander leaves if using.
  4. Serve authentic Yogurt rice chilled, and enjoy with pickle and papad.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.