Over the past few months, I have found two great local sources of organic produce and grains. One was Pristine Nature, an online store I spoke about on my blog a few weeks ago and the other is In The Pink, a restaurant and bazaar which I will be featuring on my blog very soon.
At both these places, I have been able to obtain black rice which I have gotten addicted to. Pristine Nature sells Burmese black rice and In The Pink has a slightly different variety. But both of them taste equally delicious!
The rice cooks to a beautiful deep grape colour and a sticky texture. It's perfect to be mixed and had with liquidy stuff like sambar, rasam or dal and it works fantastically in stewy dishes like Bisi Bele Bath and Pongal. But my most favorite way to eat it is in the form of Seasoned Curd Rice made of Peanut Yogurt.
This is an exotic twist to a very traditional South Indian dish. :)
For the curd rice, mix together:
1 C Cooked and cooled Black Rice
1 C (or more if you like) Peanut Curds
1/2 t Vinegar/Lemon Juice
Salt
For the seasoning:
1/2 t Coconut Oil
1/4 t Black Mustard Seeds (Sasive)
1/4 t Cumin Seeds (Jeerige)
1 t Split Black Gram Dal (Uddina Bele)
1 t Split Bengal Gram Dal (Kadale Bele)
2 Green Chillies chopped into little circles
Asafoetida Powder (Ingu)
Curry Leaves (Karibevina Soppu)
Heat oil in a small, heavy bottomed pan for half a minute. Add mustard and cumin seeds. They will crackle so cover lightly for a few seconds. Add the dals and stir for a few seconds until they are lightly browned. Add the asafoetida, curry leaves and green chillies. Stir for a few seconds, turn off the heat and stir some more.
Add the seasoning mixture to the prepared curd rice. Mix well and serve.
Enjoy! :)
Notes:
Curd rice is traditionally eaten at the end of a spicy meal.
It tastes great after sitting around for a couple of hours because the curds will ferment and develop a light tangy taste.
You can add grated or finely chopped coconut, pomegranate, fresh grapes or raisins to this according to your taste preferences.
now i know what u r upto so late in the night or early in the morning..:)
ReplyDeletemofoing!!
that curd rice looks like a glutinous rice dessert:)... i should try me some black rice.
go to sleep!:) and def try your maize bread.!
Richa @ Hobby And More Food Blog
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You go, posting everyday! Your recipes are so delicious and fascinating (peanut curd?!) they deserve a daily blog. If anyone gets any sleep today, I am living vicariously zzzz
ReplyDeleteIf you say black rice is sticky, I'm wondering if anyone thought of using this colored rice for sushi instead of the white rice?
ReplyDeleteThe sushi would look different for sure!
Richa, I used to be a night owl for the longest time and then with some conscious effort I had switch to sleeping at fairly decent hours (like 11pm, midnight latest). But now with Vegan Mofo, all that has flown out the window! haha
ReplyDeleteGigi, the scare from nearly flattening Ronald McDonald keeping you up? :oP
ReplyDeleteRoxee, I guess it's just a matter of availability. I have not seen this specific kind of black rice anywhere else. Even here it isn't commonly available.
ReplyDeleteI've haven't tried the forbidden black rice that is available in the US yet but I think that texture might be completely different from this one.
Peanut curd? I had to look that up, and it sounds promising though time consuming. I'm trying to convince myself to make some, but in the meantime, would plain soy yoghurt work?
ReplyDelete