With this continued plight, everyone in the world is going through similar kind of feelings & sufferings and we all hope that everything will be fine very soon. In this tough time, we are truly blessed being able to feed ourselves sufficiently and we genuinely feel for those of our fellow citizens who are finding it difficult to even manage one square meal a day under the current circumstances of this lockdown & quarantined life and towards whom we honestly have a duty as responsible citizens. In the present condition however, the most important thing is to keep ourselves positive which will keep us happier & healthier and thus better equipped to deal with the situation. It is the responsibility of each one of us to take care of ourselves and our loved ones in the best possible way amidst adversities. So, keeping our family healthy and happy by serving them with good & tasty food should be our top priority now. Due to the prolonged lockdown, we are now exposed to limited number of resources and making something tasty as well as healthy everyday especially for the kids, is a real challenge. I am sharing this simple recipe with the humble intent of giving a boost to your imagination and create something really yummy out of whatever you have in your kitchen closet. We enjoyed this simple recipe and hope it will serve your purpose for a meal at least in these times. Also, the major ingredient of this dish which is curd or yoghurt, being an excellent immunity booster is going to give a tough fight to the novel Coronavirus.
Curd rice is a very popular dish in whole of the Southern India, which is prepared by simply mixing curd with rice, tempered with mustard seeds & curry leaves and seasoned with other ingredients like grains of lentil, peanuts, fruits like grapes, pomegranate, pineapple etc. It is served with accompaniments like papad, pickles and South Indian Podis that really gives it an enhanced flavour. It is one of the yummiest food for the summer days which is also healthy as well as soothing for your tummy. It can be a perfect lunch time recipe with a limited number of ingredients which is also quite quick & easy to make. However, the only problem of curd rice is the tangy taste of curd that everyone doesn’t like, especially the kids. In my home, curd rice is usually not favoured by all , of course except me 😊. So I tried this variant of curd rice that I’ve learnt during my hostel days, when one of my friend who is from South India, prepared it for me in her own style and I really liked that. It also required lesser amount of curd as compared to the usual curd rice. Since we need to preserve our resources in this lockdown period and use them in an economic way, we enjoyed our lunch platter with this simple fried curd rice along with accompaniments like potato fries, papad, pickle & cucumber salad and everyone were just more than happy. 😊
By God’s grace, milk and curd are still available here. So, those who manage to get a packet of milk, can at least make their own curd and try out this simple recipe of mine for a change & make your family happy.

Here is the recipe for you :

RECIPE:
Ingredients :

1. Curd (Plain) – 300-400 ml
2. Rice (cooked) – 500 g
3. Peas (boiled) – 1/3 cup
4. Onion (chopped) – 1 big
5. Curry leaves – few
6. Dry red chilli – 1
7. Black mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
8. Green chillies (chopped) – 2-3
9. Daal Bori (dried lentil dumplings), fried (optional)– few
10. Salt –To taste
11. Oil (any neutral oil) – 1 tbsp

[Note:- You can also add roasted or fried chana dal (chickpea lentil) grains, peanuts etc. if you like]
Preparation :

1. Beat your curd nicely, add little water if you find it thick.
2. Add salt, green chillies & few of the curry leaves, mix and keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add dry red chilli and saute.
4. Add mustard seeds to splutter, add curry leaves and saute.
5. Add chopped onions and saute them till golden brown.
6. Add the beaten curd mixture and stir to mix.
7. Add little water if required and let the mixture cook for 1-2 minutes over a low flame.
8. Add the cooked rice & boiled peas to it and mix nicely so that the mixture get soaked in the rice completely.
9. Stir for a while but don’t make it too dry i.e. keep it slightly moist.
10. Switch off the flame to bring it down.
11. Garnish with fried crispy Dal Bori & serve your fried curd rice after a while, as it tastes better than when served hot. Serve with pickles, podi, potato fries, papad or just any other accompaniment you like. You may also serve this dish with any curry of your choice like chhole, raajma etc.

Stay HEALTHY & HAPPY and keep experimenting with your culinary creations in this lockdown.😊😊