Curd Rice
Cool yogurt rice with a crackling tempering — South India's answer to a hot day or a hard one.
Ingredients
- 200 g Rice
- 300 g Yogurt
- 1 tbsp Neutral oil
- ¾ tsp Salt
- 50 ml Milk (optional)
- 1 tsp Brown mustard seeds (optional)
- 8 leaves Curry leaves (optional)
- 1 Green chili (optional)
- 1 tsp Ginger (optional)
Method
- Rinse the rice in a sieve until the water runs mostly clear.
- Simmer the rice in plenty of water in a medium saucepan over medium heat until soft — softer than you'd cook plain rice, about 15 minutes.
- Spread the cooked rice on a plate and let it cool until just warm.
- Slit the green chili lengthwise and grate the ginger.
- Mash the warm rice lightly with the yogurt, milk, and salt to a loose, creamy mix.
- Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
- Add the mustard seeds, chili, ginger, and curry leaves to the hot oil and fry until the seeds crackle and pop, about 1 minute.
- Pour the sizzling tempering over the yogurt rice and stir once to ripple it through.
- Serve the curd rice cool or at room temperature.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Curd Rice
Curd rice, or thayir sadam, is a cornerstone of South Indian home cooking — cooked rice mashed into yogurt (curd) and milk until soft and creamy, then finished with a crackling tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves, chili, and ginger. It is comfort food in the most literal sense, the dish that closes out a South Indian meal or stands alone as something soothing on a hot day or a hard one. Simple as it is, it carries real cultural weight and is a common tiffin-box and temple food.
The appeal lies in the interplay of cool and hot: a mild, tangy, soothing base of curd-softened rice against the aromatic pop of the tadka fried in oil until the mustard seeds crackle. Green chili and grated ginger cut through the richness, curry leaves lend their unmistakable fragrance, and everything perfumes the yogurt as it's folded in. Two details make this version right — cooking the rice softer than usual so it mashes into a loose, creamy texture, and letting it cool to just warm before mixing so the hot rice doesn't curdle the yogurt. Eaten with a pickle or a papad on the side, it is gentle, digestive, and quietly satisfying.
Curd Rice: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Curd Rice?
A serving has about 576 calories — 14.5g protein, 91.4g carbs, 16.1g fat, 1.8g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is Curd Rice gluten-free?
Based on its ingredients, Curd Rice has no gluten-containing components, so it's naturally gluten-free — as always, check that any packaged ingredients you use are certified gluten-free to be safe.
Is Curd Rice dairy-free?
Not as written — it uses Yogurt, Milk. Swapping those for a plant-based alternative makes it dairy-free.
How long does Curd Rice take to make?
About 30 minutes start to finish, but only around 12 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Curd Rice?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out milk, brown mustard seeds, curry leaves — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Curd Rice make?
This recipe makes 2 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.