Sanjivani Yogurt Rice

Yogurt Rice is one of the best meals for indigestion or diarrhea as cooked rice is easy to digest and yogurt is a probiotic, rich in calcium. Yogurt rice has cooling effect on the body and helps to restore healthy microbial balance. It has a shelf life of 2 days, so it is a popular travel food. In the past, when freezing or cooling options were not available, a little bit of milk was added to the yogurt rice every 6-8 hours during traveling, which would keep curdling the added milk and keep the yogurt rice fresh.

Ingredients

• Rice -1 cup, rinsed and soaked for 10 minutes
• Yogurt-2 cups
• Urad Dal -1 teaspoon (Some also add Chana dal about 1 teaspoon- it may need a little more sauteing)
• Peanuts-10 to 12
• Cashew Nuts -6 to 7, break them into pieces if possible

Spices

• Mustard seeds -1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin seeds -1/2 teaspoon
• Curry leaves-8 to 10 leaves
• Ginger , grated-1/4 teaspoon
• Green Chilies , crushed-1/4-1 teaspoon (for desired spicy hot taste) or chop them into big pieces which can be removed if not desired
• Cilantro , finely chopped-3 tablespoonful
• Salt to taste

Liquids

• Water-3 cups
• Ghee/Avocado Oil/Any other cooking oil-2 tablespoons

 Cooking instructions for Yogurt Rice

1. Rinse rice and soak it for 10 minutes. Rinse again in a strainer.
2. Add 2 ½ cups of water and 1 tablespoon of Ghee/coconut oil to the rice
3. Steam the rice for 8-10 minutes.
4. Transfer the rice in a big bowl.
5. Add yogurt
6. For tempering, heat 1 tablespoon of ghee in a pan, add mustard seeds and as they crackle, add cumin seeds and urad dal, curry leaves, peanuts, cashew pieces.
7. When urad dal turns golden brown, add grated ginger, green chilies, and cilantro.
8. Pour this tempering on the warm steamed rice and yogurt
9. Add salt to taste and then mix well.

Handy Tips:

To make the rice more creamy and softer–Add more yogurt/buttermilk/or remaining ½ cup of water. Some cook rice with additional ½ cup of water.

For added taste–Finely chopped onions may be added in the tempering if the rice is not kept out for a long time. Onions are prebiotic and yogurt is a probiotic. This will enhance the overall nutritional value of Yogurt Rice.