Vegan Curd Rice (Thayir Sadam)
Tamil curd rice or thayir sadam is a simple Tamil dish of rice and creamy yogurt tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves and red chili peppers. I swap out the dairy yogurt with cultured vegan yogurt for spot-on, authentic flavor.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 479kcal
Equipment
- Small saucepan (for tadka)
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
Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 479kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Potassium: 385mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 86IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 3mg