Some of you might wonder why curd-rice should merit a post of its own, but to understand that, to misquote Atticus Finch, you'd have to wear a South Indian's shoes and walk around in them.
Curd, or yogurt, and more specifically curd-rice, is mighty important stuff to a South Indian. When my in-laws visit, they are happy enough to drink their coffee with soymilk and they love the vegan sweets I make, including dairy-free Indian sweets.
But when it comes to curd-rice, they just have to have the real thing -- at every meal. I remember a Tamil friend's father who, no matter which part of the country he was traveling in and how hungry he was, would refuse to eat at a restaurant unless he could order curd-rice.
Not surprisingly then curd-rice is often the last barrier that stands between a South Indian vegetarian and a vegan life -- just like cheese is what keeps many people here in the United States from taking the plunge. One of the most frequent queries in my mailbox, perhaps THE most frequent, is for a vegan substitute for curd-rice.
When the reader is in the United States, it's usually an easy answer: soy yogurt, which is quite easily found in grocery stores here and which I use when I want to make curd-rice. But soy yogurt is not available in India and, honestly, not everyone has it on hand at all times.I'd been wanting to test a curd-rice recipe with tofu -- which is more readily found almost anywhere in the world now-- but I was only really motivated last week when I got a query from a mom who said her daughter can't eat yogurt because of food allergies. "Recently she has started noticing that mommy and daddy eat rice with curd, so why cant I? It's hard to explain to a 2 yr old!" she wrote.
I typed off an email to her suggesting tofu, but then I realized I had taken the easy way out: after all, I couldn't really vouch for a recipe with tofu as a substitute for yogurt unless I had actually tried it, could I?
So I did, and it turned out so good that my Tamil hubby, Desi, who is not a vegan and does love his curd-rice, said he couldn't tell the difference. In fact, he said it was better than any curd-rice he'd ever tasted.
This is the more elaborate version of curd-rice: it takes just a few seconds longer to make because you need to add to it a handful of tempered spices and nuts which make it absolutely ethereal. My vegan version of curd-rice is also healthier because tofu has none of the cholesterol that curd does, and it is also chock-full of protein.
Here's the recipe then, for all curd-rice lovers out there who want to be compassionate without depriving themselves. Curd-rice goes particularly well with eggplant. Try this with a dry, roasted eggplant curry or with an eggplant-green-pepper gotsu, like the one I made.
Enjoy!
More recipes using vegan yogurt:
- Vegan Cucumber Yogurt Rice
- Vegan Dahi Vada
- Homemade Cultured Cashew Yogurt
- Vegan Instant Pot Yogurt
- Vegan Cucumber Raita
Vegan Curd-Rice (Thayirsaadam)
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice (cooked)
For the tofu yogurt
- 12 oz silken tofu
- ¾ cup soymilk
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the tadka (tempering)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil (or any vegetable oil)
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1 tablespoon ginger (grated)
- ¼ cup raw peanuts
- 1 tablespoon urad dal (black gram dal)
- 2 dry red chillies
- A generous pinch of asafetida
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients for the tofu yogurt in a blender and blitz until you have a very smooth paste. Set aside. (If you like your yogurt too sour or too sweet, you will want to adjust the amount of lemon juice. My measurement is for the "just right" version.)
- Heat the oil in a small skillet. Add the mustard seeds and when they crackle, add the asafetida and the red chillies.
- Immediately add the udad dal and the peanuts. Toast on a low flame until the dal and peanuts start to turn lightly golden-brown.
- Add the curry leaves and ginger to the skillet, mix, and immediately turn off the heat.
- Place the rice and tofu yogurt in a large bowl and pour the tempering over the top. Mix well.
- Add more salt, if needed.
- Enjoy!
Mounica
Excellent recipe! Easiest vegan curd rice recipe I've ever seen. I was skeptical about it since it is not how traditional curd is prepared but adding lemon for the tang is genius and is what makes the tofu taste similar to curd. Tofu curd by itself has a soy smell to it, which can easily be masked by the aromatic tadka. The recipe as-is gets a 5/5 from me but in comparison to real curd rice, I'd give it 4.5/5. Must try!
Stefan
I just wanted to say thank you for this incredible recipe. I live in Australia and I've been vegan for a few years now. The thing I've missed the most is my Dad's go-to dish - what he called "Yoghurt Rice". He told me that he used to eat it frequently growing up in Madras, and he made it for me all the time when I was growing up in Sydney. Having stopped eating dairy, I had thought that I would never be able to have it again, until I came across this recipe of yours. I made it and it was absolutely incredible. So much like my Dad's! Thank you so much for this gift. I've also been having a go at some of your other recipes, particularly the bread ones - you're a wonderful talent. Thank you
Vaishali
Hi Stefan, I am so happy the curd rice recipe brought back nice memories for you. Thanks for sharing them with me. This recipe is definitely a well-loved one at our home too, and Desi, my Tamil husband, prefers it to the one with dairy yogurt. 🙂 Thanks for the lovely message and the kind words.
Radha
Hi Vaishali,
Can you use any other non dairy milk instead of soy like almond or cashew milk?
Janani
As a plant based recipe developer of South Indian origin, I have been struggling for a really long time to find a good vegan yogurt to work in thayir saadam. It really does run in my veins. The commercially available ones just don’t cut it over rice. Thank you Vaishali for this! I can’t wait to try it out and take that final step towards veganism!!
Anonymous
Delicious curd rice!! Thank you very much for posting thus receipe
Mahadevan
Hey Vaishali, just saw this post today when looking for alternatives for curd, do you have any alternative similarly for buttermilk?
I am at Mumbai, is tofu and soymilk available freely? what brand would you recommend?
An alternative for buttermilk would be Godsend and help me go off dairy totally.
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Mahadevan, you can just dilute the tofu yogurt -- like the one I use in my thayir saadam (tofu and soymilk/water, salt, and lemon) to make buttermilk-- kinda like we dilute regular yogurt with water for buttermilk. I use this for my mango lassi all the time. Add lemon juice per taste.
I haven't lived in Bombay for years and I am not aware of what tofu and soymilk brands are available there, but there definitely are a few. I will ask this question in a forthcoming post, in case there are other Mumbai readers who might be able to help. Cheers.
Mahadevan
Thank you for your response.
Ganesh
Brilliant ,at home my wife makes me peanut curd, I will try this too. Thanks
Amy
Hi Vaishali,
I love your recipes. I am trying to be a vegan from past month as suggested by my doctor to get my thyroid function straightened. But unfortunately as someone else also mentioned in the comment, NO SOY or SOY products allowed in my diet 🙁 Also, I read so much about the bad effects of SOY, I would recommend no one to eat or use soy products. It is unfortunate how the marketing works. Another thing is Microwave literally kills ALL the nutirents. I am proud to say, I have not used microwave in a month!
Anyways, if you have any suggestions for curds with no SOY, please share with me. Also, I would like to know the other ways to parboil brown rice (not using microwave).
Thanks,
Amy
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Amy, thanks for your kind words and for the suggestions, and I hear you. I would find it hard to give up the convenience of the microwave, but I have definitely been trying to cook less with soy. I do think that some soy in moderation is fine. I don't have a soy-free curd recipe, but I will definitely try and think of one. The versions I have seen with nuts tend to be too high in fat, like cashew nut curds and peanut curds. Maybe there's a happy medium somewhere?
And you can definitely parboil the rice on the stovetop. Bring to a boil, turn off, and let it stand.