Yogurt Rice

Ingredients:

Cooked rice - 2 cups

Green chilies - 3-4 chopped or red dry chilies - 2-3 break into small pieces.

Curry leaves - 1 branch (about 10-15 leaves)

Cilantro - 1 handful leaves chopped finely

fresh grated coconut (optional)

Plain yogurt - 1 cup

Warm milk - 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Ghee Tempering - ( ghee, cumin seeds and hing powder - 1/4 tsp)

Recipe:

Take cooked rice in a bowl and separate rice grains with a fork or use your fingers.

Add yogurt and warm milk, sugar and salt to taste.

Prepare Ghee Tempering.  Let cumin seeds cook until lightly brown.  Add hing powder.

Add chilies, curry leaves and stir well and add to rice mixture while still very hot.  Mix well.

You don't cook this rice again. 

Add chopped cilantro leaves and serve.   

Notes:

  

1) When you cannot eat green chilies, add dried red chilies into oil tempering.  You can see them and remove them before serving.

2) I usually use left-over rice for this recipe.  

3) You can also add 1 tsp chana dal and 1 tsp urad dal (wash and soaked in water for at least 10 minutes, then remove water and add to oil tempering before chilies.  Cook until lightly brown).

4) You can use oil instead of ghee and follow the recipe for ghee tempering.

5) We usually eat this rice at the end of the meal, especially when we eat very hot and spicy food.

6) We also eat yogurt rice at supper or dinner because it helps you sleep better. (Now researchers say that milk contains the amino acid L-tryptophan, which turns to 5-HTP and releases relaxing serotonin. It's also high in calcium, which promotes sleep).