My recipe for classic curd rice or thayir sadam, the ultimate Tamil comfort food, swaps out yogurt or curd with cultured vegan cashew yogurt. It tastes just as delicious as my mother-in-law's version did, and it's better for you!
Vegan curd rice
Curd rice is a simple south Indian dish of yogurt and rice tempered with spices, nuts and curry leaves. It is a gut-friendly, cooling dish that's eaten every day in Tamil homes, usually as the final course of a meal, with a side of poppadum and a spicy pickle like mango thokku.
Tamil cuisine has so many delicious vegetarian dishes like sambar, dosa, idli and pongal. But there is something about curd rice or thayir sadam (thayir=yogurt and sadam = cooked rice in Tamil) that holds exceptional allure for every Tamilian, including my husband Desi. I remember a Tamilian friend's father in Mumbai telling me, with impish glee yet in all seriousness, that no matter where he was traveling in India, he wouldn't eat until he'd found a south Indian restaurant that served curd rice.
To understand why this simple dish holds an entire state's population in thrall, you will have to make curd rice the way a Tamilian does.
Curd rice or yogurt rice is a familiar concept around all of India. But in most of the country, including in my childhood Maharashtrian home, it is simply a mix of yogurt and rice with salt added for flavor when you need a meal in a hurry or have an upset tummy.
When I first ate curd rice in my in-laws' Chennai home, it was a revelation.
My mom-in-law, the best Tamil cook I've ever known, mashed the rice into the yogurt with her hands, then married them with a sizzling tadka of mustard seeds, asafetida, red chili peppers, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds and peanuts. This curd rice was not an afterthought but a celebratory event: a creamy, luxurious mélange of tastes and textures. The mustard seeds and peanuts added the perfect pop and crunch and the asafetida and curry leaves made each mouthful explode with flavor.
Not surprisingly, curd rice is often the last barrier that stands between a South Indian vegetarian and a dairy-free life. When I first started writing this blog, one of the most frequent queries in my mailbox from aspiring vegans and those with lactose allergies was for a vegan version of curd rice.
I first shared this curd rice recipe in 2010 but vegan yogurt was still a relatively hard product to find on store shelves in those days, especially in India. So I made up my own with silken tofu and lemon juice. This vegan curd rice tasted delicious, but it did not include any gut-friendly bacteria, like regular curd rice does.
This updated version, made with my cultured cashew yogurt recipe, is not just probiotic, it is also loaded with healthy protein and devoid of cholesterol found in dairy yogurt. Desi declared it the best curd rice he'd ever eaten.
You can tweak this curd rice recipe to nut-free diets - I'll have more on that for you in the FAQs below. It comes together in under 10 minutes if you have cooked rice on hand and it packs 14 grams of protein in each serving, making it a delicious and nutritious choice on a vegan or vegetarian diet.
Recipe card
Vegan Curd Rice (Thayir Sadam)
Ingredients
- 3 cup cooked basmati rice (from 1 cup raw rice)
- 2 cups vegan yogurt (see notes below)
- Salt to taste
For the tadka (tempering)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil (or any neutral oil)
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon asafetida or hing
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 2 dry red chillies
- 1 tablespoon ginger (grated)
- ¼ cup raw peanuts
- ¼ cup raw cashew pieces
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (optional)
- 1 tablespoon urad dal (black gram dal)
Instructions
- Place rice and yogurt in the bowl with salt to taste.
- Make the tempering by heating the oil in a small skillet. Add the mustard seeds and when they crackle, add the asafetida and the curry leaves followed by the red chili peppers, Sauté for a few seconds, then add in the ginger, peanuts, cashew nuts and optional fenugreek seeds. Finally, add the urad dal.
- Toast the nuts and lentils over medium-low heat until the dal and peanuts turn a light golden-brown.
- Immediately pour the tadka over the curd rice in the bowl and mix. Check salt and add more if needed.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Rice: Use any medium-grain or long grain rice to make curd rice, including sona masoori and basmati rice. I use basmati rice because it has a lower glycemic index, especially when I cook it like this.
- Sesame oil: Sesame oil used in south India comes from raw sesame seeds, unlike sesame oil used in Chinese cooking, which is made by pressing toasted seeds. If you can't source Indian sesame oil, which is easily found at Indian grocery stores, just use any neutral oil with a high heat point, including avocado oil, sunflower oil or peanut oil.
- Fenugreek seeds: Fenugreek seeds, when toasted in the tadka, add a nice crunch and a slight note of bitterness to compliment the spicy, savory, tangy flavors of the curd rice. You can leave them out.
- Nuts: I go a little heavier on the nuts than most Tamilians would, with half a cup of nuts in this recipe. You can use less if you want to, or use either peanuts or cashew nuts.
Nutrition Information
To print recipe card without images, uncheck "instruction images" after clicking the "print recipe" button.
How to make vegan curd rice
Make tempering
- Place the rice and vegan yogurt in a large bowl and add salt to taste.
- Get all the tempering ingredients together, then heat a tablespoon of sesame oil or any neutral oil over medium high heat.
- Add the mustard seeds and wait for them to pop and crackle. You will know you heated the oil enough if they sputter immediately after you add them, otherwise wait a few seconds until you hear them pop.
- Immediately add the asafetida, curry leaves and chili peppers and sauté for a few seconds.
- Add in the ginger, peanuts, cashews, fenugreek seeds and, finally, the urad dal. The urad dal goes in last because it will take far less time to toast than the nuts will.
- Toast the ingredients until the cashews and peanuts are a light golden-brown. Immediately take the tadka off the heat.
Mix tempering with yogurt and rice
- Add all of the tempering ingredients to the bowl with the curd and rice.
- Mix thoroughly with a ladle or with your hand.
- Serve.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely. You want plain, unsweetened yogurt for this recipe with no inherent or added flavors.
Blend a 16-oz brick of silken tofu with two tablespoons of lemon juice and use it instead of the yogurt. Add a bit of non-dairy milk if needed for a creamier consistency.
Just skip the nuts and double up on the urad dal lentils. Also be sure to use a nut-free, unsweetened yogurt.
You can, just make sure you cook the brown rice until soft.
I sometimes grate cucumbers or zucchini and add them to thayir sadam. The vegetables make the dish even more cooling and add valuable fiber.
Curd rice is usually served after sambar-rice and rasam-rice in Tamil Nadu, but you can serve it as the main dish for lunch or dinner, or as a snack.
Desi loves eggplant and okra sabzis with curd-rice, and that's how I usually serve it, with a side of baingan masala or sauteed okra. You can also simply serve curd rice with lime pickle or mango thokku.
Because the yogurt I use is cultured with live probiotic bacteria it will tend to get tangier the longer it stands at room temperature. If you have leftovers, them in the fridge for a couple of days. For longer storage freeze the thayir sadam in a freezer-safe container for up to two months. Thaw to room temperature before eating but don't heat it because you don't want to kill the beneficial bacteria.
Add some cashew milk or any unsweetened nondairy milk to the curd rice to make it less tangy. You can also do this if the curd rice appears to dry up after standing for a while.
First posted August 26, 2010. Updated and re-published on March 18, 2026.
Dr. Rupa Shah says
I make yogurt from ground nut milk. This yogurt when used to make curd rice, it tastes perfect. We at SHARAN also have a video showing this recipe. Ground nut yogurt can also make very tasty buttermilk.Being vegan in India, we knew this was very important to teach to those who are becoming vegan. It is a success. Also you can make good raita out of this yogurt. Also good for those who cannot take soy for some reason.
Saheli says
Groundnut milk yogurt sounds like a super idea. must try. Wonder if yogurt can be made with sesame milk - would also be close to dairy in nutrition profile.
Sunshinemom says
I tried something similar sometime back but I could smell the tofu:(. I am thinking of trying a culture with coconut milk now. But that plate does show some yummy thair chaadam:).
Saheli says
This is what has kept me from trying this out, although it looks yummy. Perhaps good amount of seasoning with lots of curry leaves may help mask the tofu taste. One of these days, I might try this but feel Vaishali's cashew cultured yogurt make a super curd rice (minus the protein power from tofu, of course).
Anonymous says
Dear Vaishali
Another product that is not available in India is Vegan Butter 🙁
For some sweets it's absolutely necessary for binding.
Karen's Vegan Kitchen says
This looks very promising! I know you can buy soy yogurt at the store but it's so damn sweet I can't stand it. I am looking forward to trying this out.
Chhaya says
Amazing recipe, Vaishali ! You are right, not having yogurt is one of the major stumbling blocks in going vegan ...but this recipe changes that ! I have to give this a try 🙂
Uma says
awesome dairy substitute!
jodye @ 'scend food says
I've never tried curd rice, but your recipe sounds wonderful and I'm always up for new dishes, and it so happens that I just picked up an eggplant today, so I see curd rice in my future!
Rachana says
This is a very interesting recipe! The curd rice looks so creamy and yumm!
Leah says
I can't wait to try this! I've been trying to find something to put my plain soy yogurt to use in.
Nags says
this is brilliant!
Kumudha says
Curd-rice looks so yummy! I too love curd rice. I often make curd rice with wonderful soy yogurt-
(high fibre unsweetened plain).
Vegan curd-rice with tofu is something I would love to try...
Thanks again for the veganizing yummy Indian dishes...
Jaya Wagle says
Wow! I would have never thought tofu could substitute for yogurt and that too in curd-rice! When I started reading the post, I thought you would use silken, soft tofu but blending the tofu, rice and soymilk gives it a whole different dimension, I imagine. You always amaze me with your creativity. 🙂
Anonymous says
Dear Vaishali
This is my 2nd comment here. I suddenly remembered this curd can be used for Kadhhi (Khichadi Kadhhi) as well.
Trust me- I can never eat tofu bcos I never liked paneer and I always see the resemblance in their appearance. But still will try this recipe.
Thanks again
Priya says
Very interesting vegan curd rice..awesome..
HayMarket8 says
Your curd rice looks excellent!
Anonymous says
So nice of your In Laws and also of you to think about 2 year old girl and her mom. Since Desi couldn't find the difference, it's really a winner.
I too was looking for unsweetened yogurt and as you mentioned, it's not handy every time. I will definitely try this recipe if not for rice but for raita 🙂
Thank you for your answer about probiotics- it will help me argue with few people 🙂
Thank you very much
Vaishali says
Latha, Veggie Belly, Manasi, Sanjeeta, Satya, Rajitha, thanks!
Claire, The sweetness of commercial soy yogurts puts me off too. This version does not have any of that sugary sweetness and is perfect for other foods, like raitas.
DJ, Paaka Shaale, Mihl, Curry Leaf: Thanks!
Jayashree, you're right about the color-- it's a little off-white compared to regular yogurt, perhaps because the soymilk I use is slightly dark. Tastes fabulous, though.
Ameya, thanks, and I just had to respond to your comment on beneficial probiotics in yogurt. While yogurt has probiotics, it is by no means the only food that does-- miso and fermented soy foods like tempeh contain tons of probiotics and other beneficial enzymes that occur naturally, and are great for regulating the digestive system. Plus they have other health benefits, unlike yogurt which is loaded with unhealthy, artery-clogging cholesterol.
What's more, there is some research now that shows probiotics may not be good for children and for certain people with compromised immune systems. The fact is that giving up yogurt-- and all dairy foods-- is better for human health.
Ameya says
Very creative, Vaishali! I'm impressed. I agree that tofu is very healthy, but yogurt has its own health benefits as well, especially probiotics.
jayasree says
Curd rice looks very creamy. Except for a light off white color, I think once can't differentiate this from the regular curd rice.
Gorgeous presentation.
Curry Leaf says
Awesome. Was thinking it was soygurt itself - the tofugurt is must try and sure I can recreate it in India.Excellent rice Vaishali
Mihl says
I didn't even know about curd-rice. How nice of you to develop a recipe for that girl. It looks very tasty!
Paaka Shaale says
Hey Vaishali,
Like all south Indians even I can't do without curd rice. Your vegan version is very unique. Great Job!!!
DJ Karma (VegSpinz) says
Nice! Never tried this, but sounds intriguing!
Claire says
Thanks for figuring out the soy yogurt replacement! I've never had curd-rice, but I find commercial soy yogurts to be way too sweet, so I'll definitely be using your recipe as a reference sometime.
Rajitha says
wow....i really must try this out. I am one of those who wants to be a vegan..but i love yogurt waay too much and i feel i may fall off the wagon on account of it. Thanks!
Satya says
wow its very gr8 idea of enjoying curd rice for vegan ...healthy n tasty recipe Satya
Sanjeeta kk says
That is really a great addition to the list of Vegan foods Vaishali. Sounds healthy too with Tofu in it. Thanks for sharing.
Manasi says
WOW! vegan yogurt - rice! U amaze me. 🙂
Veggie Belly says
curd rice, with ot without dairy defenitely warrants a post of its own! your vegan version is very innovative!!
Latha says
Interesting curd Vaishali. Looks very creamy and healthy.
R jayanthi says
Ohh thanks, will definitely try and write back