CHENNAI : Mustard seeds, mor molaga (buttermilk chillies), pacha molaga (green chillies) and curry leaves. For over 70 years, these are the ingredients that have gone into my thayir saadam (curd rice). And four generations of my family relish every bit of it,” says Meenakshi with a proud smirk.
Sitting confidently in an old wooden chair, the 96-year-old great-grand-paati of four smiles wide with excitement, her eyes twinkling with childlike mischief the moment she hears the word curd rice.
“In the 1950s, modern medicines had slowly started making their way into my veedu (home). But if one of my children had a bad tummy, avlodhaan, nothing doing…curd rice was the best medicine!” chuckles Meenakshi, whose husband was a doctor at the time. Lime pickle is compulsory with curd rice, she advises. Everyone, please note!
Ooof…how I devour thayir saadam! Like my Telugu friend who gobbles up perugannam and chadannam while my Kannadiga friend wolfs down some mosaranna. My Malayali aunt’s palate dances at the very sight of thayir choru while my Odia friend who lives upstairs cannot do without her pakhala bhaat. In walks my cousin from Delhi: for her, dahi chawal on a scorching May day.
With the heat relentlessly gnawing at India’s every nook and cranny this summer, our fans, coolers and innumerable bottles of ice-cold water are at the verge of being checkmated by the sun. Gosh, what to do? Who will save us?
Some soft, steamed rice on a banana leaf. Completely cloaked by oodles of thick, creamy curd. A drizzle of salt and then you gently mix, mix and mix. Not too grainy, not too mushy. Yes, that’s just right. And of course you can’t wait, immediately digging into the snowy decadence with some lime pickle, mango pickle or tomato thokku. Curd rice is your knight in shining banana leaf this scorching summer!
“Chawal ek dum soft honi chahiye (The rice should be totally soft). Mix perfectly with dahi and then add your tadka of mustard seeds, curry leaves and red chillies,” says chef Bhagwan Singh from Uttarakhand. Although khichdi is the revered sick food of the north, Singh says that when his tummy aches, it is dahi chawal he runs to.
Indeed, stomach aches were a royal pain in the tummy when I was little. Amma would rush me to the doctors and pop a dozen pills in my mouth…wait, just kidding! A big bowl of mosaranna — as I called it growing up in Bengaluru — is what would finally do the trick. Within minutes, what tummy ache? My stomach? Hurt ah? And I would often whisper to myself, god bless the soul who invented curd rice!
Ancient curdy goodness
Food historian and MasterChef India Tamil judge Rakesh Raghunathan says that the humble elixir may have an ancestor. “The Atharva Veda (1500-1000 BC) mentions dadhi, a sort of yoghurt-based preparation. Although this wasn’t exactly curd rice, it was a precursor.”
Rakesh adds that dairy was considered a symbol of luxury and sophistication. “The Mahabharata and Puranas also mention that kings consumed curd. The Charak Samhita, which gives us an account of Ayurveda, also mentions that curd was used by royalty. They consumed it because of its taste and nutritional benefits. Rice was obviously there, so it wouldn’t have been very difficult to mix the two and eat.”
Over time, curd rice has evolved into a stereotypical seal stamp on South Indians. But Rakesh says that the prevalence of the dish in the eras gone by has more to do with climate. “In regions where temperatures were harsh, people would use naturally cooling ingredients like yoghurt. These places also had a lot of rice. So one cannot say that curd rice was first patronised by South Indians,” he adds.
In her anthology of poems called Thani padal thirattu, Sangam-era poetess Avvaiyar lauds a comforting meal of tangy, frothy buttermilk and varagu rice with smoked and mashed brinjal. When a figurehead of ancient wisdom swears by the curdy goodness, you know you need it on your plate and palate!
Myriad avatars of curd rice
Speaking of some good ol’ wisdom, Bengaluru-based HR professional Gaurav shares his mother’s maxim. “Amma says mosaranna is a stressbuster. And the way she makes it is amazing: First, the plain curd rice is mixed with salt. On top of it a tadka of mustard seeds and curry leaves. And then a garnish of raw onions, pomegranate and cashews. For sides, mango pickle and lemon pickle. My family just cannot do without curd rice!”
Mosaranna was the chief guest at most Bengaluru buffets, Udupi hotels and local functions in the early 2000s, standing tall among the butter masalas, gobi manchurians and jalebis. To my six-year-old eyes, the ruby-red arils encasing the pomegranate seeds looked like little jewels on a snow-capped mountain. How could I not salivate at the sight of it? So much so that when an aunty walked up to me — while I was shamelessly wolfing down my mosaranna — and jokingly asked if she could have some, I blurted out a big “No!” and ran away. My parents’ faces understandably flushed red with embarrassment but I couldn’t care less…I loved my curd rice! And though a good scolding from amma followed, the sleep I got that night was unparalleled.
That’s perhaps why Sadhvi Das from Odisha says, “Pakhala bhaat is positively intoxicating. I actually feel sleepy after eating it.” In Das’s ghoro (house), leftover rice is soaked in water overnight and allowed to ferment. In the morning, curd is added along with a chunka (tadka/tempering) of lemon leaves, mustard seeds and green chillies. The result, Das says, is absolutely delicious. “We also call it chunka dohi pakhala and usually eat it with fried macha (fish) which has been marinated in mustard oil and masala. We also relish pakhala with spinach saag and bhortas (fried mixes) of aloo and tomato. Yum!”
In Palakkad native Latha Devarajan’s house, matta rice (red rice) is the protagonist in pazhaiya choru, which literally translates to old rice. A close relative of pakhala bhaat, the same fermentation process unfolds. Latha explains, “After letting it soak overnight, we pour buttermilk over it in the morning. Most people add curd but I feel buttermilk is the healthier option. Vaddu maanga (mango pickle) is par for course. My grandmother used to say it is immunity-boosting and wards off constipation.”
Kochi-based engineer Thasneem Moosa’s family also seems to favour moru (buttermilk), generously pouring it over choru (rice). “We then top it with crushed onions and chillies. It is oh, so soothing,” she says.
In the land of Krishnadevaraya, the Satavahanas and the Nizams — today’s Andhra Pradesh and Telangana — ferments the cousin of pakhala bhat and pazhaiya choru: Chaddannam. Veteran South Indian actress-turned-content creator Mucherla Aruna has a soft spot for what she calls saadhannam, sharing recipes of it on her Instagram page, where she whips up numerous other quick-fix meals for her online audience.
Aruna shares her mother’s scrumptious yet simple recipe. “When I was little, my mother would soak some leftover rice in water at night. She’d then add ample warm milk, onions, green chillies and salt. And of course, a teaspoon of curd. In those days, we didn’t have a fridge so what she would do is put the saadhannam in a mud pot and keep it outside, allowing it to ferment outside overnight. In the morning, she would transfer the cool goodness onto a banana leaf, wrap it up and put it in a steel dabba. This was my school lunch every day. When I’d open it, the aroma from the banana leaf, aha…perfect!”
Now a grandmother, Aruna makes the dish regularly for her granddaughter, who she says absolutely relishes sadhannam. She adds, “In our house, summer means curd rice is a must! Though I love spicy food, I leave out the green chillies when I make it for her. With a side of avvakai pachadi (mango pachadi), it is too good, simply superb!”
Your humble summer sakhi
They say that in India, the dialect changes every 50 kilometres. Well, since the taste of curd varies from hut to hut, the dish will also don myriad hats — every few metres! The culinary elasticity of this friendly concoction means there is no one way to make it. You are the gastronomic genie: If you want mushy rice, so be it. If you want five side dishes, so be it. If you want to make your taste buds tingle with heaps of pickles and thokkus, voila, wish granted!
Aha…how I love my thayir saadam, perugannam, chaddannam, mosaranna, pazhaiya choru, pakhala bhaat, dahi chaawal and so much more! In a country where innumerable oily, crispy, spicy and savoury competitors throng the culinary battlefield, there is one dish — and its many avatars of course — that binds India’s palates and hearts: our humble curd rice.
Hmm..are you mixing the rice and curd yet? Have you added salt? What about the tadka? Oh, and do not forget to add lime pickle as Meenakshi paati says. Well, however you make it, be rest assured, your tummy and tongue will tango in joy—yes, curd rice is your summer saviour.