Name: Padma Lakshmi’s Yogurt Rice
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Yield: Serves 8 to 10
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 5 cups cooked Basmati rice; 4 cups plain whole-milk yogurt; 1 1/2 teaspoons teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste; 2 cups peeled and diced English cucumbers (in spring or summer), or 2 cups fresh pomegranate seeds (in fall or winter); 1/4 cup canola oil; 2 tablespoons white gram lentils (urad dal, found at Indian grocery stores,or chopped cashews are a good substitute); 2 teaspoons black mustard seeds; 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida powder (found at Indian grocery stores); 1 to 2 medium green chiles (preferably serrano) with seeds, diced, or more to taste; 12 medium curry leaves, torn into small pieces; Cilantro leaves or fresh curry leaves for garnish (optional); To serve, mango or lime pickle or Padma\'s fresh green mango curry (as pictured and linked in the note above)

Photo by Julia Gartland

Test Kitchen-Approved

Author Notes

There is comfort in knowing that as long as you keep yogurt, rice, and spices on hand, you can always feed yourself and your family dinner. The recipe is pictured here with Padma Lakshmi's Green Mango Curry. If you can’t easily find some of these ingredients, they’re worth seeking out (try ordering them from Kalustyan’s, a beloved New York institution and one of author & Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi’s favorite stores), but it’s also okay to work with what you can get. If you’re thwarted finding urad dal, an Indian white gram lentil, for example, Lakshmi recommends frying cashews for a similar nutty crunch. And yogurt rice is certainly worth making even without the harder-to-replicate flavors of asafetida and curry leaves. Adapted slightly from Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir (Ecco, 2016). To read the full story, head here. —Genius Recipes

Watch This Recipe

Padma Lakshmi’s Yogurt Rice

Prep time 15 minutes
Cook time 5 minutes
Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

5 cups cooked Basmati rice
4 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
1 ¹/₂ teaspoons teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
2 cups peeled and diced English cucumbers (in spring or summer), or 2 cups fresh pomegranate seeds (in fall or winter)
¹/₄ cup canola oil
2 tablespoons white gram lentils (urad dal, found at Indian grocery stores,or chopped cashews are a good substitute)
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
¹/₂ teaspoon asafoetida powder (found at Indian grocery stores)
1 to 2 medium green chiles (preferably serrano) with seeds, diced, or more to taste
12 medium curry leaves, torn into small pieces
Cilantro leaves or fresh curry leaves for garnish (optional)
To serve, mango or lime pickle or Padma's fresh green mango curry (as pictured and linked in the note above)

In This Recipe

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Directions

In a large bowl, combine the rice, yogurt, and salt, kneading them together with your hands. Then stir in the cucumber (in spring or summer) or the pomegranate seeds (in fall or winter). Set aside.
In a small saute pan, heat the canola oil over medium heat. After a few minutes, when the oil is hot and shimmering, add in the lentils. When they’re just beginning to turn golden (after about 3 minutes), add in the mustard seeds and asafoetida powder. Stir briefly. You will hear a popping sound when the mustard seeds begin to cook.
After just a minute, when the popping becomes more frequent, add in the chilies and curry leaves. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.
This dish should be served at room temperature, or cold, and it’s great for a summer lunch or dinner. If you’re making it ahead, just stir in a bit of water to loosen it up before serving; it should have a porridge or oatmeal-like consistency.

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tyrobinson
Kristen Miglore
Panfusine
Joyce

Review

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8 Reviews

tyrobinson January 1, 2019

Used this as an excuse to try making yogurt in an instant pot as I was correct to assume I would be exclusively using the product for a savory preparation. Enjoyed the dish on the hottest day of the past summer and was blown away by how satisfying it was! The crispy lentil topping was to me an essential component but I could see how it would be unpleasantly crunchy for some.

Joyce August 4, 2018

I also followed the recipe/video exactly and the urad dal as Kim mentioned were very crunchy, as in too crunchy. I checked the net and see that every recipe for urad dal includes water and cooking them first. BTW I added mango chutney and tamarind paste - great recipe, otherwise!

Seema R. July 26, 2018

One of our favourite ways of eating 'curd rice' is as an accompaniment to a spicy, meaty, main course like a pork vindaloo, Kerala style fried beef with coconut or Kerala style fried chicken. Add in some papad for the crunch and yummy, yummy a lazy weekend lunch sorted. (Runs to kitchen to check pantry) Lol

Kim July 18, 2018

Are the lentils supposed to be cooked? Mine were hard like pebbles in the final dish.

Kristen M. July 18, 2018

I'm sorry to hear this. No, they're not pre-cooked—they should get pleasantly crunchy in the oil, but shouldn't be hard like pebbles. Were they cooked till golden brown like in the video? If they stay somewhat raw, they can be tougher to bite.

Paula A. July 11, 2018

Is there a good veggie substitute for the cucumbers? I can't digest them ( incredibly).

Kristen M. July 11, 2018

Sure, really any vegetable you like—Padma sometimes grates carrot into hers or sizzles green bell pepper with the spices. And when you can find them, pomegranate seeds are perfect.

Panfusine July 12, 2018

sweet peppers (the tiny multi colored ones) - deseeded & diced fine work well too