Curd Rice (Dadojanam)

Wow, this reminds me of those old days way back in late 90's when our whole family used to go for picnic's to a zoo or temple or any outing. My grandma would prepare dishes in the night, the day before and we would hit the roads by 5 early next day in the morning. So, this dish reminds me of all the lovely cherishing moments with my family & cousins.Though I have included some of my own ideas to prepare this dish, I have originally copied this from my family. Lets see how to make this.

Ingredients:

2 cups boiled rice
11/2 cup curd
1 finely chopped onion
2-3 chopped green chillies
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
2 grated carrots 1 grated cucumber
1/2 grated beetroot (optional)
pomegranate seeds (optional)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp oil Salt to taste
Cilantro (Kothmeer)

Seasoning:

11/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Chana dal
1-2 Red chillies
Pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)
Few curry leaves

Method:

1. Boil rice either in a pressure cooker or rice cooker and let it cool for a while.

2.Meanwhile in a pan, heat about 2 tsp oil. Add all the seasoning ingredients one by one after the oil is heated. Add the chopped onions, green chillies and ginger and fry everything.

3.Once the cooked rice is cooled, take a fork and mix it well. We use fork and not a spoon because, the spoon might make a paste out of the rice and we don't want a paste.

4. Add the grated carrots & cucumber. we can even add the grated beetroot, but this turns the color to red, which many people don't prefer. I personally add a very small quantity which gives a light reddish color.

5.Adding pomegranate is just an option here.After the onions are fried, add salt according to the taste and turmeric powder, mix it well and remove it from flame.

6. Now, mix the rice and curds, if needed add some water and mix it well with the seasoning.

7.Lastly add the cilantro and enjoy this yummy curd rice.