I started this blog because I am so interested in adapting traditional Indian recipes to make them healthier, tastier and easier-to-make. During the course of my writings, I have started to solicit reader recipes, since many minds work better than one! Here is a post written by my mother, Madhuram – recipe courtesy, my sister, Indu Sundaresan, author of four books – “The Twentieth wife“, “The Feast of Roses“, “The Splendor of Silence” and “In the Convent of Little Flowers” with a fifth on the way.
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Every culture in the world has some sort of crepe or pancake in its recipe repertoire. In South India, it is the ‘dosa.’ Served in almost all Indian restaurants the world over, the dosa is a fermented batter of rice and a dal (lentils), served usually with sambar (a stew of vegetables and lentils) and different types of chutneys.

When I was young, my brothers and sisters (I come from a family of 10 children!) would wait eagerly by the stove as our mother or grandmother made us piping hot dosas, swept off the pan, crisp, golden and crunchy. When I had children, and learned to cook, dosas were a favorite Sunday treat for them.

Now my daughters make this for their children and below is a recipe concocted by my daughter Indu—more tasty and nutritious than the usual recipe—for her daughter.

The original recipe has only two grains in it—rice and urad dal (black lentils). My daughter’s recipe has five grains to increase the nutrition content of the original dosa—white rice, brown rice, mung dal and whole urad dal and pearl barley in center (shown below, clockwise from white rice on top right corner).

Brown rice is a good source of minerals such as manganese, magnesium, also contains Niacin and has a lower glycemic index than white rice. Barley is loaded with fiber, has no sodium, is very rich in iron and has hardly any fat. Mung dal (split yellow lentils) is rich in protein, dietary fiber and minerals like magnesium, phosphorous and potassium, and urad dal is full of protein.

Here’s the recipe for this Penta-grain Dosa. This can be served with any chutney or even folded with scrambled eggs, or spread with cream cheese, or hummus, or stuffed with mashed potatoes.

Here is what you need:

1/2 cup white rice
1/2 cup brown rice
1/4 cup pearl barley
1 1/4 cup yellow mung dal (equal to the mixture of the brown and whiter rice and barley)
3/4 cup whole urad dal (husked black lentils)
3/4 tsp salt

This will make about 12 to 15 dosas of about 8″diameter. If lesser quantity is needed, use less ingredients, but in the same proportions.

Here is how you make the batter:

Combine the white and brown rice, barley and mung dal in a big bowl and fill with water. Swirl water around and drain to wash the grains. Repeat twice more until water runs clean. Then fill enough water in the bowl to cover about 2 inches above the grains, and let the mixture rest thus overnight.

Put the urad dal in a separate bowl and follow the washing and soaking instructions as above. Fill the bowl with water at the end and let it rest overnight also.

In a blender, grind the first grain mixture with a little water—should grind fine and to a thick batter consistency. Set aside in a large steel bowl or an oven-proof deep dish.

Grind the urad dal with some water also, again to a thick batter consistency. Stir in the urad dal batter with the grain batter. Mix well. Add ¾ to 1 tsp of salt and mix again.

Here is how you ferment the batter:

If the kitchen/room temperature is below 70 degrees F, heat oven to 140 degrees, switch it off, let cool awhile until inside of oven is warm and set the batter bowl inside. Make sure you cover the bowl well with aluminum foil or an oven-proof lid.

Let the batter ferment for 6-8 hours. Upon uncovering the bowl, the batter should have risen an inch or so and become foamy on the top.

This batter can now be refrigerated and used when wanted, or used immediately.

Here is how you make the dosas:
Heat a frying pan or a pancake griddle until hot (but not smoking). Pour a big ladleful of the batter and spread immediately into every widening circles with the flat side of the ladle.

Drizzle a little oil around the edges of the dosa and a little in the center. Keep the flame on a medium to medium high so that the dosa does not burn. When the edges begin to look golden and curl up from the pan slightly (about a minute or so), flip the dosa over to cook the other side for another minute or so.

Take off the griddle—the dosa should be crisp and gold on the edges, a little softer in the middle. Serve with coconut chutney, spicy tomato chutney, sambar, or any of the other accompaniments suggested above.  Enjoy!

There can be nothing more satisfying than breaking bread with a group of your friends to seal the camaraderie. From time immemorial, breaking bread signifies a shared bond, a sense of togetherness and every warm, fuzzy and friendly feeling.

Baking bread is my favorite pastime. The aroma of freshly baked bread must surely be one of the very best olfactory enticements for a human being. In fact, let me modify that: not just for a human being. The smell of fresh baked bread also entices my normally aloof cat, right onto my lap, licking his chops, smacking his whiskers and staring unblinkingly at my mouth, hoping to grab a fallen crumb!

When I bake, I love to experiment. Mostly, I use a basic bread recipe but will work with a plethora of ingredients, vegetables and spices so I can blend the eastern and western cuisine. And ever since I’ve switched to whole grains and unrefined carbohydrates, I try to bake bread at home so I can bake with my favorite King Arthur whole wheat flour – so yummy, tasty and oh, so satisfying!

Home-baked bread has many advantages: the aroma of the bread that fills the house for at least a day, the satisfaction of being an “artist” and a “creator”, the knowledge that you can control what goes into your body, and best of all, since we are on our Shoestring series – the cost of the bread!

So go ahead and try this wonderful Fusion recipe of Black Sesame seeds and Sugar Beet Whole Wheat Bread. The grated sugar beet makes this bread moist and soft, the black sesame seeds add the crunch, and the whole wheat gives it bulk and texture.

This bread will assault all your senses – visual, olfactory and sensory. It looks enticing with the glorious red of the sugar beets, the shiny black of the sesame seeds, and the earthy brown of the whole wheat. It smells simply heavenly. And it is tasty and filling. In addition, it is healthy and low-fat. What more reason do you need to try this out on a Sunday afternoon?

Here is one more: it costs $1.40 and makes about 25 – 27 slices. Each slice is so filling that you can only eat a slice for each meal. That makes it $1.40 for 25 servings!

So without more ado, let’s start.

Here is what you need:
3 cups King Arthur whole wheat flour
1/4 cup + 1 tsp sugar (brown sugar, if you want to ensure the bread has no whiff of refined stuff!)
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium sugar beet (peeled and grated fine)
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
1 cup water
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 egg white

Here is how you make this:
Heat one cup water in the microwave until warm. Test the temperature by dabbing a drop onto your wrist. The water should be just warm and bearable. Add 1 tsp sugar, salt and active dry yeast to the water and let sit for about 10 – 15 minutes in a warm place until the water froths up.

In a large bowl mix together the whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup sugar, olive oil, grated sugar beet and 1/4 cup black sesame seeds. Slowly add the yeast mixture and knead thoroughly. Cover with a clean, wet kitchen towel and let sit on your warm countertop for a couple of hours. Punch down, knead, and cover once every hour.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Shape the dough into a loaf. Brush the top of the loaf with beaten egg white and sprinkle with 1 tbsp black sesame seeds.

Bake for about 40-50 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven, cool and slice. Store wrapped in an aluminum foil for upto a week.

Cost:
Whole wheat flour: $0.60
Oil : $0.20
Sugar : $0.10
Beet : $0.30
Sesame seeds : $0.10
Yeast : $0.10
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Total :$1.40 – Serves 25 - about $0.05 to $0.06 a slice!
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February has been a month of many delicious new trials and some hot favorites. With the winter snow blanketing the ground, and the slushy, slippery streets to deal with, it has been a month of warm, cozy meals by the fireside, safely ensconced in the family home.

We started the month off with the Goat Cheese Salad with Couscous – an easy and quick dish to put together when you are back home tired after a long day at work. Goat cheese gave this salad that gourmet touch, while the Kalamata Olives provided that tangy, salty taste. All in all, it was a healthy, low fat, and satisfying meal.

The Brain food – Stir fried Curried Okra added that crisp, crunchy flavor to any meal. This accompaniment is the enticing pick-me-up to keep your family’s intellect sharp and incisive.

If you ever needed to entice your taste buds and ensure that you have something at hand to smother over warm bread to make an easy meal, make the Sweet Green Chili pickle. Stock your refrigerator with this pickle and you can lay your hands on a yummy meal in a snap.

For a replete Sunday lunch, after a day spent on the snowy slopes sledding with your children, make the Radish Greens Stuffed Whole Wheat Bread. Serve with the Sweet Green Chili Pickle or with warm jam. Nothing like greens camouflaged in warm, homemade bread to welcome kids home from a long, rambunctious morning of play and fun!

Make the Crisp, Curried Kovakkai, if your family is tired of the same ole’ potatoes, peas and cauliflower. Watching your family down the vegetable without any proddding will be a reward in itself.

Fasting one day a week? Don’t forget to take a swig of the Fresh Homemade Vegetable and Fruit nectar to keep you alert and hydrated.

When the sweet tooth beckons, make this wonderful, healthy Sugar Beet payasam. No trans-fat laden, unhealthy, artery-choking dessert for you and your family! Enjoy every sensation with healthy, wholesome ingredients!

Cold winds howling outside your window panes with sleet and snow bearing down? Eat this satisfying, sweet and spicy, Sweet Potato Spicy Soup to warm the cockles of your heart.

There are days when you crave a delicacy and all you can think of is to visit the local ethnic restaurant for a meal. Resist that feeling and make this wonderful Edamame and Green Onion Pilaf at home to assuage that craving.

And finally, round up your snack attack with this wonderfully healthy Jicama Mint cutlets.

I first heard about Edamame beans from a colleague a couple of years ago. Until she mentioned about her love for Edamame, I had never heard about or seen fresh or frozen Soybeans (Edamame). When I lived in India, I used to make dishes with the dried soybeans, but was not aware that fresh beans are also available. So I looked up its nutrition facts online and found that Edamame would be a great addition to a vegetarian diet because of its high protein content. In addition, it is a good source of dietary fiber (32% daily value per serving), Vitamin C, Folate and Iron.

If you are not sure what Edamame is, look for it in the freezer section of your local grocery store. You will find both shelled and unshelled Edamame. I generally buy the frozen shelled Edamame, because I like to add it to most vegetable dishes and it is good to have it on hand. As long as you are careful not to overcook it, it adds a great crunch and texture to your dishes. You can also buy the unshelled Edamame – simply steam it in salt water and you can serve it as a snack or appetizer.

I have to confess, like my colleague, I have developed a taste for Edamame. And so I tried it in this rice pilaf dish with green onions and it tastes simply fabulous! The best part is that this dish is so quick and easy-to-make: just 15-20 minutes and your hot, fresh, yummy dinner is ready.

Here is what you need:
1 cup basmati rice
2 handfuls frozen Edamame
3 stalks green onion (remove stalk and snip fine: I used scissors to snip fine)
3/4 tsp salt
2 green cardamom
1/2″ piece cinnamon
4-5 cloves
1 brown cardamom
1 small bay leaf
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups water
Here is how you make this:
Wash and drain the basmati rice. Set aside. In a large pan, heat the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the whole spices (cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf) and brown lightly. Now add the Edamame beans and stir fry for about 30 seconds. Add the rice. Fry for a minute. Add water and salt and bring to a boil. Boil for about 15-20 minutes until nearly all the water is absorbed and the rice is tender. Now add the snipped green onion and stir lightly. Finish cooking until all the water is absorbed. Serve hot with any side dish. While eating, set the whole spices aside. They are added for flavoring and add a delicate taste to this pilaf.

I served the Edamame and Green Onion Rice Pilaf with a spicy Okra yogurt pachadi (sauce). Check back later for the Okra yogurt pachadi recipe.

Enjoy!

I am a big sucker for gourmet produce stores. The sensory thrill of shopping at a store which is bursting the seams with a large variety of vegetables, fruit, prepared foods, cheese and wine, is a high that cannot be matched.

Entering a store like Nino Salvaggio’s,  Papa Joe’s or Whole Foods is an assault on all the senses. The sight of row upon row of shelves stacked almost to the ceiling with all kinds of vegetables in a multitude of colors, the aroma of the fresh, cool, and calming greens, the taste of slices of sweet fruit and slivers of gourmet cheese, the din of the vast crowds of shoppers, the exchange of pleasantries and shop-talk about unfamiliar vegetables with strangers… it is an experience that I love.

Despite the fact that these stores are usually expensive, I manage to shop frugally. I’ll let you in on a secret – the trick is to buy whatever is in season – invariably only those vegetables that are not in season are expensive. The rest of the vegetables are usually priced to match the other local big chain grocery stores.

In addition, when I shop for vegetables, I usually look for value. For instance, I love “mooli parathas” (Radish Stuffed Whole Wheat Bread) and will usually pick up a bunch of long white radish for a dollar or two. And if I buy the same radish at a gourmet store, I’ll get it with the leaves intact. I know I can use those leaves for something, so I actually end up making two dishes for the price of one vegetable.

So here is my original recipe using Radish Greens. The parathas were mouth-watering – crisp, colorful green parathas stuffed with nutrients like Vitamin C, protein and calcium. In fact the greens (that we generally throw away) are a better source of nutrients than the roots.

Please feel free to share this recipe. As noted in the copyright listed on the site, all I ask is that you indicate the source and share the link to this site.

Here is what you need:
1 bunch Radish Greens (washed and chopped)
2 cups whole wheat flour (I recommend my favorite King Arthur Whole Wheat)
1/2 tsp salt
Olive oil to make parathas

Here is how you make this:
Blanch the Radish leaves in hot water. Place in a blender and puree. Now add the Radish greens puree in the wheat flour along with salt and knead to a smooth dough. You may not need to add any water since the liquid in the puree may be adequate for a soft dough. Set aside for 1 hour.

Heat a non stick pan until hot. In the meantime, make small orange sized balls of the whole wheat dough. Dip the balls in flour and roll out into rounds shaped like a flat tortilla.

Dab the dough round with ½ tsp of oil. Fold over and enclose the oiled portion completely. Roll out again into a square or round shape. Place on the hot pan. Cook one side for half a minute. Flip over and spread 1/2 tsp oil on the side facing up. Now flip over again and spread oil on the side facing up so that both sides have oil. Toast on medium hot until crisp and brown.

Remove from the pan and serve hot with either Green apple in yogurt sauce , Potatoes in a jiffy – Paani Aloo or Sweet Green Chili pickle.

Are you at wit’s end, wondering how to wean your kids off video games for a couple of hours on the weekend? And all you can think of as a hobby, is to bake sugar and butter-laden cookies with them? Are you worried that the very act of baking cookies with them, while creating those wonderful memories of togetherness, also sets them on the path to become “cookie monsters”?

Well, I have a panacea for you.

This recipe that I am about to share with you is healthy, filled with the goodness of fresh vegetables, brimming with taste and textures, so quick and easy to make that even someone with no prior experience in cooking can put it to together in just 10 minutes flat.

So try this recipe out with your children and you can have a proud little ones who made an entire meal by themselves. Depending on their age, set them to help you peeling the cucumbers, crumbling the soft goat cheese, measuring the olives and helping you make the couscous. You will have the benefit of a fun time with your youngsters while teaching them to cook and enjoy eating healthy meals.

I serve this with Whole grain Couscous and it makes a complete meal.

Here is what you need:

2 large Cucumbers (rinsed, peeled and chopped)
2 Green Peppers (rinsed and chopped)
1 bunch Cilantro (rinsed and snipped)
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes (rinsed)
1 bunch Basil (rinsed and snipped coarsely)
1 cup Kalamata Olives (in a jar, buy the pitted variety or pit them)
1 tube Goat cheese

For the Dressing:
1/2 cup Olive Oil
3 tbsp Red wine vinegar
Pepper: to taste

Here is how you put this together:
Combine the ingredients for the dressing. Toss into salad. Crumble and add the goat cheese right at the end, just before serving because it is very soft and has a tendency to melt. I buy the french variety of Goat Cheese, pictured above. You do not need to add any salt to this salad, because both the Goat Cheese and the Kalamata olives will provide a slightly salty taste.

For the Cosucous, follow instructions on the package. It takes just 10 minutes to make. In order to make this even more sumptuous, healthy, and satisfying, I use whole grain couscous, pictured here. You can also try the Parmesan Cheese Whole Wheat Couscous with milled Flax seed and Soy with this recipe. It tastes fantastic with this salad.

Enjoy!

I’ve heard a lot of people complain that being a vegetarian is an uphill task. I completely understand.

I know what they mean: they have to be on the job 24/7. Especially if they are cooking for a family and are in charge of the kids diets, they have to be particularly watchful about incorporating different kinds of vegetables in many different dishes, so that the kids are tempted to eat their veggies.

You know by now that I am a big fan of vegetables. I love all kinds of veggies. My idea of a wonderful weekend is a visit to a well stocked produce store. And I invariably buy all my vegetables fresh. The only frozen veggies I buy are green peas.

I love the multitude of greens we get here in the US and so I usually pick up a couple of new ones each week – it allows for variety. Greens are not only good for you, they are also good for your wallet. A bunch of greens usually cost around $2 and it makes a dish that feeds a family of 4! This week I came home laden with mustard greens because they looked so fresh.

Mustard greens are stuffed with nutrients. They have 9 vitamins, 7 minerals, dietary fiber and protein. Best of all, they are a unique source of 3 notable antioxidants: Vitamin K, Vitamin C and Vitamin A. They are known as nature’s free radicals scavenger. Mustard greens are wonderful for children and adults who have asthma. The vitamin C in the greens help them breathe easier. The greens are also particularly helpful for women’s health. They are laden with calcium, B6 and phyto nutients. Read more about Mustard Green’s nutritional value here.

I made a mustard green and lentil combo dish that tasted deliciously smooth and buttery, even though it had no butter. It was also extremely quick and easy to make and is not at all spicy, so the kids will enjoy it too. Serve with brown rice and some salad and you have a healthy and complete meal cooked in just 30 minutes. Yeah! Rachel Ray, I can cook a meal in 30 minutes too.

As usual, this recipe uses just one teaspoon oil for the entire dish, so you have an entire meal for a family of 4 made with just 1 teaspoon oil.

Here is what you need:
1 bunch mustard greens
1 cup yellow lentils (tuvar dal)
2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric powder

To garnish:
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 pinch asafoetida powder
1 habanero or jalopeno (chopped fine)
1 tsp olive oil

Here is how you make this:
Wash and boil the lentils in 2 cups of water until soft. Add more water if necessary. When the lentils are cooked, add the chopped mustard greens, turmeric powder and salt. Cook for another 5-7 minutes until the greens are also cooked. Remove from the stove.

Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. Wait until they crackle and add the cumin seeds. Brown for 10 seconds and add the chopped habanero. Fry crisp. Add the asafoetiday powder. Remove from stove and pour the garnish over the lentil and mustard green dish.

Serve hot with brown rice and salad. (If you make brown rice side-by-side in another stove, your entire meal is ready in 30 minutes!)

As an Air Force brat, I have traveled the length and breadth of India during my formative years. Every two years we would pack our bags and move yet again.

During one of those trips, I came across a sight that remains seared in my mind. Our train had stopped at a station in Rajasthan for an hour long break. My family got off to stretch limbs and get a drink of water, when I happened to look around.

The platform was teeming with life. Urchins were running around. Stray dogs were sleeping on the benches. People sat or stretched out on their bags to safeguard them from pickpockets and thieves. In the midst of all this din, I saw a Rajasthani couple squatted on the floor of the platform. They were poor but obviously not starving. They were switching trains and awaiting their connection.

The husband was imposing in his traditional Rajasthani garb of a wrapped around dhoti, a beautifully embroidered vest, and a huge turban on his head. His young wife wore a long red skirt embroidered with mirrors, a beautiful blouse cut low, exposing her back and her slender waist. The blouse was held together with strings at the back. Her ensemble was topped off with a veil.

It was lunch time. The young wife squatted on the floor and had in front of her a little gas stove. She pumped it and watched the flames leap. Then she rolled wafer-thin, perfectly round, chapathis (whole wheat bread). She would place each one on the griddle, her movements swift and sure from years of practice. As each chapathi unfailingly puffed up, she would place it very carefully on her husband’s plate. Along with the chapathis, she served “paani aloo” or “liquid potato”.

I watched in amazement as she cooked the entire meal for her husband on a railway platform! And she had done that with such grace, such artistic flair and such concentration in the midst of so much chaos. It was a gourmet meal made by a very poor woman, who was so focused on her culinary art that she was completely oblivious to her surrounding. She was a sea of calm in that pell-mell.

And that was a picture that I never forgot.

In that stranger’s honor, here is my recipe for the “paani aloo” – “liquid potatoes”. I think it looks like the dish she made all those years ago. It certainly tastes good and is a very quick and easy dish to make. When your life is chaotic, just take a deep breath and remember that strange Rajasthani woman who valiantly cooked a meal in all that pandemonium and you’ll do fine!

This recipe for “Paani aloo”, is  yet another low fat Potato recipe that can be made in a jiffy. This is made with just 1 tsp oil and is very yummy. Serve with plain parathas, naan, rice or any other bread.

Here is what you need:
3 large boiled potatoes (mashed coarsely with large lumps)
2 cups water

Spices:
1 tsp red chili powder (I buy the Kashmiri chili powder available in Indian stores. It has a deep red color but is not very spicy)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala powder (optional)
1 -2 tsp salt (depending on how much water you add)
1 tsp Olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds

Garnish:
A few sprigs chopped cilantro

Here is how you make this:

Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds. Brown for 20 seconds. Add the coarsely mashed potatoes, water, red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and salt. Bring to a boil. Take off the stove and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve hot over rice or chapathis.

I know this may sound incongruous, but vegetarian Indians are not big fans of salads. In fact, not many Indian I know are salad eaters.

Oh, don’t get me wrong; vegetarian Indians do eat vegetables. Only not in salad form. Vegetables are a must at every meal – only they are cooked, steamed, curried or stir fried and never eaten raw. It may be because the vegetables that traditionally were available in India in the 80s, 90s and earlier were organically grown and we were not so sure if they were free of pests. Or maybe, we thought the veggies tasted better when cooked. Whatever the reason, from my childhood, I always ate cooked, steamed, curried, or stir fried vegetables and have stayed far away from salads.

When I moved to the US, I made a valiant effort to eat at the salad bar, but the only way I could swallow those large torn lettuce leaves was to smother them with dressing – beats the purpose! So, when I finally came across this multi-colored pepper salad at a friend’s potluck party, I was pleasantly surprised. I just loved it! I have modified it slightly from the  recipe given by my friend.

But feel free to experiment by throwing in your favorite vegetables whilst using the colored peppers as a base. This salad needs absolutely no dressing and is zero fat!

This is a meal that will satiate all your senses. The wonderful hues of color – red, orange and gold of the peppers, the gorgeous green of the green apple and celery, the earthy brown of the walnuts and the deep maroons of the cranberries and beans will excite your aesthetic curiosity. The crunch and texture of the peppers, celery and walnuts will satisfy your need to munch. The fresh aroma of chopped vegetables will entice even a picky youngster to give this salad a try. And the beans will get your digestive juices flowing.

This is also a very healthy and filling meal by itself – it needs no accompaniment. Make it the previous evening, refrigerate and pick it up for lunch at work the next day. Super quick and easy!

Here’s what you need:
1 large red bell pepper
1 large yellow bell pepper
1 large green bell pepper
2 stalks fresh green celery
3 small granny smith green apples
1 can red beans or garbanzo beans
handful chopped raw walnuts
handful cranberries or raisins
1 slit red chili for garnish (optional)

Here is how you make this:
Wash and chop all the vegetables. I generally chop really fine in order to bring out the flavors. Toss together and garnish with the slit red chili. Serve immediately or cold.

People in some communities in Southern India, usually eat a 3-course meal for lunch everyday. Now, this information could probably make you wonder how they manage to keep slim. But that is a long story meant for another blog post.

They generally start off with rice, vegetables and a spicy tamarind sauce called “sambar“, pronounced “saaam-baaar” and made with tamarind, lentils, some vegetables and a special spice mix called, guess what? sambar powder!

My mother makes the sambar powder at home in huge quantities so she can provide a year’s supply to me and my sisters. The 2nd course is another spicy sauce in soup-like consistency made in a large variety of flavors. This is called “rasam“.

The grand finale of the meal is the most important “thair sadam” pronounced “thaaa-yir saaadam” or yogurt and rice. If one is in a hurry and has no time for the 3-course meal, the first two courses may be omitted. But no responsible Indian housewife will let her child or husband go out the door before filling their stomachs with thair sadam. It is considered the panacea of all illnesses, the most complete and healthy dish.

Now, on a day-to-day basis, South Indians will just ladle home-made yogurt onto rice, mix and eat it with some pickle or vegetable of the day. But there are times when the same bland thair sadam is made into a festive dish. Today’s recipe is this festive thair sadam. I made this with brown rice, but feel free to try it with either white or brown rice. If you’ve been following my blog so far, you’ll probably know that I am a big fan of brown rice, but this is one rice dish that I would recommend you try with white rice first, since it tastes simply fantastic!

Eat and enjoy with the crisp curried potatoes or the green beans. This recipe is dedicated to my friend, Jeff, since this is one of his favorite dishes.

Here is what you need:
1 cup cooked rice (white or brown) (make sure the rice is a bit overcooked and very tender)
1 1/2 cups thick unsweetened yogurt
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)

To Garnish:
1 tsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp split, peeled urad dal (optional)
1 pinch asofoetida powder
1 habanero or jalapeno pepper (chopped fine) (optional, if you dont like spicy food)
1 sprig curry leaves

Here is how you make this:
Cool rice completely after it is cooked. Mix in the yogurt, salt and sugar. Heat oil in a pan. When oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. Wait until they crackle and add chopped habanero pepper. Fry until crisp. Now add the curry leaves. Fry until crisp. Add urad dal and brown. Add asofoetida powder and take the pan off the stove.

Pour garnish over the yogurt rice and serve with crisp curried potato or green beans.